DURHAM, N.C. – Chicago State women's basketball closed its non-conference slate here this afternoon, but dropped a 77-64 decision to host North Carolina Central at McDougald-McLendon Gym. The Cougars fell to 10-17 on the year, while the Lady Eagles hiked their season record to 9-15.
After the visitors captured an early 2-0 lead just 30 seconds into the first half on a layup by sophomore Natalie Marlowe (South Milwaukee, WI/South Milwaukee) (South Milwaukee, Wis.), NCCU responded with a 12-2 run in 5:11 to gain a 12-4 lead following a pair of free throws by senior Latoya Bennett at the 14:19 mark.
The Cougars then scored eight unanswered points in less than three minutes to slice their deficit to 14-13 that ended with a layup by junior Tressa Beckel (Waseca, Minn./Wisconsin) (Waseca, Minn.) with 11:28 remaining. The home team then scored 26 of the next 46 points over a 10-plus minute stretch to increase its leading margin to 40-33 before junior Courtney Waldon (Sun Prairie, WI/Sun Prairie) (Sun Prairie, Wis.) hit a three-pointer at the buzzer as NCCU headed into intermission with a 40-36 lead.
CSU opened the second half by breaking a 44-all tie with a 12-4 scoring drive that lasted 5:06 behind five points from senior Alyssa Waldon (Sun Prairie, WI/Sun Prairie) (Sun Prairie, Wis.) to post a 56-48 advantage at the 10:22 after sophomore Janay Dockery (Detroit, MI/Martin Luther King) (Detroit, Mich.) connected on a jumper. The Lady Eagles bounced back with a 29-8 scoring run in the game's final 10:04 with eight points from Bennett and sophomore Blaire Houston, respectively, to provide the margin of victory.
Beckel led Chicago State with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field, while Courtney Waldon (Sun Prairie, WI/Sun Prairie) added 12 points and Alyssa Waldon (Sun Prairie, WI/Sun Prairie) tallied nine points with three assists. Junior Elana Wroten (Chicago, IL/Morgan Park) (Chicago, Ill.) recorded seven points for the Cougars. Dockery finished with eight rebounds, six points, a game-high four steals and three assists
North Carolina Central was led by junior Shanise Blanks' game-high 22 points and four steals. Bennett added 14 points and Houston recorded 13 points. Freshman Joanna Miller posted a double-double of 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds with six assists.
CSU opens a three-game homestand at the Emil and Patricia Jones Convocation Center on Thursday, Feb. 25 with a Great West Conference showdown against league-leading North Dakota with a start time of 5 p.m.
~CSU~
