Final Stats
FAYETTEVILLE, NC – The Livingstone women's basketball team overcame a 19-point deficit Monday, but couldn't complete the upset victory as the Fayetteville State Broncos downed the Blue Bears 78-71.
The Blue Bears got off to a very slow start. After the Blue Bears took the first point on a Montiya Harrison free throw, the Broncos jumped out to a 7-1 lead and extended it to 15-5 with 13:07 remaining in the first half. Livingstone got back within five at 22-17 with 7:07 left, but Fayetteville again stretched its lead back to 26-17 with 5:33 on the clock.
Livingstone fought back on a 7-2 run to get within 29-24 with 2:44 left, but then went scoreless over the remainder of the half. Fayetteville closed the first half on a 9-0 run to take a 38-24 lead into halftime.
Fayetteville started the second half by taking the first five points to go up 43-24 less than three minutes into the half. Despite the 19-point deficit, the Blue Bears fought back on a 9-0 run to get with 43-33 with just under 14 minutes left.
The Blue Bears and Broncos traded a few baskets and Fayetteville State continued to hold a nine-point edge with 11:04 left, but Livingstone charged back on an 8-0 run and got within one at 50-49 with 9:23 on the clock. Montiya Harrison tied the game at the free-throw line at 53-53 only two minutes later. It was the first time Fayetteville had not led since 18:10 of the first half.
Harrison gave the Blue Bears their first lead since 18:14 of the first half less than 30 seconds later, again at the charity stripe. The two teams continued to trade baskets up and down the court, but Livingstone was struggling at the free-throw line late which would have aided in its comeback.
With 2:35 left in the contest the two teams were tied 65-65 after Harrison hit 1-of-2 free throws. The Broncos came back, scoring the next four points, but Elicia Gilliam-Washington pulled Livingstone back within two with just under 2 minutes left. Livingstone's offense struggled in the final two minutes as Fayetteville went on an 8-0 run to open a 76-67 lead going into the final minute which sealed the victory.
Montiya Harrison scored a season-high 19 points to lead the Blue Bears Monday. Jasmine Murray added 12 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds while Tiffany Evans also added 11 points.
The Blue Bears shot 40.3 percent from the field for the game including 27.3 percent from three-point range. Livingstone struggled at the charity stripe, converting only 18-of-34 attempts.
Livingstone forced 25 Bronco turnovers that led to 24 points for the Blue Bears but got hurt by the speed of Fayetteville as the Broncos scored 20 points on the fast break.
The Blue Bears will close out the regular season on the road Saturday against the Golden Bulls of Johnson C. Smith University at 5:30 p.m.
