Box Score
MURFREESBORO, NC – The Livingstone women's basketball team shot 73 percent from the floor in the second half Monday and overcame a 13-point second-half deficit to defeat the Chowan Hawks 91-86.
The 73 percent shooting from the field in the second half is a school record for shooting percentage in one half of play.
Senior guard Kayler McBride led the Blue Bears with 25 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor including 3-of-6 from three-point range. Junior forward Brittany Wright also added 22 points and came up two rebounds short of a double-double with 8 boards. Junior forward Cassaundra Rhodes and freshman guard Khalia Boston also scored in double figures with 13 and 10 points respectively.
With the victory the Blue Bears improved to 2-0 in the CIAA Western Division, 4-8 in the conference and 8-10 overall. The Hawks fell to 7-11 overall, 4-9 in the conference and 0-3 in the Western Division.
The Blue Bears got off to a strong start in the first half against the Hawks, jumping out to an early 7-1 lead, but a 15-4 run by Chowan quickly erased the Livingstone lead and turned it into a five-point deficit at 16-11.
Cassaundra Rhodes knocked home a jumper with 9:13 to play in the first half which kick started a 12-1 run and gave the Blue Bears a 25-19 edge with 5:36 to play in the half. The Livingstone lead was quickly erased by another Hawk run, this time going on a 13-0 spurt to recapture a 32-25 advantage with 1:56 remaining before halftime.
Despite the seven-point deficit, the Blue Bears were able to get within two with 30 seconds left after a three-pointer by Kayler McBride, but the Hawks closed the half with a three-point play with four seconds left to take a five-point edge into the break.
Brittany Wright led the Blue Bears with nine points in the first half while Cassaundra Rhodes added six. Rashida Elbroune pulled down four rebounds to lead Livingstone on the boards. Ransheeda Jennings for the Hawks scored 18 points in the first half.
The two teams battled back and forth over the first five minutes of the second half, but Chowan was slowly able to build a double-digit lead. With 13:16 to play in the second half, the Blue Bears were whistled for a foul and head coach Angelyne Brown's subsequent reaction earned the coach her first technical foul of the season. After the ensuing technical free throws the Hawks held a 62-49 lead.
After the technical foul the Blue Bears went on a 6-0 run to get within seven points with 12:20 to play in the contest. Livingstone tried to stay within striking distance, but Chowan was able to get their lead back to double digits at 74-62 with 10:20 remaining to play.
Despite trailing by 12 points the Blue Bears rattled off a 12-2 run over the next five minutes to get within two points at 76-74 with 5:36 showing on the clock. Chowan got their lead back to four at 78-74, but the Blue Bears took six of the next seven points to regain their first lead since the 4:45 mark of the first half.
Down the stretch the Blue Bears were tested by a persistent Chowan squad. In the final two minutes Livingstone was forced to convert its free-throw attempts to secure the victory. The Hawks were able to get within two with 11 seconds left, but Kelcyn Manurs and Brittany Wright hit three of four free throws around a Hawk turnover to take the win.
The Livingstone women will return to the court on Thursday when they travel to Fayetteville State for a 5:30 p.m. tip against the Broncos.
