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West Virginia State University Athletics

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WBB2122 Shears, C.
Photo: Todd Griffith
90
Winner West Virginia St. WVSt 9-3,5-2 MEC
84
Alderson Broaddus ABU 6-7,4-5 MEC
Winner
West Virginia St. WVSt
9-3,5-2 MEC
90
Final
84
Alderson Broaddus ABU
6-7,4-5 MEC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
West Virginia St. WVSt 31 22 15 22 90
Alderson Broaddus ABU 19 14 22 29 84

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | James Garcia, Sports Information Director

Yellow Jackets fend off late Battlers charge for win No. 9

PHILIPPI, W.Va. – The West Virginia State University women's basketball team traveled to the campus of Alderson Broaddus on Saturday afternoon and came away with its ninth victory of the season, 90-84. The Yellow Jackets dominated in the first half but had to fend off the Battlers in the second half to win it.

WVSU improves to 9-3 overall, 5-2 in the Mountain East Conference with the win. Meanwhile, AB drops to 6-6 on the season, 4-5 in the MEC with the loss.

Senior guard Charity Shears matched her season-high of 23 points to lead West Virginia State's scoring effort. She shot 4-of-9 from three-point range and helped out defensively with three steals. Junior forward Destiny Fields was the team's next leading scorer with 13 points. She came up with a season-high five steals. Senior Alana Kramer and junior Ashley Davis also scored in double-figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

The Yellow Jackets stormed out of the gates in the first quarter and seized a double-digit advantage, 19-9, within five minutes of the opening tip. They kept up the pressure throughout the first ten minutes and increased their advantage to 12 points, 31-19, before the opening quarter came to a close. 

WVSU caused ten turnovers and scored 18 points off those turnovers to pull away from the Battlers in the first period. Charity Shears led the early charge with 13 points, including three buckets from behind the arc.

West Virginia State pulled even further in front during the second quarter. A 9-2 run in the first five minutes put WVSU on top by 19, 40-21. Shelby Harmeyer kept the momentum going from the first quarter by draining a three-point shot in the opening 15 seconds of the second period.

The momentum carried through to halftime and resulted in a 20-point lead, 53-33, for WVSU at the break. ZZ Russell assisted on a three-pointer by Ashley Davis and a jumper from Destiny Fields in the final minute of the first half after making a steal and a defensive rebound, respectively.

Alderson Broaddus caught its collective breath in the third period and outscored West Virginia State, 22-15. The Yellow Jackets shot just 23 percent from the floor while the Battlers made 64 percent of their shots from the field. 

Despite the shooting slump, WVSU still held a 13-point lead, 68-55, going into the last ten minutes. Destiny Fields came up with a steal in the closing seconds and dished to Charity Shears for a long-range three to add to the cushion going into the fourth.

AB kept its momentum going in the fourth quarter and went on a 12-4 run in the first four-and-a-half minutes to shrink State's lead to five points, 72-67. The Yellow Jackets were subsequently left with the tough task of having to defend a slim lead in the final five minutes of the contest.

WVSU turned out to be up for the task and found answers to each of Alderson Broaddus's baskets during the critical minutes of the game. Alana Kramer and ZZ Russell combined for 13 points in the last five minutes to help their team hang on to win it.

West Virginia State forced 30 turnovers in the game and scored 35 points off those turnovers. Even more telling was the 40 fastbreak points scored by the Yellow Jackets while they constantly paced the Battlers.

WVSU will have to turn around quickly for its next game at Davis & Elkins on Monday, Jan. 17th. The rescheduled road contest is set to tip-off at 6 p.m.

 
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