Final Stats
RALEIGH, NC – St. Augustine's pulled down 31 offensive rebounds Monday, leading to 27 second-chance points as the Falcons defeated the Blue Bears 86-76 in a CIAA Southern Division bout.
The Falcons grabbed a slim, early lead, but Kendra McKinney scored five-straight points to give the Blue Bears a 7-4 edge. St. Augustine's battled back on a 6-0 run to take a 10-7 advantage, but Livingstone responded with a 10-2 run of its own to take a 17-12 lead with 12:38 left in the first half.
Livingstone's lead was cut to three at 19-16, but the Blue Bears then went on an 8-1 run an opened its largest lead of the contest of 10 points at 27-17. The lead was short-lived as in just over three minutes the Falcons went on a 10-0 of their own to tie the game at 27-27 with 3:13 to play in the opening half. Over the final three minutes the teams traded buckets and Livingstone got the final points to take a 33-31 lead into the break.
The Blue Bears came out strong to start the second half, taking the first six points to go up 39-31, but St. Augustine's battled back in a big way on a 13-0 run and took a 44-39 lead with 14:29 left in the contest.
Livingstone trailed by only four at 48-44 with 12:19 left, but the Falcons then went on a 14-1 run to open a 62-45 lead with 9:13 to play.
Despite the 17-point deficit, the Blue Bears were far from finished. Cierra York helped fuel the Livingstone rally as she scored 14 of her 17 points in the final eight minutes of the game. The Blue Bears got back within seven at 59-66, but couldn't get the critical defensive stop to make the full comeback.
Livingstone was led by Cierra York and Kendra McKinney who each totaled 17 points. York shot 60 percent from the field including hitting 4-of-5 three-point attempts. McKinney was 11-for-13 from the charity stripe. Also in double figures was Montiya Harrison with 12 points and Tiffany Evans with 11 points.
The Blue Bears shot a season-high 49 percent from the field including 42.9 percent from long range. Livingstone struggled at the free-throw line, converting only 59.5 percent of its attempts.
The Blue Bears will return home on Saturday to host the Rams of Winston-Salem State University at 5:30 p.m.
