North Carolina Central University

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

RALEIGH, NC - North Carolina Central University sophomore Cassie King scored 12 of the Lady Eagles 13 overtime points on her way to a CIAA Tournament record 59 points as NCCU defeated Bowie State University 84-79 in overtime in the quarterfinals of the 2005 CIAA Tournament at RBC Center.  King's 59 broke the record set by Bowie State's Allyson Hardy, who scored 50 points against St. Augustine's last season.

King, who scored 22 points in the first half, tallied her 1,000th career point as a Lady Eagle on a jumper at 19:06 to put NCCU on top 2-0.  With Bowie State trailing 13-10, Hardy hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 13-13 and a subsequent steal by Hardy led to Sherika Thomas' lay-up giving the Lady Bulldogs a 15-13 lead at the 12:34 mark of the first half.

King continued to score and make history as she became the second Lady Eagle to score 600 points in a season when she knocked down the first of two made free throws giving NCCU a 20-15 lead.  The Lady Eagles extended their lead as Porschia Holmes stole a pass from Hardy and made a nice pass to King for the lay-up giving NCCU a 25-15 lead.  The Lady Eagles then took their largest lead of the game 27-15 on another lay-up by King with 9:13 to play in the half.

But Bowie State, despite shooting 33 percent from the field in the half, only trailed 40-34 at halftime as Clarice Kent went coast-to-coast to beat the buzzer to end the half.  The Lady Bulldogs grabbed 14 offensive rebounds in the half, leading to 14-second chance points.

The Lady Bulldogs opened the second half outscoring North Carolina Central 7-2 and Chanel Turner's three-pointer with 16:23 remaining in regulation gave Bowie State a 43-42 lead.  The Lady Bulldogs extended their lead to 54-48 on a lay-up by Hardy mid-way through regulation.  After North Carolina Central pulled to within one point at the 8:16 mark, Bowie State went up 65-57 on a lay-up by Kent at the 6:47 mark.  The Lady Eagles outscored Bowie State 14-6 over the next six minutes and tied the score at 71-71 on yet another lay-up by King with 40 seconds remaining.  That lay-up set yet another record for King, breaking NCCU's season-single scoring record held by Von Fulmore who had 636 points during the 1985-86 season. 

Bowie State had one more chance to win in regulation.  Hardy could not get off a shot and passed the ball to Rachill Robinson who had the ball stolen by Holmes with six seconds remaining.  Holmes raced up the floor and missed a three-pointer at the buzzer and the score remained tied at 71-71 at the end of regulation. 

Back-to-back lay-ups by King pulled the Lady Eagles ahead 79-75 with 1:38 remaining.  Turner's lay-up with less than a minute remaining tied the score at 79-79.  The Lady Eagles went up 81-79 on two free throws by Holmes with 50 seconds remaining.  On their next possession, Hardy appeared to have tied the game on a lay-up as the whistle blew and the basket went in.  But an offensive foul was called on Hardy, her fifth as she finished the game with 27 points.  Bowie State would not score again.

King went finished the game making 21-of-38 field goal and connecting on 17-of-18 free throw attempts.  King also had team-high 13 rebounds.  Shante' Collins was the Lady Eagles next leading scorer with seven points.  Allyson Swailes finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Lady Bulldogs.  Bowie State finishes the regular season 16-12.

North Carolina Central will play in the semifinals match-up on Friday at 3:00 p.m. taking on the winner of St. Augustine's/Shaw. 

Game Story Courtesy of CIAA