Big Second Half Lifts Johnson C. Smith to 71-59 Quarterfinal Win Over Bowie State

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Johnson C. Smith Golden Bulls (20-7) used a big second half effort to pull away for a 71-59 win over the Bowie State Bulldogs (20-8), Wednesday afternoon in the quarterfinal round of the 2017 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament. After playing to a close 26-25 halftime lead, the Golden Bulls outscored the Lady Bulldogs 45-33 to pull away for the victory.

The game was a hard-fought affair with both teams giving great efforts. In the end, it was the hot shooting Johnson C. Smith team that came out with the win. As a team, the Golden Bulls shot 42.3 percent (22-of-52) in the win while Bowie State shot 33.3 percent (20-of-60) from the floor. Johnson C. Smith was led by freshman guard Maiya Green who scored a team-high 21 points while junior guard Asha Jordan added a double-double 14 points with 10 rebounds. Senior guard Anika Jones added 11 points as well.

Bowie State was led by junior guard Kiara Colston (Burtonsville, Md.) who scored 16 points in the game while junior guard Lisa Jing (Laurel, Md.) added 11 points with six rebounds. All-Rookie Team selection Kyaja Williams (Baltimore, Md.) recorded seven points and senior Denver Clyde (Glen Burnie, Md.) ended her career with seven points as well.

Bulldogs All-CIAA pick Kyah Proctor (Capital Height, Md.) chipped in six points in the loss while senior Ashley Jennings (Newark, N.J.) and junior Pere Alexander (Baltimore, Md.) contributed five points each. Junior Renee Kydd (Suitland, Md.) scored two points in the final moments of the game to round out Bowie State’s scorers.

In the early going, it was Bowie State who controlled the game as they took a 13-11 lead after the first quarter. Johnson C. Smith was able to take an early 11-7 lead after a jumper from senior guard Krista White with 3:06 left in the quarter, but Bowie State closed out the quarter with a six-point run, capped by a Colston lay-up with 55 seconds left that put the Lady Bulldogs on top 13-11 at the end of the quarter. 

The second quarter belonged to Johnson C. Smith with the Golden Bulls using a mid-quarter surge to jump ahead. Bowie State’s Jing hit a three-pointer with 8:01 to push the Bulldogs lead to 16-11. It was then that Johnson C. Smith mounted a nine-point run that put the Golden Bulls on top, 20-16 after a lay-up from senior forward MaryAnna Moore with 5:06 left to play. The Golden Bulls would keep their lead until a free throw by JCSU’s Monique Hall put the Golden Bulls on top, 25-24 with 54 seconds left. An Asha Jordan lay-up with four seconds left sent Johnson C. Smith into halftime leading 26-25. 

Once in control, Johnson C. Smith remained on top with a big third quarter effort. The Golden Bulls went up by as many as eight points, 36-28 after a 10-2 run that was capped by a Jones lay-up with 5:41 left to play. The Golden Bulls would maintain the eight-point cushion until the final minute of the quarter when Bowie State closed the quarter with four unanswered points and ended the quarter with Johnson C. Smith in front, 42-38 heading into the fourth quarter. 

Johnson C. Smith would put the game away with a big fourth quarter that saw the team score 29 points. Bowie State would challenge early with a Proctor lay-up with 7:08 remaining in the contest with Bowie State trailing, 47-43. However, Johnson C. Smith would go on a 10-3 run that effectively put the game out of reach for Bowie State. At the end of the run, JCSU held a 61-49 lead after a pair of Green free throws with two minutes to go. From there, Bowie State continued to fight, but some clutch free throws from the Golden Bulls in the final minutes put the game away. A Colston lay-up with 1:11 left to play would cut the BSU deficit to 10 points, 64-54, but the Bulldogs would get no closer.