CHARLOTTE, NC – After five minutes of play, the Lady Golden Bulls of Johnson C. Smith University held a 13-0 lead over Chowan in the second round of the CIAA Tournament.  That early lead, paired with 16 first half turnovers, proved to be the difference in the game, as the Hawks could not mount another second half comeback in a 71-52 loss to the Lady Golden Bulls.

Chowan missed their first five shots and committed six turnovers in those opening five minutes, leading to the early deficit.  Ransheda Jennings put Chowan on the board at the 14:54 mark with a layup to cut the JCSU lead to 13-2.  At the 12:43 mark of the half, the Lady Golden Bulls held a 17-2 advantage.  The Hawks, as they have done many times before, did not panic and mounted a furious comeback.

Ransheda Jennings drained a three pointer and Brittany Nicholson added a layup to cap an 11-0 run over 1:54 to bring Chowan within four at 17-13.  Terran Quattlebaum of Johnson C. Smith responded with back to back treys to extend the lead to 26-15 with 9:28 remaining in the half.

A Brittane Neely layup at the 4:13 mark put the Lady Golden Bulls up 36-21 for their largest lead of the half up to that point.  Ransheda Jennings drained a jumper with three minutes on the clock to pull the Hawks within 13, but Chowan would go scoreless the remainder of the half.

“We ran into a buzz saw in the first half,” said Head Coach Patrick Mashuda, referring to the difficulties Chowan had to put points on the board.  Johnson C. Smith went 5-6 from three point land in the first half, while Chowan shot just 1-4 from deep territory.  The Lady Golden Bulls converted 14 points off Chowan miscues in the half. 

Johnson C. Smith continued to knock down shots in the second half, and would not allow Chowan to get back in the game.  “The difference goes back to what Johnson C. Smith was able to do,” quipped Mashuda in response to the loss.  The Lady Golden Bears connected on six of their first seven three point attempts and forced 21 Hawk turnovers for the game.

Chowan out-rebounded Johnson C. Smith 33-32 and blocked five shots, but JCSU shot 47% from the field, including going 50% from beyond the arc.  Ransheda Jennings paced Chowan with 17 points.  Danielle Coleman notched 10 points and grabbed 5 rebounds for the Hawks.  Terran Quattlebaum lead Johnson C. Smith with 15 points.

Johnson C. Smith, the #1S seed, will advance to play Bowie State University (#2N) in the semifinals of the CIAA Tournament on Friday.  Tip-off will be at 3:00pm.