Box Score
SALISBURY, NC – The Livingstone women's basketball team pulled out a big upset victory over the top team in the Western Division Monday, downing the Fayetteville State Broncos 69-61.
The victory improved the Blue Bears' overall record to 10-15, their conference record to 6-12 and their division record to 4-4. Fayetteville fell to 15-8 overall, 11-6 in the CIAA and 6-2 in the division.
Seniors Kayler McBride and Samantha Joseph went out in style as they picked up the first victory for the Blue Bears over a team with a winning record this season.
Senior guard Kayler McBride led the Blue Bears with 20 points while junior forward Brittany Wright scored 16 points coming off the bench. Freshman guard Kelcyn Manurs added nine points and sophomore guard Rashida Elbourne scored seven points.
Fayetteville came out hot to start the first half and looked to take early control of the contest. The Broncos jumped out to a 5-0 lead and continued to lead by six at 17-11 with 11:07 to play in the first half. Livingstone responded with a 17-2 run over the next 7:50 of the first half and grabbed a 28-19 lead over the Broncos with 3:17 showing on the clock.
The Broncos still had some fight in the them as the big run by the Blue Bears didn't get to them. With 1:05 left in the first half the Blue Bear lead was down to only one and with 23 seconds left the Broncos regained a one-point edge. Two free throws for the Blue Bears with 19 seconds left gave them back their one-point lead. Fayetteville was able to regain a one-point halftime lead after connecting on a jumper with three seconds left in the half.
Kelcyn Manurs and Brittany Wright each scored nine points in the first half to lead the Blue Bears. Kayler McBride also added six points in the opening stanza.
Fayetteville came out and jumped on the Blue Bears early in the second half, stretching their lead to seven points less than two minutes into the half. This didn't slow the Blue Bears down as they turned around and went on a 10-0 run to grab a three-point edge with 14:23 left in the contest.
Livingstone was able to increase its lead to seven points with 8:56 to play, but the Broncos didn't go away quietly. The Blue Bears continued to lead with 3:45 left in the second half at 61-51, but with 1:13 to play their lead was down to five. Missed shots late for the Broncos hurt them as they were forced to foul in the final minute. The Blue Bears hit all four of their free throws late to solidify the victory.
The Blue Bears defense stifled the Broncos in the second half as it held them to only 5-of-29 shooting from the field including 0-for-11 from beyond the arc. The Broncos got 19 of their 29 points from the free-throw line in the second half.
Livingstone shot 53.8 percent from the field in the second half and 39.3 percent from the field for the game. The Blue Bears also shot 31.3 percent from beyond the three-point line and 66.7 percent from the charity stripe. The Blue Bears dominated the Broncos in the paint 26-14 and the Blue Bear bench outscored the Bronco bench 27-2.
The women will head out on the road on Friday when they travel to play St. Augustine's college in a make-up game from earlier this season. Tip-off Friday is slated for 5:30 p.m.
