BALTIMORE, MD – Once upon a time, Shaw University in the final four of the CIAA Tournament was a given.
It’s been a long-time coming, but Shaw is back to those familiar settings after knocking off Winston-Salem State 54-48 in the quarterfinals of the CIAA Tournament. It is the first time the 2012 national champions have made it that far since 2016.
Shaw entered halftime trailing by nine but outscored WSSU 31-16 in the second half to come away with the win. The win snapped an eight-game losing streak to WSSU, who came into the game with an eight-game winning streak over the team from Raleigh.
Brittiney Seymour led the way for Shaw with 24 points and 11 rebounds on a 10-for-13 shooting performance, overwhelming the undersized WSSU squad. Seymour says that’s the goal every night.
“Every game we play, we’ve realized we’re an inside-out team. So whether it is me, London, or Inari our goal together is to finish in the inside,” Seymour said after the game. “Just to make sure that we put our team in the best position. Rebounding. So everything is still the same every night.”
Tanaja London added 13 points for Shaw, which improved to 17-12 on the season.
Shaw clamped down on defense, holding WSSU to just 6-for-29 shooting in the second half. Valencia Carroll lead WSSU with 16 points, hitting five of her 14 attempts, including four 3-pointers. Amaya Tucker, the CIAA’s Player of The Year, was held to just seven points in the loss. WSSU did manage to outbound Shaw 42-to-35.
Shaw advances to the semifinals to take on Lincoln (PA) on Friday. Lincoln, the defending champion, swept Shaw in the regular season. But as we’ve seen twice in less than 24 hours – the CIAA Tournament is a whole different ball game.