The Lady Spartans basketball team defeated the North Carolina Central Eagles 58-45 for the second time this season on February 7th at home in Joseph Echols Halls. The first match was on January 3rd in Durham, North Carolina and the Spartans won 68-48.
“I told them before the game that I thought that we hadn’t had a win where we had to gut it out,” said women’s basketball head coach, Jermaine Woods. “Today we just talked about them being grown women, and stepping onto the plate, and holding themselves accountable, and we’re going to have to win a tough game.”
The eagles won the jump ball to start the game, but the Spartans put the first points on the board when guard Anjanae Richardson made an easy layup. Eagles forward, Aniya Finger, gave them their first points with a layup of her own, then took the lead for her team making a three-pointer soon after.
Richardson and Spartan guard, Jasha Clinton, blocked the Eagles in efforts to stop them from increasing their lead, and it led to Richardson making a two-point jumper to tie the Eagles 6-6. The teams had three ties and four lead changes, but the Eagles finished the quarter ahead 10-13.
Spartan guard Da’Brya Clark made the first shots of the second quarter with two free-throws, then tied the score 15-15 with a three-pointer. Eagles guard Aysia Hinton made a three-pointer to break the tie, but the Spartans went on a 9-0 scoring run to gain a six-point lead.
Eagles forward, Morgan Callahan, interrupted the scoring run by making a basket while being fouled. She missed the free throw, and the Spartans finished the half in the lead 27-23.
“The quote was adversity roads, leads to a beautiful thing, and it leads to the ladder, which we want to be on March 14th — so today we fought some adversity,” said Woods. “We’re proud of them for their effort and just staying together and continuing to bear down and fight.”
Coming out of halftime, Richardson made the first points again for the Spartans with another layup. After the Eagles went on a 4-0 scoring run, the Spartans bench received a technical foul and Eagles guard, Najah Lane, made two shots to tie the score 33-33.
The Eagles tied the Spartans again 35-35, and Clark broke both ties. The first was with a layup and the second was by making two free throws to regain the Spartans lead 37-35. Within a minute left of the quarter, Clinton made a layup off a fast break to end the quarter 43-38 Spartans on top.
The Spartans took over the 4th quarter, going on a 7-1 scoring run in the first half of the quarter and reaching a 13-point lead, which was the largest margin of the game.
Clinton made a sneaky assist to guard Jenesis Hill in the paint for a layup, then got a layup of her own during the Spartan’s next possession of the ball. The Eagles fought hard to stay in the game, but the momentum was on the Spartans side, helping them take the game 58-45.
“Every game here on up, we need to try to win, because that’s the way we get in 1st place. We control our destiny and so we want to continue to move up the ladder,” said Woods, talking about their next game against the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. “That game is just as important as any other game, but it’s going to be the most important game because it’s the next game and I think we’re ready.”
Spartan leaders of the game were Da’Brya Clark with 23 points; 11 rebounds; three assists; three steals; and two blocks, and Jasha Clinton with eight points; seven rebounds; four steals; three assists; and two blocks.
Eagle leaders of the game were Morgan Callahan with 11 points; five rebounds; four steals; and one block, and Aniya Finger with a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds.
The Lady Spartans’ next game will be against the University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks on February 12th at 6:00pm in Princess Anne, MD. Their next home game will be Alumni Night against the Delaware State Hornets on February 14th at 2:00pm.
Spartan Echo 