B-CU's Perimeter Attack Downs NCCU, 51-34 in Durham

Coach Blair Postgame (Video)

Players Postgame (Video)

Box Score

DURHAM, N.C. - The Bethune-Cookman Lady Wildcats (11-11, 6-4 MEAC) used the three-ball Monday evening to breeze past the homestanding North Carolina Central Eagles (0-23, 0-10 MEAC) by a count of 51-34 in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) women's basketball game played inside McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium.

"I thought we stuck to our game plan," Head Coach Vanessa Blair said. "We did a great job defensively."

Terrenisha Hollis put B-CU on the board first just 45 seconds into the game, setting off a 6-0 start. However, free throws kept NCCU in the game early-on, eventually granting the Eagles a brief 10-9 lead with 10:21 to go, following two foul shots from point guard Aja Hoyle.

Two minutes, eight seconds. That was the extent of NCCU's advantage as the Lady Wildcats' Chastity René Taylor extinguished the one-point lead with a three from the right arc. Hollis stretched the B-CU scoring run to an 8-0 advantage, first exploiting a seam in the defense for a drive to the hoop. She followed it moments later hitting one of her two three-pointers on the night, this one from the right arc.

The NCCU defensive efforts keyed on Taylor, presenting a box-and-one approach, but it allowed the opportunity for other Lady Wildcats players to step to the forefront and lead.

Enter Shakeyia Colyer.

The B-CU point guard came off the bench to take over the game in the final six minutes of the first half with 13 consecutive points, including three from the perimeter, leading B-CU on a 13-4 run to close the period. That allowed B-CU to take a 30-16 lead into the locker room at the break.

"We've been pushing Shakeyia to step up and they allowed her to score," Blair said. "She was able to knock down some big shots."

While the Lady Wildcats made no trips to the charity stripe in the first stanza, free throws provided half of NCCU's points, logging a perfect 8-of-8 performance.

B-CU maintained its defensive stranglehold on the Eagles in the second half, but met scoring challenges as NCCU alternated defenses between man-to-man and a 2-2-1 zone to try and slow the B-CU offense. Hollis and Colyer kept the Lady Wildcats steady, building the lead to as much as 21, up 46-25 midway through the second half, eventually leading to the 51-34 final score.

Though the Lady Wildcats committed six turnovers in the first 10 minutes of play, B-CU adjusted to what NCCU was giving and surrendered only six more through the final 30 minutes, executing one of B-CU's best performances of the season for turnovers (12).

More than doubling its long-range shooting average, B-CU dropped eight three-pointers on the Eagles to build and maintain separation. Leading the charge, Colyer hit 3-of-6 from beyond the arc, scoring 16 points while shooting .500 from the floor (6-of-12). Chipping in a pair of her own threes, Hollis led all scorers with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, in addition to collecting six rebounds.

KiKi Devane hit the glass hard for B-CU as well, logging a team-high seven boards.

With the victory, win 11 for the 2012-13 season is in the books, one victory more than the final count for the 2011-12 season, with six games remaining in the regular season.

Next up, the Lady Wildcats will open a three-game homestand next Monday (Feb. 18) with Howard (14-9, 8-3 MEAC) making the trip to Daytona Beach. The Bison handled Morgan State, 68-33, Monday night in Washington, D.C.

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