CHARLOTTE, NC – Shameka McNeill scored 20 points and Jasmine Carter added 17 points as nationally-ranked Virginia Union began its quest for a third straight CIAA Tournament title with a resounding 83-43 women’s basketball quarterfinal victory over Virginia State at Bojangles’ Coliseum on Wednesday, February 26.
With the easy win, the Northern Division top seed Lady Panthers head to Friday’s semifinals to meet the Bowie State-Johnson C. Smith winner at 3 p.m. inside the Spectrum Center. The Trojans’ season comes to a close at 10-20 overall.
The Lady Panthers (23-3 overall) were never challenged in winning their seventh consecutive game. They spurted out to a 14-0 lead that stretched to 39-12 at halftime. The Northern Division champs led by 45 points late in the second half.
“We came out blazing to start the game,” said VUU Head Coach AnnMarie Gilbert, whose Lady Panthers are ranked 12th nationally in the WBCA Coaches Poll and 19th in the D2SIDA Poll. “To lead 39-12 at halftime, you couldn’t have asked for anything better.”
Peyton Evans registered 12 points and Dy’Manee Royal grabbed 10 rebounds for the Lady Panthers, who shot 43.9 percent and scored 37 points on 33 VSU turnovers. McNeill had five steals and Harmany Williams and Evans each collected three steals for VUU, which totaled 19 steals as a team.
“They punched us in the mouth and we didn’t regroup,” Virginia State Head Coach James Hill, Jr. said.
Yazmen Hannah scored 14 points and Chiqueria Cook added 10 points for the Trojans, who shot 27.3 percent and were outrebounded 47-35. The 40-point loss is a season-low for Virginia State, the No. 5 Northern Division seed.
Courtesy: VUU Athletics
