Photo: Sam Santilli

Box Score

West Virginia St. WVSt 22-7,17-5 MEC

Shippensburg Shipp 25-6,18-4 PSAC

West Virginia St. WVSt

22-7,17-5 MEC

Final

Mar. 10, 2023

Shippensburg Shipp

25-6,18-4 PSAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	4	F
West Virginia St. WVSt	14	24	18	27	83
Shippensburg Shipp	16	24	25	22	87

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | 3/10/2023 10:27:00 PM | James Garcia, Sports Information Director

West Virginia State bows out of NCAA Tournament with defeat to Shippensburg

GLENVILLE, W.Va. – The West Virginia State University women's basketball team (22-7, 17-5 MEC) suffered a devastating 87-83 defeat to Shippensburg (25-6, 18-4 PSAC) in the first round of the NCAA DII Championship on Friday night at the Waco Center. The Yellow Jackets hung with the Raiders for the entire game, but were outlasted in the end.

Emyah Fortenberry led the Yellow Jackets in scoring with 16 points and added 22 rebounds to set a new school record. Anysa Jordan also registered a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards. Shelby Harmeyer knocked down four three-pointers on her way to 14 points. ZZ Russell also reached double-figures in scoring with 13 points.

The first quarter was a low-scoring affair with neither team able to pull away from the other. Each team made a total of six shots from the floor. West Virginia State hit two treys while Shippensburg knocked down one. Ashley Davis and Anysa Jordan made the shots from behind the arc for State.

Free throws allowed the Raiders to go into the second quarter with the lead. They made 3-of-4 shots from the charity stripe while State never made it to the free throw line in the opening 10 minutes. The result was a two-point deficit, 16-14, for WVSU at the end of the first stanza.

The pace of play picked up in the second quarter. Shippensburg went ahead in the first three minutes with a 9-4 run that left the Yellow Jackets trailing by seven points, 25-18. State responded over the next two minutes with a 9-2 run that tied the score at 27-apiece. Emyah Fortenberry led the charge with four points and Shelby Harmeyer contributed with a three-point bucket.

Emily Anthony's three-point bucket from distance tied the score again,32-32, at the four-minute mark. A minute later, WVSU scored six unanswered to go in front. Imani Reid completed a three-point play before Harmeyer converted a long-range three to put her team up by four points, 38-34.

In the final two minutes of the first half, the Raiders scored six unanswered to take a slight lead into halftime. State went into the break down by two, 40-38.

In the third quarter, Shippensburg shot over 50 percent from the field to begin to pull away from the Yellow Jackets. The first double-digit lead for either team came after the Raiders started the third period on a 10-2 run. State suddenly trailed by ten points, 50-40, with around seven minutes remaining in the third.

Back-to-back three pointers from ZZ Russell and Imani Reid ensued and quickly closed the gap to four points, 50-46. The Raiders then regained the momentum and stretched their lead to 11 points, 62-51, with a little under two minutes to go in the third.

Harmeyer nailed a jumper and a trey down the stretch to keep the game from completely slipping away. Shippensburg answered with a jumper and a single free throw in the closing seconds to go up by nine, 65-56, at the end of the third.

The Raiders comfortably held on to the lead for most of the fourth quarter. However, a late charge by State made the ending of the game interesting. Nine unanswered points, including seven points from Jordan alone, cut the deficit to three, 81-78, with a minute to go.

Fortenberry made some clutch layups in the final seconds to get within two points twice, but the Raiders made their free throws to hang on to win it.

The Yellow Jackets can now look back on an incredible season in which they tied the school record for wins and made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in nearly two decades. If the last two seasons have taught us anything, it's that next year will be even better.

Print Friendly Version