Feb. 6, 2012
Final Stats | Post-Game Press Conference
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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The rowdy Moore Gymnasium crowd, 675 deep, erupted as redshirt senior forward Cleniece Roberts made the putback buzzer-beater to defeat North Carolina Central, 63-61, Monday night. The see-saw game proved to be one of the most hard-fought victories of the year for the Lady Wildcats, but for the time being, also one of the most fulfilling.
“Tonight was a really big game for us to have to rebound off of such a disappointing loss the other night,” said Head Coach Vanessa Blair. “The ladies really felt it all weekend, and so this was a big night for us to come together as a team. It was more about will tonight than anything else.”
The Lady Wildcats snapped a four game win streak in defeating the Lady Eagles in the closing second for their seventh win of the season, but B-CU faced playing from behind much of the game.
Despite controlling the previous outing against NCCU most of the game, this edition was hotly contested by North Carolina Central (2-21, 0-10 MEAC) who brought intensity to their game at Moore Gym.
NCCU controlled the lead nearly the entirety of the first half, but with the Lady Wildcats nipping at their heels, only allowing the lead to reach six once, and maintaining a two-possession game in the first period. The teams headed into halftime with B-CU trailing the Lady Eagles 34-31.
“We had an emotional loss on Saturday, and I think that it just kind of carried over early in the game,” Blair said of the first half. “In the second half we relaxed a little bit, we came out a little more aggressive, and were able to build a lead.”
B-CU whittled down the NCCU lead by attacking the basket, then switching it up to attack the Lady Eagle zone from the perimeter, while increasing pressure in the backcourt to force turnovers.
B-CU took control in the second half at 11:30 on a Jasmine Elum three-pointer, with a duplicate shot 33 seconds later to give the Lady Wildcats their first multi-possession lead of the game, en route to a 9-0 scoring run.
The Lady Wildcats kept their distance, with help from the full force of a growing Moore Gym crowd, but the Lady Eagles kept grinding their way back into the game. NCCU created a tie with 39 seconds left on the clock, turning the focus of the game to a battle at the free throw line, where both teams were perfect in the final minute.
Coming off a pair of made free throws by NCCU's Lakisha Evans with 10 ticks left, B-CU set up for the perimeter shot from Demetria Frank with :03 on the clock. As the shot came off the rim, it looked like B-CU was going to a second overtime game on the week, but boxing out in the lane, Roberts grabbed up the board and went right back up for the buzzer-beating putback, hitting her second game-winner of the year.
“The biggest thing I told them was to go to the boards, go rebound, and give ourselves a second opportunity, and Cleniece did that,” Blair said.
Despite solid shooting from the Lady Eagles, B-CU's tough defense played a major factor in the game, racking 12 steals on 27 NCCU turnovers, while protecting the ball for the lowest turnover total of the season, at 11 for B-CU. Another huge key, for the second game in a row, was B-CU's performance at the free throw line, where the Lady Wildcats put in 20-of-22 (90.9 percent), their best of the year.
For the first time in six games, B-CU logged three players in double figures, led by Elum, who shot 70 percent from the field and 4-of-7 from three-point range for 20 points. Frank continued to play back to form, with 18 points and five steals. Jalisa Isaac logged 11 points as well.
In addition to the game's most crucial shot, Roberts led the team with six rebounds, plus three steals and eight points.
Meanwhile, Frank is on pace to hit another major career milestone, as tonight's performance brings her to 1,466 career points (in second on the All-Time Scorers List), inching closer to 1,500 as her final season in the Maroon and Gold winds down.
The Lady Wildcats (7-15, 4-6 MEAC) head back out on the road through the middle of February, hitting the mid-Atlantic, starting with Howard (17-7, 9-2 MEAC) on Saturday. B-CU will need to carry the momentum of this win out to Washington, D.C. as they take on one of the MEAC's top teams in the Bison, who are on a four-game win streak after Monday's 64-55 win over Morgan State.
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