Box Score
RALEIGH, NC – The Livingstone women's basketball team got into serious foul trouble early in Saturday's contest and in the end it proved costly as the Falcons of St. Augustine's College downed the Blue Bears 83-73 in a CIAA Southern Division clash.
Brittany Wright started off very strong for the Blue Bears scoring eight of their first 12 points and the Blue Bears led 12-10 with 13:38 remaining in the first half. St. Augustine's battled back and grabbed a 20-16 advantage with just over 10 minutes left in the half. Livingstone responded with a big 9-0 run in just over two minutes to take a 25-20 lead with 7:17 remaining.
After Jasmine Murray completed a three-point play, the Blue Bears continued to lead 28-24 with 5:52 left in the half, but the Falcons went on a 12-2 run to take a 36-30 lead with 2:12 showing on the clock. Livingstone briefly cut into the Falcon lead, but St. Augustine's held onto the six-point edge at 40-34 at the break.
Livingstone came out strong to start the second half, scoring six of the first eight points to get within two at 42-40 with 17:21 left in the contest. The Falcons didn't falter as they responded with a 7-2 run to open a 49-42 lead with 16:18 remaining. St. Augustine's extended their lead to 53-44 with 13:25 left, but Khalia Boston responded with back-to-back three pointers to get Livingstone within three at 53-50.
The momentum for the Blue Bears was short-lived as from the 10:30 mark to the 5:17 mark of the second half the Falcons outscored the Blue Bears 12-4 and opened a commanding 69-55 lead. Livingstone's foul trouble came into play during this run as Wright, Elbourne, Murray and Rhodes were all on the bench for periods of time each with four fouls.
Throughout the season the Blue Bears have played well with their backs to the wall and Livingstone made a big run. Three-pointers from Kelcyn Manurs and Rashida Elbourne along with a layup from Cassaundra Rhodes got the Blue Bears within six points with 3:21 to play. Livingstone got the defensive stop of the ensuing Falcon possession, but as the Blue Bears brought the ball up the court there was a turnover. St. Augustine's took five-straight points to put the game out of reach as the clock ticked under 90 seconds left.
Brittany Wright picked up her ninth double-double of the season, leading the Blue Bears with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Wright is now only 20 points away from 1,000 points for her career. Jasmine Murray also recorded a double-double Saturday, her third of the season, with 15 points and 11 boards.
The Blue Bears did not have a bad game shooting the ball as they hit 40.5 percent of their shots from the field including 33.3 percent of three-point attempts. The difference in the game came at the free throw line. The Blue Bears had 30 fouls called against them compared to 17 for the Falcons. Livingstone also shot only 14 free throws, converting only six of the attempts while St. Augustine's shot 38 free-throws, hitting 23.
Livingstone's record fell to 15-8 overall, 9-6 in the conference and 3-5 in the Southern Division with the loss while St. Augustine's improved to 16-9 overall, 10-5 in the CIAA and 4-4 in the division.
Livingstone will return home on Monday to host the Broncos of Fayetteville State University for a 5:30 p.m. contest.
