Boxscore
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - CIAA player of the week Allison Sikes (Richmond, Va.) performed like the best player in the conference during a 67-48 win over Fayetteville State Monday in a CIAA women's basketball game at Capel Arena.
Sikes scored 24 points on 10 of 17 shooting to go along with a career-high 11 steals and eight rebounds for the Lady Falcons (15-9 overall, 9-5 CIAA, 3-4 Southern Division), who recorded 28 steals. She flirted with a triple-double for the second straight contest. On Saturday, Sikes had 24 points, 10 rebounds and nine steals in a 15-point win over No. 25th-ranked Johnson C. Smith.
The Lady Falcons, winners of three straight games, used their reliable defense to stymie the Lady Broncos, who had 33 turnovers. Led by Sikes and junior guard Brittany Torain (Warner Robins, Ga.), who had five steals, the Lady Falcons turned the Lady Bronco turnovers into 22 points. Senior guard-forward Le'Kiesha White (Richmond, Va.) added five assists and three steals for the Lady Falcons, who had six players get two or more steals.
Sikes scored 17 points in the first half including 11 in the first 10 minutes to help the Lady Falcons build a 22-11 lead. The Falcons then went on a 20-7 run capped by Sikes' three-pointer at the horn for a 42-18 halftime lead.
The Lady Falcons started sluggishly in the second half as the Lady Broncos (6-17, 4-10 CIAA, 1-6 Southern Division) closed within 43-32 courtesy of a 14-1 run. Sikes silenced the rally with a three-pointer which sparked a 13-6 Lady Falcons spurt for a 56-38 lead with 6:36 to go in the contest. The Lady Falcons were never threatened the rest of the game.
Sikes lead four Lady Falcons in double figures. Freshman center Umeka Benson (Charlotte, N.C.), the CIAA rookie of the week, scored 12 points off the bench while sophomore forward Scharlawn Hubbard (Akron, Ohio) and Torain both scored 10 points. Torain added five rebounds and a career-high seven assists in addition to her five steals.
Tiffany Haywood had 17 points and nine rebounds for the Lady Broncos, who had the rebounding edge (49-38) against the CIAA's top team in rebounding margin, but they were bothered by the turnovers and cold shooting. The Lady Broncos shot 32 percent.
The Lady Falcons shot 34 percent but their defense was a factor as it has been all season. They are third in the CIAA in steals (12.8 spg) and turnover margin (+3.9).
The Lady Falcons play their final home game Saturday against Livingstone in Emery Gymnasium on Senior Night at 2 p.m. It will be the last home game for seniors Sikes, White and guard Crystal McCaffity (Havelock, N.C.).
