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Lady Eagles soar to victory

NCCU rolls past Savannah State

Published: Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Updated: Wednesday, January 20, 2010

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Mitchell Webson/Echo staff photograper

Sophomore guard Blaire Houston takes it to the hoop.

McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium was the scene of a dream game for the N.C. Central University Lady Eagles basketball team as they eked out a close one with a 50-46 victory over the Tigers of Savannah State.

 In front of former and current Eagles on MLK’s b’day, the Lady Eagles jumped out to an early lead on the Tigers with a barrage of turnovers and fast break buckets.“We were attacking the SSU defense by driving and kicking out for buckets,” said freshman guard Joanna Miller.

The Tigers struggled to break through the Lady Eagles impenetrable press defense that forced Savannah State to shoot only 19 percent from the floor in the first half, while the Lady Eagles shot over 50 percent. Both teams finished the game shooting less than 40 percent.

The great rebounding of NCCU forwards junior Latoya Bennett and freshman J’mia Pollock, who had 10 and 14 rebounds respectively, was a great game changer.
Pollock was an intimidating force in the middle as she added four blocks and made it difficult for SSU post players to make shots the entire game.

The Eagles took an impressive 12 point lead into halftime with a score of 34-22, despite the Tigers winning the second chance points battle 13-7.

In the second half, the Lady Eagles came out pressing and pushing the ball up and down the court led by the scoring duo of sophomore guard Blaire Houston and freshman guard Joanna Miller.Both guards scored a game high 15 points.

The Eagles at one point took a 16 point lead after a 19-4 run, only to have the Tigers slowly chip away at the lead to come within four points led by junior guard Courtney Long. Long shot 5-20 from the field and finished with 13 points.

The Lady Eagles regained their composure and finished off the Tigers by knocking down crucial foul shots.

“We took a lot of bad shots in the second half but we kept our heads and never stopped playing hard,” said Miller.

The win marked the Lady Eagles fourth in a row and 6th win of the season taking their record to 6-11.
“It feels great to be on a winning streak after having all of these close games this season,” said Miller.

Miller also added that she feels that her freshman season is going well and that she is happy to be a part of team that is making a change.
 

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