Final Stats
CHARLOTTE, NC – Kelcyn Manurs led the Livingstone women's basketball team with 26 points Saturday as the Blue Bears picked up a hard-fought 76-72 road victory over the Queens University Royals at the Ovens Athletic Center.
Manurs played all 40 minutes Saturday, leading all scorers with her 26 points and also grabbing seven rebounds. Manurs was also perfect at the free-throw line, going 14-14. Jasmine Murray recorded her second double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Tiffany Evans also finished in double-figure scoring with 13 points.
Livingstone jumped out to a 5-0 early lead, but Queens then dominated the first 10 minutes. The Royals took a 22-12 lead with just over 10 minutes left in the first half. The Blue Bears responded with a quick 5-0 run to get within 22-17 and were able to regain a 25-24 edge with 5:54 left in the opening half.
Tiffany Evans connected on the Blue Bears' final field goal of the first half with 4:57 to play in the half and stayed close thanks to solid shooting from the charity stripe. Jasmine Murray gave Livingstone a 32-30 lead with two free throws with 2:56 left, but the Royals scored the last five points of the first half to take a 35-32 lead into the break.
In the second half free-throw shooting was again key for the Blue Bears as they shot more attempts from the charity stripe than from the field, going 21-for-28 from the free-throw line and 11-for-24 from the field. Queens maintained a small lead over the Blue Bears through the first eight minutes.
Livingstone regained a brief lead, 50-49, with 11:16 remaining in the contest, but a 6-0 run by the Royals gave Queens a 55-50 edge with 8:49 on the clock. The Blue Bears responded with an 8-0 run of their own to take a 58-55 lead and the two teams battled back and forth over the final seven minutes.
Queens took a 59-58 lead with just over five minutes left, but two free throws by Kelcyn Manurs and then an old-fashioned three-point play by Murray gave Livingstone a 63-59 edge. The Blue Bears led by three going into the final minute and went 5-for-8 from the charity stripe in the final 60 seconds. With 12 seconds remaining Evans missed the second of her two free throws, but an alert Murray grabbed the board and hit the layup to give the Blue Bears a comfortable 75-69 lead.
Livingstone shot 38.2 percent from the field for the game including 30.8 percent from beyond the three-point line. The Blue Bears showed significant improvement at the charity stripe, going 30-for-38 for the game.
With the victory the Blue Bears improved to 3-5 overall, picking up their first road victory of the season. The Royals fell to 1-6 overall.
Livingstone will take the next week off from games before heading across town to Catawba on Monday, December 12 to face the Indians at 6:00 p.m.
