Lady Vikings stops the Lady Panthers run in the CIAA Tournament to a 65-57 win on Tuesday night.
VUU (7-19) scored the opening basket, before Joyce Freeman and Gill keyed a 12-4 run that gave the Lady Vikings a nine-point lead they would never relinquish.
The Lady Panthers shot 43.1 percent from the field and out-rebounded ECSU 43-31. However, the Lady Vikings scored 29 points off of 28 VUU turnovers.
“I take my hat off to Elizabeth City, they came out and fought hard,” said VUU head coach Bryan Underwood. “I just thought we turned the ball over a little too much. One of the biggest things we want to do is get to the foul line and we only got there 15 times. Other than turnovers, I think it'd be a brand new ball game.”
Tonaye Smith, the CIAA Player of the Year, picked up her fourth foul with 16 minutes remaining in the game and her team trialing by five. She managed to finish with a team-high 21 points in her final game at VUU.
Despite the loss, Smith said she has no regrets.
“I'm happy actually, because I left it all out there,” she said. “I'm happy I'm graduating. That's all -- I did the best I could.”
Teammate
Gabrielle Easley had nine points and a team-high eight rebounds for the Lady Panthers.
