Lady Falcons Stop Johnson C. Smith 77-69

Boxscore

RALEIGH, N.C. – Women's Head Coach Rachel Bullard and her coaching staff are excited about their young basketball team at Saint Augustine's University these days.

The Lady Falcons, whose roster includes five freshmen and three sophomores, have won four of their last five games including two consecutive victories to move into a first-place tie in the Southern Division. Their latest victim was Johnson C. Smith University before a capacity crowd at Emery Gymnasium on Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013. The Lady Falcons were victorious 77-69 in a CIAA Southern Division game that wasn't as close as the score indicated.

The Lady Falcons (9-8 overall, 5-3 CIAA, 2-0 Southern Division) led from start to finish. They shot out to a 15-4 lead and were never threatened. The margin grew to 20 points in the last five minutes before the Lady Golden Bulls (5-12, 2-6 CIAA, 0-2 Southern Division) staged a late run to cut the lead to single digits.

The rally by the Golden Bulls was the only thing that Bullard was disappointed about. It made the score respectable but the outcome was never in doubt after the fast start. The Lady Falcons put on another defensive display, forcing 29 JCSU turnovers and turning them into 29 points. Ranked 21^st in Division II in steals per game, the Lady Falcons tallied 12 steals against JCSU, including four from senior forward Temperance Jacobs (McDonough, Ga.) and three from freshman guard Porscha Walton (Chesterfield, Va.), who also had 14 points.

“I am fired up about our team because we are starting to gel,” Bullard said. “We are starting to play fundamental defense. Instead of guarding too close, we are defending off the opponent and jumping to the ball.”

Freshman guard Regime McCombs (Greenville, S.C.) sparked the Lady Falcons with 16 points off the bench. Freshman forward Terri Jacobs (McDonough, Ga.) added 11 points in a reserve role. The duo was the biggest reason the Lady Falcons held a huge edge in bench points (45-20). Senior guard Autumn Smith-Faulkner (Charlotte, N.C.), who started, added 9 points as all but one player scored. Junior guard Ebony Spencer (Chesapeake, Va.) chipped in six points while freshman guard Jeanne-Marie Wilson (Temple Hills, Md.) and sophomore forward Briana Arrington (Richmond, Va.) both added five points.

Brittany Dorsett paced the Lady Golden Bulls with 20 points. LaKendra Wilkerson added 14 points and Deanna Downer scored 10 points.

The Lady Falcons played as a unit for much of the contest. They shared the ball on offense and were relentless on defense. Their 43.6 percent shooting was the fourth highest this season for the Lady Falcons, who are 8-0 when leading at halftime (31-20).

Another impressive statistic was their free throw shooting. The Lady Falcons hit 24 of 31 free throws for 77.4 percent. They made more free throws than the Golden Bulls attempted (16 of 19).

“I am proud of our team,” Bullard said. “They played hard. It is a confidence booster. It is tough to win in the CIAA.”

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