LADY EAGLES UPSET DEFENDING BIG SOUTH CHAMPION LIBERTY, 50-48
Kyle Serba 12/18/10

NCCU sophomore Chasidy Williams earns season-high 18 points in stunning victory

DURHAM, N.C. – North Carolina Central University sophomore Chasidy Williams scored a season-high 18 points to slide her fellow Lady Eagles past the three-time defending Big South champion Liberty University Lady Flames 50-48 on Saturday, Dec. 18 in McDougald-McLendon Gym.

NCCU stunned the winners of 12 of the last 13 Big South titles to snap its seven-game losing skid. The Lady Eagles’ victory also breaks Liberty’s 29-game win streak against Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opponents during the past 14 years, dating back to Feb. 1996.

“I am very pleased with what we were able to do today,” NCCU head coach Joli Robinson said following her 210th career victory. “We needed our younger players to grow and mature, and it was amazing to see what they did against this team.”

Liberty led by as many as eight points in the first half when Devon Brown made a layup to make the score 15-7 at 8:39.

At the 2:10 mark, sharp-shooter Shanise Blanks hit a three-pointer to begin the NCCU offensive revival. The Lady Eagles made the rest of their shots in the half, with a bank shot by rookie Tiffany Gary and a pair of free throws by both Williams and junior guard Blaire Houston, to cut the deficit to just two points for a halftime score of 23-21.

Williams, Houston and sophomore J’Mia Pollock tallied four points apiece in the opening 20 minutes for the Lady Eagles.

With a 15-minute halftime intermission and new encouragement in their hearts, the Lady Eagles continued to build on their offensive play.

Blanks kicked-off the second half surge with a three-pointer off a Liberty turnover, cutting the margin to one point (27-26, 17:41). Williams delivered the Lady Eagles their first advantage since leading 1-0 when she hit a jumper in the paint at the 17:10 mark to put her squad up 28-27.

The two programs went point-for-point the rest of the way, keeping the margin within five points.

NCCU freshmen Sierra Solomon’s ‘and-one’ play broke the Liberty lead at the 14:56 mark for a tie of 31 apiece.

Williams matched baskets by Liberty by connecting on three straight field goals to keep the game tied. After a free throw and jumper by freshman Alesha Jenkins, Williams added a pair of free throws to provide NCCU with a 42-37 cushion, representing its largest lead of the night with 7:11 left in the contest.

But the Virginia-based visitors fought back, scoring five points in less than two minutes, capped by a three-pointer by LaKendra Washington to tie the game, 42-42, with 5:16 remaining.

Lady Eagles’ senior leader Jori Nwachukwu scored seven points in the win, but no point was more important than her two-pointer at the 3:24 to regain the lead and lay the foundation for the victory.

Williams sank two more free throws to extend the NCCU lead to 46-42 before Nwachukwu fouled out of the contest at the 1:39 mark, leaving the rookie Jenkins to step up in her place, and she did just that. The 6-foot forward hit a put-back layup with 1:09 to go and supplied the screen for Williams to sink an easy layup with just 29 seconds left to give the Lady Eagles a three-point advantage at 50-47.

Following a timeout, the Lady Flames missed a long range try, but 6-foot-3 center Avery Warley grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled with 12 seconds left. After making the first free throw, Liberty gained the offensive rebound, but missed on a three-point attempt, as Jenkins came away with the rebound for NCCU.

Jenkins was sent to the foul line with just five ticks on the clock and a chance to seal the victory. However, she missed the front end of the one-and-one to give Liberty one more chance to steal the game away from the home team.

A last-second shot from just beyond the arch by Liberty senior guard Dymond Morgan hit the rim as the buzzer sounded and fell to the floor as the Lady Eagles celebrated the upset victory.

Williams, named the New York Life Player of the Game, shot a perfect 6-for-6 from the field and 6-for-6 from the charity stripe, while adding a team-best seven rebounds off the bench to spark the NCCU win.

The Lady Eagles forced eight second half turnovers, which they turned into seven points. The host team bench outscored the Lady Flames 22-14.

As a team, NCCU grabbed 35 rebounds, stole seven Lady Flames’ balls and forced 16 red, white and blue turnovers.

Warley paced the Liberty offense with 14 points, while grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds. Tolu Omotola followed Warley’s lead with eight points and three blocked shots.

As a unit, Liberty grabbed 45 rebounds, dominating the offensive rebounds with 21 boards to the maroon and grey six, and outscored NCCU 16-7 on second chance points. Shooting proved to be the downfall for the Lady Flames as the visitors made only 32 percent from the floor, including a 9-for-32 effort (28.1 percent) in the second half.

NCCU advances its record to 2-8, while Liberty drops to 3-6.

The Lady Eagles continue their three-game home stand on Tuesday, Dec. 21 taking on the No. 7 West Virginia Lady Mountaineers in McDougald-McLendon Gym at 6 p.m.