Lady Rams clinch first-ever NCAA DII victory, defeating Glenville State by 17 points
The Winston-Salem State University Lady Rams won their first-ever NCAA DII game Friday by defeating the Glenville State University Pioneers 88-71 in a wire-to-wire victory.
The Lady Rams got off to an early 10-0 lead against the Pioneers inside the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex on the campus of Indiana University of Pennsylvania. The game was marked by several three-point buckets by both teams.
The Rams entered the contest as the No. 3 seed with an outstanding 26-3 record, coming off their historic first-ever CIAA Tournament Championship victory in Baltimore Feb. 28. They play again tomorrow at 5 p.m. against the Gannon University Golden Knights, the No. 2 seed and two-time defending Atlantic Region Champion.
The Lady Rams were led by junior guard Nevaeh Farmer, who scored 22 points. Maia Charles, a sophomore forward, had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Makayla Waleed, a senior guard, contributed 15 points in the victory.
The contest marked the fourth matchup between the Lady Rams and Glenville, with the Pioneers winning the previous three games.
But on Friday, it was the Lady Rams’ time to shine.
Even though turnovers and more aggressive play led the Pioneers to close within 1 point of the Rams in the second quarter, WSSU took a 10-point lead into halftime, 48-38. The Rams led 86-66 with just over two minutes to go in the game, eventually winning by 17.
Angela Blue, ’96, chief of staff in the Department of Student Affairs, attended the CIAA Tournament in Baltimore in late February. She didn’t travel to Pennsylvania for Friday’s contest but did the next best thing: She joined a campus Watch Party held inside the Donald J. Reaves Student Activities Center.
“The Watch Party is fantastic,” said Blue, who earned a degree in business marketing from WSSU. “The energy is on 10, and it’s nice to see Rams come together in support of this momentous occasion. The ladies are winning big.
“I’m extremely proud of where we are at this moment in time from Coach Terry on down to the players, on down to the support from the campus community,” Blue continued. “This is truly a historic moment, and the girls deserve it. I hope we can continue to aspire to these levels of success, not just this year but beyond, because our student-athletes deserve it.”
The Watch Party was sponsored in large part by the Student Union Advisory Board. SUAB President Danari McIllwain, a mass communications major, said it didn’t take long to organize the event.
“After our girls had an outstanding season, we wanted to continue to support them by holding watch parties for members of the WSSU campus community who could not attend in person,” McIllwain said.
About 100 people attended Friday’s Watch Party. Dana Walker, director of student centers, said attendees chanted W-S-S-U throughout the event, which included food from Domino’s Pizza and Jason’s Deli.
Walker said Saturday’s Watch Party will be held inside the Cleon F. Thompson Student Support Center. Doors open at 4:30 p.m.
