LADY TROJANS UPEND LADY TIGERS 77-64 TO ADVANCE TO FRIDAY'S SEMIFINALS Jameson Gibbs 02/26/09 CHARLOTTE, NC - February 25, 2009 - Virginia State looked like one of the best teams in the Atlantic Region as they dismantled Saint Paul's 77-64 Wednesday in the first women's quarterfinal game of the CIAA Tournament at Time Warner Cable Arena. The No. 4 seed Lady Trojans (21-7 overall) will meet either top seed Bowie State or No. 9 seed Virginia Union in Friday's semifinals at 1 p.m. The No. 5 seed Lady Tigers finished at 14-14 overall. Though the Lady Trojans are seeded fourth in the tournament, they were ranked seventh in the Atlantic Region before the game started. They played like a regionally ranked squad against the Lady Tigers, who won the first meeting by 20 points in January.  In the second meeting, the Lady Trojans pulled out a 61-60 victory last week. This time, the game was never in doubt after the Lady Trojans ended the first half on a 10-0 run to snap a 27-27 deadlock. From the point, the Lady Trojans kept the lead in double digits in the second half including a 64-48 margin with 4:28 left in the game. The Lady Trojans attacked inside and kept Tatiana Ellis, the CIAA women's player of the year, in check. Ellis, the CIAA's leading scorer with a 22.1 point average, scored 13 points on 3 of 14 field goal attempts. In addition to Ellis' poor outing, the Lady Tigers couldn't keep the Lady Trojans out the paint. The Lady Trojans outscored the Lady Tigers inside 44-20, won the rebounding battle 50-37 and made 30 of 45 free throw attempts. Morgan McGill, a forward averages 5.3 points, erupted for 18 points and 14 rebounds to lead four double-figure scorers for the Lady Trojans. Katania Walker added 15 points, Leslie Phillips scored 12 points and Angela Brown had 11 points. Meanwhile, the Lady Tigers were 16 of 25 from the charity stripe. They also turned the ball over 23 times which hindered any chances of a late comeback. The Lady Tigers did pull within 71-61 on a late shooting barrage but the deficit was too much to overcome.  Gabrielle Johnson tied Ellis with 13 points, Allukesha Guy chipped in 11 and Juantale Cook and DeAudra Brown both had 10 points for the Lady Tigers. Johnson led the Lady Tigers with 10 rebounds. Both teams shot under 40 percent. The Lady Trojans shot 38 percent and the Lady Tigers shot 36 percent for the game. In the early moments of the game, the Lady Tigers shot out to a 12-6 lead. But the Lady Trojans climbed back in the game just as quickly, tying the game at 15-15. There were four more ties in a fast-paced first half, but the Lady Trojans asserted themselves in the last four minutes with their late run.  Free throws aided the Lady Trojans in the first half as they made 14 of 18 free throws. McGill (9 first-half points), Brown (8 first-half points) and Phillips (7 first-half points) combined to make 10 of 11 free throws. The Lady Tigers, led by Guy with 9 points and Johnson with 8 points, outshot the Lady Trojans 46 percent to 36 percent in the first half but were 5 of 6 from the charity stripe. They also were outrebounded 20-15 and committed 15 turnovers in the first half. Ellis only scored 2 points on 0-for-6 shooting in the first half.