Box Score

MURFREESBORO – The Chowan University women's basketball team erupted for 51 points in the first half and cruised to an 84-57 win over visiting St. Andrews Presbyterian College on Tuesday.  The Hawks never trailed in the game and shot 45.1% from the field.  Chowan moves to 2-4 on the season, while the Knights fall to 0-4.
 
Chowan placed three players in double figure points, led by Janelle Murphy's 17.  She drained three of the team's six three pointers and recorded three rebounds, two assists, and two steals.  “It was great to see Janelle have a great game today,” said Head Coach Patrick Mashuda.  “She has worked hard to come back from an injury last year and she continues to get better every day.”
 
Junior T'Arra Cutting also had a breakout game, netting 15 points on 6-8 shooting.  “I was very happy for T'Arra to get double digits tonight,” added Mashuda.  “ She also has worked hard to come back from a bad injury last year, but she kept believing in herself and in this program.”
 
Pre-Season All-CIAA selection Talaya Lynch scores 13 points and pulled down seven rebounds.  Freshman Summer Curtis had a monster game on the defensive side of the ball, grabbing a team and career high 13 rebounds.  She also blocked six shots, just one shy of the Chowan single-game record.  Said Mashuda, “Summer works hard every day in practice and does exactly what you ask of her.  The one thing you can't teach is being 6'3”, and she has a tremendous upside.  She did a nice job being aggressive going to those 13 rebounds and positioned herself well, not fouling on her blocked shots.”
 
Chowan raced out to an early 13-5 lead on two Cutting free throws.  St. Andrews kept it close, though, and trailed by just eight with 11:46 on the clock.  The Hawks then went on a 10-2 run to open up a 31-15 lead with 9:31 to play in the first half.  Chowan shot 4-5 from the floor during that stretch.
 
A Lynch jumper with 2:34 remaining in the half gave the Hawks a 49-25 advantage.  That capped an 18-4 run over the previous five and a half minutes.  Chowan went into halftime with a commanding 51-28 lead. 
 
The Hawks' offense did not slow down in the second half, as they opened on a 19-5 run in the first five minutes of play to take a 38 point lead.  Chowan maintained a big lead throughout the half, but the Knights did not stop competing.  Late in the game, they went on a 13-4 run, keyed mostly by their defense.  The Knights forced six Chowan turnovers and held Chowan to just 2-9 shooting during that span.
 
Chowan dominated the paint, out-scoring St. Andrews 44-22 inside the key.  The Hawks also scored 33 points off 20 St. Andrews turnovers.  The Knights shot just 16-67 (23.9%) from the floor, and were led by Benee Norton who scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
 
Chowan will travel to Morrow, Georgia to face the defending Division II National Champion Clayton State Lakers on Friday, December 2^nd.  Tip-off is set for 5:30pm.