Lady Falcons Battle FSU Before Falling 77-63

Box Score

RALEIGH, N.C. – Saint Augustine's University gained momentum going into the CIAA Tournament despite a 77-63 women's basketball loss to No. 18^th-ranked Fayetteville State University on Senior Day at Emery Gymnasium on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013.

The Lady Falcons pushed their opponent to the limit before the Lady Broncos made one last push in the latter stages. The defeat was the third in a row for the youthful Lady Falcons, but Head Coach Rachel Bullard was proud of the effort.

“We are very inexperience and they capitalized off our mistakes,” Bullard said. “But overall, I thought we showed a lot of heart and pride.”

Terri Jacobs (Fr./McDonough, Ga.) led the Lady Falcons with 17 points and eight rebounds. She added two steals. CIAA rookie of the year Regime McCombs (Fr./Greenville, S.C.) scored 11 points for the Lady Falcons, whose 12-player roster includes five freshmen and three sophomores. The Lady Falcons will play an undetermined opponent on Tuesday, Feb. 26, at the CIAA Tournament. The pairings will be announced on Sunday, Feb. 24.

CIAA player of the year Kristen Hanzer of FSU led all scorers with 30 points. Shuana Ashford scored inside for 22 points and Akysia Resper added 15 for the bigger Lady Broncos, who outrebounded the Falcons 53-43 and scored 46 points in the paint. The Lady Broncos also shot 44 percent from the floor while the Lady Falcons made 32 percent of their shots.

Down by five at halftime, the Lady Falcons closed the gap to 36-35 on two buckets by Li'Esa Barnett (So./Raeford, N.C.). The Lady Broncos widened their lead back to 11 points but the Lady Falcons cut the deficit to 67-63 with less than three minutes left. The Lady Broncos scored the last 10 points for the victory.

The Lady Broncos swept the season series. In the first meeting Feb. 2, the Lady Falcons led by five at halftime but were dominated in the second half of a 13-point loss. This time, the Lady Falcons kept fighting until the horn sounded.

The Lady Falcons, like in the previous meeting between both teams, got off to a roaring start in the rematch. Led by seven points from Jacobs, the Lady Falcons were up 9-1 before the fans settled in their seats. The run woke up the Lady Broncos, who scored the next 16 points for a 17-9 lead. Ashford scored half of the Lady Broncos' points during the spurt.

Then it was the Lady Falcons turn to make a run. The Lady Falcons reeled off six consecutive points to cut a nine-point deficit to 23-20. They pulled within 26-25 on a follow shot by Lakiya Rouse (Fr./Greensboro, N.C.) but the Lady Broncos ended the half on a 6-2 run. The key play was Ashford's three-point play off her rebound with under one minute left. The Lady Broncos went into halftime leading 32-27.

Jacobs led the Lady Falcons with 14 first-half points and Smith-Faulkner had six rebounds. Ashford paced the Lady Broncos with 14 points and Hanzer added 13.

The contest was played on Senior Day for the Lady Falcons. Temperance Jacobs (McDonough, Ga.) and Autumn Smith-Faulkner (Charlotte, N.C.) were honored along with the men's basketball and cheerleading seniors between the men's and women's games.

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