PETERSBURG, Va. — The Virginia Union University women's basketball team battled to the final buzzer but came up just short, falling
68-66 to Virginia State University in Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) action Saturday afternoon at the VSU Multi-Purpose Center.
The Panthers stayed within striking distance throughout the contest, but Virginia State capitalized on late opportunities to secure the two-point victory.
"We talked all week about how the team that makes the fewest mistakes will be the team that wins the game," said
VUU Head Women's Basketball Coach Alico Dunk. "It was pretty even across the board until the last two minutes of the game. We made some costly mistakes down the stretch. We committed a foul with 17 seconds left in the game and that put them on the line. We missed a few layups before that and we didn't execute. You've got to give credit to Virginia State because they capitalized on our mistakes."
Virginia State held a slim edge at halftime and maintained its advantage through a tightly contested second half. Despite a late push by the Panthers, the Trojans were able to close out the game at the free-throw line.
Top Performers – Virginia Union
Virginia Union shot
41.8 percent from the field and
77.3 percent from the free-throw line while outrebounding Virginia State,
36-32.
Virginia State was led by
Maya Ellis, who scored
19 points, while
Kendahl Spearman added
14 points to help the Trojans secure the win.
Next Up
Virginia Union will continue CIAA play on
Wednesday, January 21, when the Panthers travel to
Bluefield, W.V. to take on
Bluefield State University.
