RALEIGH, N.C. – Saint Augustine's University and Shaw University square off in a CIAA women's basketball contest at Spaulding Gymnasium on Saturday, January 24, 2015 at 2 p.m.
This is the first meeting of the season between the crosstown rivals. They will play again at Emery Gymnasium on the Harvey D. Heartley, Sr. Court on Saturday, February 14, 2015.
The Lady Falcons will attempt to turn the tables on the Lady Bears this season after losing two tightly contested games last season. The Lady Falcons enter the game on a wave of momentum after knocking off highly-regarded Johnson C. Smith University 84-82 at Emery Gymnasium on Wednesday, January 21. The Lady Falcons handed the Golden Bulls only their third loss of the season.
The contest features two of the CIAA's highest scoring teams. The Lady Falcons are third (74.6) in points per game and the Lady Bears, the four-time defending CIAA champions, are fourth (73.4 ppg). The game also showcases two of the best inside players in the conference. Forward Terri Jacobs (Jr./McDonough, GA) ranks 14th nationally in Division II in offensive rebounds per game (4) and Verdine Warner of Shaw ranks second in Division II in double-doubles (14), third in field goal percentage (63.4), fourth in points per game (22.1) and eighth in rebounds per game (12.7).
Jacobs is part of a Lady Falcons' quartet that combined to score 71 points in the win over Johnson C. Smith. Jacobs was phenomenal against Johnson C. Smith, posting career-highs of 22 points and 21 rebounds. It was her eighth double-double of the season and second in a row. Guards Regime McCombs (Jr./Greenville, SC) and Porscha Walton (Jr./Chesterfield, VA) added 20 and 18 points, respectively, while guard Jeanne-Marie Wilson (Jr./Temple Hills, MD) scored 11 points.
The fantastic four has led the Lady Falcons (2-0 Southern Division, 4-3 CIAA, 10-6 overall) to a first-place tie in the Southern Division standings. Jacobs, who averages 11.9 points and 9.8 rebounds, ranks fourth in the CIAA in rebounds and fifth in field goal percentage (56.5). McCombs and Walton average 13.5 and 13.4 points per game, respectively, with McCombs ranking fourth in the league in three-point shooting percentage (39.0). Walton also averages 4.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.1 steals while Wilson averages 11.6 points and 5.1 rebounds. Walton ranks seventh in the CIAA in steals.
The Lady Falcons will have their hands full with Warner, Shaw's 6-foot-4 center who leads the CIAA in rebounding and field goal percentage and ranks second in scoring. She has been unstoppable in the post, but the Lady Bears (1-1 Southern Division, 4-4 CIAA, 11-9 overall) have a strong supporting cast around her. Guard Tabatha Anderson averages 10.4 points, 3.8 assists and 2.4 steals per game and guard Micah Brooks averages 9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4 assists and 1.8 steals per game. Brooks and Anderson are fourth and fifth, respectively, in the CIAA in assists. Anderson is also fifth in the CIAA in steals. Forward Umeka Benson, who was the CIAA Women's Rookie of the Year as a freshman with the Lady Falcons, is the Lady Bears' second-leading rebounder (6.5) and averages seven points.
Warner sparked the Lady Bears with 20 points and 13 rebounds in an 84-76 victory over Winston-Salem State University on Wednesday. Micah Brooks and Bryanna Guyton both added 16 points and Fantasha Tyson chipped in 13 points.
