“We don’t like losing, and we don’t always expect to lose. We always come out pushing each other and helping each other come together as one,” junior forward Dy’Manne Royal said.
After Monday’s loss the women’s basketball team still sits in last place in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).
The Rattlers started out very strong against the Spartans, applying pressure to the ball and playing aggressive, but that aggression did not seem to faze their opponents one bit. They got a total of nine rebounds in the first quarter (5-offensive and 4-defensive) but failed to capitalize off those second chance opportunities.
Making only three out of the 14 field goals they attempted in the first quarter, in addition to the two free throws resulted in the Rattlers only scoring eight points in the quarter.
"Just a cold shooting night for us tonight in Lawson,” head coach LeDawn Gibson said at the post-game press conference. “We shot 26 percent from the field, they (Norfolk) shot 46 percent and I think that pretty much summed it up for us.”
Leading up to the second period of the game, the ladies picked up the pace. Freshman guard, Mya Moye helped the team heat up offensively by taking advantage of the ten minutes of game time she had. Moye grabbed one steal, went 2-6 in the field, and most importantly she made all five the free throws she attempted, resulting in a total of 10 points; putting the Rattlers closer to the Spartans right at half-time.
With a positive turn, fans began to see the jar half full, with hopes that after half-time the Rattlers were going to turn things around.
“So far, I feel like the girls are doing better than before, the rebounding is doing better, but they still need to work on their offense. It looks like they are catching up, and I think we may can come out with a win if they stay strong and communicate,” said Alexis Peele, a freshmen business administration major.
Even though they scored 30 points in the third quarter,it was overshadowed by the 46 points scored by the Spartans and the 18 costly turnovers made by the Rattlers, and ened the end, FAMu never got close to closing the gap.
Regardless of the consecutive losses, Gibson remains optimistic and believes that the ladies will be rewarded with a win soon.
“I told the young ladies to keep their head up, things happen. They are working, and they are working because they want to win.”
The Rattlers will travel to Georgia to take on Savannah State. They are scheduled to play on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m.