Box Score
FAYETTEVILLE, NC – The Livingstone women's basketball team dropped its first western division contest Thursday evening as they fell at the Fayetteville State Broncos 82-66.
Senior center Samantha Joseph recorded a double-double for the Blue Bears with 10 points and 11 rebounds, both of which were career highs for Joseph. Freshman guard Kelcyn Manurs added 16 points and senior guard Kayler McBride scored 10.
Livingstone was unable to keep the Broncos off the offensive glass in the first half and after a brief Blue Bear lead, Fayetteville came on strong. The Blue Bears led early 5-2, but Fayetteville came back with an 8-0 run to grab a 10-5 lead. Livingstone was able to overcome the Bronco attack and tied the game at 15-15 with 11:34 to play.
The Blue Bears regained a one-point edge with 10:35 to go on a Khalia Boston three-pointer, but they went cold over the next two minutes. Fayetteville was able to capitalize, going on a 9-0 run to take a 26-18 lead with 8:38 remaining in the half. Livingstone was able to get within four at 26-22, but scored only two points over the final seven minutes and trailed 40-24 at halftime.
Kayler McBride led Livingstone with five points in the first half while Brittany Wright gabbed six rebounds to lead the team. Livingstone was outrebounded 37-26 in the first half including allowing 20 offensive rebounds to the Broncos.
In the second half, the Blue Bears stayed within striking distance for the first few minutes, but cold shooting and the Bronco presence inside was too much for Livingstone. Fayetteville used a 20-7 run mid-way through the half to open up a 30-point advantage with 9:39 to play. Livingstone was able to get the deficit under 20 points late in the half, but it was a not enough.
With the loss, the Blue Bears fell to 8-12 overall, 4-9 in the conference and 2-1 in the division. Fayetteville, with the victory, is the only unbeaten team in the western division as they improved to 3-0 with a 12-6 overall record and 8-4 conference mark.
The Blue Bears will be back in action on Saturday when they host the Johnson C. Smith Golden Bulls at 5:30 p.m. at Trent Gymnasium.
