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HALL'S 21 & 10 NOT ENOUGH TO WINThe Lady Bulls of Johnson C. Smith University bombarded the Land of Troy to compete against the illustrious Lady Trojans of Virginia State University. With their 13 or some odd number game-winning streak recently snapped by NCCU's Cassie King and Livingstone's Love Brown, JCSU revengefully raided Daniel Gymnasium to defeat the Lady Trojans 83 – 72. VSU’s Bloomfield ballplayer #43 Felicia “Stretch” Gibbs took center court in attempt to take possession of the opening tip-off. Teammate #20 Jennifer “Ride or Die” Rhodan was the first wrecking ball to JCSU’s defense as she scored with a determined drive to the basket. Lady Bull #22 Shemika Jones responded with two consecutive shots for JCSU. At 9:24, VSU was forced to take its first timeout, as the Lady Bulls led 1ed 21 – 14. The Lady Trojans used the breather to rally back to be within two points at 3:40 and then just 1 point at 1:40 with the score 27 – 26 JCSU. VSU’s flourishing run for the lead frustrated the Lady Bulls' 4th year Head Coach into taking her second timeout at 1:40. Shortly after the second horn sounded to end JCSU’s full timeout, the Lady Trojans applied "up close and personal" pressure to aid the Lady Bulls in being charged with a shot clock violation. The turnover was a turning point as VSU surfaced with its first lead 28 – 27 with 55 seconds left in the first half. The Lady Bulls rushed the ball up the court for a quick two points, but VSU’s #10 Asheley Alexander knotted the game at 29 – 29 after hitting 1 of 2 free throws. After the conclusion of halftime, both teams bolted out of the locker room to resume the race towards triumph. JCSU’s #21 Lauren Goss broke the first half tie when she made one of two free throws at the beginning of the second half. #22 Shemika Jones increased the Lady Bulls’ lead after she retrieved her own missed shot and rapidly released the put back. The 32 – 29 score was equaled at 32 all when #52 Areyal “Around the World” Hall dropped in two points and sunk a free throw to complete the three-point play. Hall continued to be an offensive headache for the Lady Bulls as she showed over and over that her 8 points in the first half was not satisfactory. The Mass Communications major’s defenseless offensive spin move became the backbone of VSU’s scoring strategy. JCSU accepted their weakness of having the inability to stop Hall’s dominance in the paint. However, the Lady Bulls played shutdown defense on other players to single out Hall as VSU’s single scoring source. In addition, for every bucket Hall bounced in, JCSU bounced in two or three shots themselves. VSU called for a timeout at 10:23 when the Lady Bulls were up 55 – 48. Lady Trojan #21 Erica “Guru Guard” Glasper brought the Lady Trojans back within five when she got two home rim rolls at the charity stripe. Just minutes later, Lady Trojans’ fans witnessed JCSU to be in the advantage 61 – 50. The Lady Bulls’ Pre-season All-Conference player #21 Lauren Goss used creative and consecutive scoring tactics to keep the Lady Trojans at a pool stick length of their lead. Leading in scoring for the Lady Bulls was #21 Lauren Goss with 26 points. Other scoring was provided by #4 Melanie Harrison with 14 points, #10 Tiana Pope with 13 points, #13 Terri Edwards with 12 points, and #22 Shemika Jones with 11 points. Goss grabbed 12 rebounds to led JCSU defensively as Wright and Harrison combined for 13 assists. Leading in scoring for the Lady Trojans was #52 Areyal Hall with 21 points. Additional offense was submitted by #10 Asheley Alexander with 15 points, #20 Jennifer Rhodan with 14 points, and #21 Erica Glasper and #24 Ravin Yancey combined for 14 points. Yancey teamed up with Alexander to accumulate 10 assists while Hall hustled for 10 rebounds.
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