TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Missed free throws and turnovers proved costly Saturday afternoon as Bethune-Cookman dropped a 62-54 decision away to in-state foe Florida A&M in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Women's Basketball league opener for both teams in front of 2,312 fans inside Al Lawson Center in Tallahassee, Florida.
 

FIRST QUARTER
Florida A&M (4-8, 1-0 SWAC) led wire-to-wire as the homestanding Rattlers opened up a 17-8 lead after the first quarter of play.
 
FAMU's Cheyenne McEvans, the SWAC's leading scorer, produced seven of her game-high 23 points in the opening period, as she almost outscored Bethune-Cookman (3-10, 0-1 SWAC) by herself. The Rattlers held the Wildcats to just eight points in the quarter, limiting the visitors to 16.7 percent shooting from the field – including a 0-for-3 effort from three-point range. FAMU countered shooting at a 50 percent clip from the floor, using 13 points off 10 first quarter Bethune-Cookman miscues.
 
Leading the scoring for the Cats was junior guard Daimoni Dorsey with four points – all of them coming at the foul line.
 
SECOND QUARTER
With B-CU trailing 23-10 with 6:35 remaining in the half, the Cats went on a 10-0 run, beginning with a Mya Johnson tip-in off the Dorsey miss. Having missed the last three contests, senior Kayla White returned to the B-CU lineup and supplied a fastbreak layup, followed by a Janessa Kelley three-pointer to trim the Wildcats deficit at 23-20 with 2:58 remaining.
 
However, FAMU would respond as Sydney Hendrix kicked off a 7-1 run to close half, scoring five points in the run – added a basket off a Wildcats turnover by McEvans.
 
In all, the Cats committed 19 first half turnovers and were outscored 22-10 in the paint.
 
THIRD QUARTER
After falling behind by as many as 11 twice in the third quarter, Bethune-Cookman fought back to within 35-29 after a Kelley pull-up jumper from outside the paint just under four minutes into the second half. FAMU's McEvans connected on two free throws, and Saige Glover supplied a layup off another B-CU turnover to push the Rattlers lead back to double digits, 39-29.
 
Karianna Woods pulled up for two of her five points on the day, and it was Kelley laying it in accepting a pass from Woods off the break moments later to bring the visitors back to within 39-33. But once again it would be FAMU's D'Mya Griffin and Glover each providing points in the paint – four of FAMU's 10 in the post for the period, to give the Rattlers the 43-33 edge heading into the fourth quarter.
 
FOURTH QUARTER
B-CU began the period on a 9-2 run thanks in large part to freshman guard Jordan Brooks, as she delivered four points during a three-minute stretch that saw the visitors claw back to within 45-44. Also clutch for the Cats was White with four points, as well as the SWAC's leading rebounder Asianae Nicholson totaling three points in the run.
 
Once again, FAMU answered with a run to extend the lead, 50-44 with a pair of McEvans free throws, before Woods responded with two of her own to put the B-CU deficit at 50-48 with 2:05 remaining in the contest. Turnovers would once again prove costly for the Wildcats, leading to a 6-0 FAMU run to extend the lead back out to eight. B-CU would get no closer than within a five-point margin down the stretch, as FAMU knocked down free throws and forced B-CU into three additional turnovers to close the league win at home.
 

FAMU forced Bethune-Cookman into 35 turnovers – the most for the Wildcats since committing 35 against Hampton when both teams were members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) back on Feb. 18, 2017. Additionally, the Rattlers outscored the Cats 44-26 in the paint and shot 42.4 percent from the field.
 
The Rattlers were led by McEvans with 23 points and six assists, as teammate Sabou Gueye finished with 12 points, three assists and three steals.
 
Bethune-Cookman also forced the Rattlers into 35 turnovers of their own, but the Cats shot just 16 of 25 at the foul line on the day. Kelley had both of B-CU's three-pointers in the contest to finish as the lone player in double figures with 10 points. White registered nine points in her return, and Dorsey tallied eight (all from the free throw line). Kayla Clark posted nine rebounds and five steals.
 

The Wildcats continue SWAC play on the road visiting Southern (La.) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Thursday, Jan. 9, at 7:30 p.m. ET.
 
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