Final Stats
CHARLOTTE, NC – The Livingstone women's basketball team fell in the opening round of the 2012 CIAA Tournament Tuesday, 72-54 to the Virginia State University Trojans at the Time Warner Cable Arena.
Livingstone got off to a strong start behind senior Elicia Gilliam-Washington who scored six of the first eight points for the Blue Bears. Livingstone and Virginia State battled with buckets at both ends of the court and the Blue Bears took their first lead of the game at 15-14 with 6:41 left in the first half on a three-pointer by Kelcyn Manurs.
Virginia State went back up by three, but a Jasmine Murray layup brought Livingstone back within one. The Trojans then went on a 7-0 run to open a 25-17 lead with just over three minutes on the clock. Livingstone closed the first half on a high note as freshman Sophie Lepzem hit a layup, was fouled and completed the three-point play to bring the Blue Bears within 26-21 at the break.
Livingstone again started the second half strong, cutting into the Trojan lead and then staying within striking distance. With just under 12 minutes to go in the game, the Blue Bears regained a lead, this time 38-37.
The momentum for the Blue Bears was short-lived as Virginia State went on a 9-0 run to open a 46-38 lead. Livingstone had a brief 3-0 spurt to get within five, but another Trojan run, this time 8-2 gave them their biggest lead of the afternoon at 54-43 with 6:45 left in the contest. The Blue Bears were unable to overcome the double-digit deficit as they fell 72-54.
Junior Kelcyn Manurs led the Blue Bears with 13 points while fellow junior Jasmine Murray added 12 points. Junior Tyesha Tharpe led all players with 13 rebounds.
Livingstone shot 35.5 percent from the field for the game with 25 percent from three-point range. Free throws hurt the Blue Bears as they converted only 7-of-17 attempts.
Virginia State shot 38.8 percent from the field and hurt the Blue Bears at the free-throw line as the Trojans converted 30-of-42 attempts. Virginia State also scored 21 points off 22 Blue Bear turnovers.
The loss marked the final collegiate contest for Blue Bear seniors Montiya Harrison, Rashida Elbourne and Elicia Gilliam-Washington.
