Women start off strong but come up short in 69-64 loss

On Saturday the Lady Rattlers basketball team took on Winston-Salem State University.
The Lady Rattlers once again had a strong start but couldn’t find their rhythm towards the end of the game falling to the Rams 69-64.

Florida A&M led 32-26 at the end of the second half but turnovers proved critical to Saturday’s outcome.

The ladies suffered from 23 turnovers, which the Lady Rams capitalized on to score 25 points.

The Rattlers battled back court press seemed to be less effective this game compared to previous ones.

Winston-Salem State outscored FAMU by 43-32 in the second half. The Lady Rams went on a 21-6 run as the Rattlers defense seemed more vulnerable and mistake prone.

The Lady Rattlers earned their fourth loss in their last five games. In the last meeting with WSSU the Lady Rattlers claimed the victory but this weekend it seems as though they couldn’t duplicate there past performance.    

Deidra Jones shot a three-pointer with 8:33 left in the game, which tied the score at 51-51.  Donald then maneuvered her way through the lane for a lay-up with 7:54 left to play giving FAMU a one-basket lead.

The ladies tried to stay strong towards the end of the game but their run was interrupted by a three-pointer by Rams player Talnesha Kee.

Junior Diedra Jones led the Rattlers in scoring with 20 points not far behind her was Senior Melissa Daniels who finished with 11 points.    

Other leading scorers for the orange and green was senior Denise Tate and freshman Qiana Donald who each pulled down 12 rebounds.

The ladies are currently ranked 7th overall in the MEAC. The two remaining games on the ladies schedule are against conference teams.  

The Rattlers next meeting on the court is Mar. 2 against South Carolina State University.  

A win for the ladies will place them in better post season contentions in their conference.
Hopefully the team can regroup and prepare a strategy effective enough to clinch a much needed conference victory.