Box Score MURFREESBORO-The Chowan University women's basketball team defeated defending CIAA Champion, Virginia State University on Wednesday evening in a 71-64 decision.  The Hawks improve to 13-5 overall and 7-1 in CIAA play with the Northern Division victory while the Trojans slide to 8-9 overall and 3-4 in the league with the setback. 

Wednesday's win marked the sixth straight victory for the Hawks.

Dhyamond Crenshaw paced the Hawks with 19 points and 11 rebounds (two offensive, nine defensive) in the victory.  Alisha Mobley netted 13 points and scored her 1,000^th career point.  She is the program's sixth leading all-time scorer after accomplishing the feat.  Jordan Payne added 12 points and nine rebounds (three offensive, six defensive) in the victory. 

Stephanie Brown led all players in the game with 22 points for Virginia State.  Joy Hickman added 11 points with Donae' Moguel notching 10 points and nine rebounds (four offensive, five defensive) in the setback. 

The Hawks took the lead early in the first quarter and never looked back as Chowan maintained the advantage for the entire competition.  A layup by Payne at the 3:46 mark pushed Chowan ahead 12-5, propelling the Hawks to a 15-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Virginia State battled in the second quarter to pull within striking distance.  The Trojans cut the deficit to four points (29-25) with 4:28 on the clock but a 9-2 run by Chowan left Virginia State trailing 38-27 with under one minute remaining before halftime.  The Hawks held a 38-32 advantage at the end of the second quarter and continued the momentum into the third. 

After the halftime break, Chowan rolled to a ten point (46-36) lead by the 6:15 mark after a three-pointer by Mercedes Tapia. The Hawks maintained a double digit lead for the entire third quarter and led 59-45 heading into the final ten minutes of play. 

The Trojans rallied at the start of the fourth quarter, orchestrating a 9-1 run to make the score 60-54 with 3:53 left to play.  A three-pointer by Tapia allowed the Hawks to regroup and kept the Trojans at-bay before securing the 71-64 win. 

Chowan continues CIAA Northern Division play on Saturday as the Hawks travel to compete against Bowie State University.  Tip-off is slated for 2:00pm.