Final Stats

ETTRICK, VA – The Virginia State women's basketball team opened the second half on a 21-5 run, overcoming a Livingstone halftime lead, to down the Blue Bears 65-53 Thursday evening.

Virginia State took an early 7-2 lead over Livingstone, but the Blue Bears were able to hang tough.  Livingstone took its first lead of the contest at 15-14 with 10:38 left in the first half on a basket by Tyesha Tharpe. 

The Trojans retook a 19-17 lead with 8:32 on the clock, but a three-pointer by Kelcyn Manurs gave Livingstone a one-point edge with 7:20 remaining and the Blue Bears didn't see a deficit for the remainder of the first half.  Livingstone took a 28-25 lead into the break.

To start the second half the Blue Bears grabbed their largest lead of the contest of five points with 17:22 remaining.  The lead didn't last long as the Trojans went on a 19-1 run over the next 5:28 and opened a 46-33 lead over Livingstone with 11:50 left in the contest.

The Blue Bears were able to stay within striking distance for the remainder of the contest thanks to a solid defensive effort, but couldn't get the critical stop and offensive bucket to get over the hump.  Livingstone got only as close as nine in the final five minutes before falling 65-53.

Tyesha Tharpe led the Blue Bears with 15 points and just missed a double-double, finishing with nine rebounds.  Kelcyn Manurs also added 12 points, going 3-for-3 from beyond the arc and 3-for-4 at the charity stripe.

The Blue Bears will continue on their three-game road swing Saturday when they face the Panthers of Virginia Union University at 5:30 p.m.