ORANGEBURG, S.C. —The Bowie State women’s basketball team rolled to a 73-51 road victory against Claflin in Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) cross division action Saturday afternoon from Tullis Arena. The win improved the Bulldogs to 4-6 overall and 2-1 in CIAA action while the Lady Panthers drop to 2-11 overall and 1-4 in league competition.
Junior Drew Calhoun (New Carrollton, MD) registered a game-high 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the 3-point line, five assists and two steals while senior Talanya Hutton (Seat Pleasant, MD) scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field. Junior Amani Ball (Laurel, MD) was also 5-of-7 from the field with 11 points and four rebounds while freshman Katerra Myers (Burtonsville, MD) aided 10 points (4-6 FG) and four rebounds in the winning effort.
Claflin started off the opening quarter with a 10-6 run before the Bulldogs tied at 10-all with a jumper from Ball at the 2:12 mark. That bucket would lead to Bowie State using a 11-2 run, closing out the first quarter with a 19-12 lead.
The second quarter featured the Bulldogs’ largest lead of the first half when BSU surged to a 20-point lead thanks to a 17-4 run while holding Claflin to a shooting percentage of 35-percent (5-14) from the field to take a commanding 41-22 lead at halftime.
Bowie State kept momentum going in the second half despite a mini run from the Lady Panthers when Claflin cut the deficit to 14 at the 4:06 mark of the third quarter but the Bulldogs formed a 25-point lead thanks to scoring 10 unanswered points for the 62-39 lead at the end of the stanza.
Although Claflin nearly outscored Bowie State 12-11 in the fourth quarter, the Lady Panthers had no answer for the Bulldogs offensively as BSU shot 40-percent (4-10) from the floor compared Claflin who connected on just 3-of-15 in field goals for 20-percent.
While both teams committed 20 turnovers apiece and combined for 20 free throw attempts, the Bulldogs out-rebounded Claflin 38-29, posting a 24-18 swing in bench points and held a 13-5 ratio in second chance opportunities.
Bowie State will host Lincoln (PA) on Saturday, Jan. 15 in A.C. Jordan Arena. Game time is set for 2 p.m.