Baker and Naylor Combine for 38 in Bowie State’s 74-61 Win over West Virginia Tech

BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – The Bowie State University women's basketball team led pretty much the entire game in Friday (12/19) evenings’ 74-61 neutral site victory over West Virginia University Tech during the first day of the Sheetz Herb Sims Classic hosted by Bluefield State College.

Bowie State junior Ty-Nita Baker (Houston, Miss.) and senior Donia Naylor (Washington, D.C.) recorded a double-double while junior Jourdan Stanhope (Columbus, Ohio) just missed a double. Baker led the all scorers with a season/career-high 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Naylor chipped in 13 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Stanhope scored a career-high 11 points and hauled down nine rebounds for the Lady Bulldogs.

The Lady Bulldogs did not shoot well, making 23-of-69 field goals (33.3 percent) in the contest and made just 21-of-36 free throws (58.3 percent). Bowie State dominated the glass, holding a 56-46 advantage.

Cheyanne Lusk led the Golden Bears with a double-double of 19 points and 15 rebounds. Roche Wimberly and Elizabeth Evans tallied eight points each while teammates Nia Nolan and Noelani Woodson were responsible for seven and six points respectively.

The Golden Bears shooting percentages were not the greatest either. West Virginia Tech shot 32.3 percent from the floor (21-of-65), which included 7-of-28 behind the 3-point line and converted 12-of-20 free throws (60 percent) in the loss.

BSU’s Naylor scored the games’ first two points via a pair of free throws but West Virginia Tech’s Lusk answered with a jumper on the other end. The lead changed hands four times in the first half of play with the Golden Bears largest lead of five (12-7) coming at the 15:43 mark of the opening stanza.

From that point, Bowie State went on an 8-0 run to regain the lead at 15-12. The Lady Bulldogs never trailed again in the first 20 minutes but into halftime tied at 40-all.

The second half of play was tight for the first 10 minutes as West Virginia Tech took its final lead of the night (52-51) on a Nolan free throw.

Baker scored the next five Bowie State points to give the Lady Bulldogs a 56-52 lead with 8:06 left in the game.

West Virginia Tech’s Evans popped a 3-pointer on the next Golden Bears possession to cut the BSU lead down to one (56-55), only to have Bowie State senior Jasmine McIntosh (Bowie, Md.) answer with a triple of her own.

Unfortunately for the Golden Bears, the Lady Bulldogs ended the game with a 19-6 run for the final score of 74-61.

Bowie State University will return to the court for day two of the Sheetz Herb Sims Classic on Saturday, December 20^th, squaring off against host Bluefield State College at 4 pm. Bluefield State defeated Kentucky State 72-58 in the nightcap of the Sheetz Herb Sims Classic.