Shaw defeats Wingate to repeat as South
Atlantic Regional Women's Champions
March 13, 2006
RALEIGH, NC – Shaw University defended its regional
title by defeating Wingate University 68-57 in the championship
game of the 2006 NCAA Division II South Atlantic Women's Basketball
Regional playoffs in Raleigh, N.C. on Monday night.
Senior sharp-shooter Carletta Harrell drained five three-pointers
for 15 points to spark the Lady Bears to their 26th consecutive
victory of the season and 51st straight win inside Spaulding
Gymnasium.
“The game lived up to the hype,” said Shaw head
coach Jacques Curtis about the match-up of the top ranked teams
in the region. “Our plan was to create the tempo. We
wanted to try and wear them down, and I believe we did.”
Shaw senior point guard Nastassia Boucicault scored a game-high
20 points as the only other player to score in double figures
for the victors. Sophomore center Erika Bailey came off of
the Lady Bears’ bench to record six points and a team-best
nine rebounds, while senior guard Jenna Bradford tallied a
team-high seven assists.
Wingate (25-7) was topped by junior guard Tanetra Barrett
with 19 points and 10 rebounds for her second double-double
of the season. Sophomore guard Kate Edwards came off the bench
for 12 points on four three-pointers, senior forward Shannon
Proffit collected eight points and a game-high 11 boards, and
freshman point guard Anna Atkinson added six points, eight
caroms and four assists for the Bulldogs.
Shaw scored the first five points of the game to start a roller
coaster opening 20 minutes of play. Wingate responded by taking
a 20-14 lead on a jumper by Kerri Metzker at the 7:01 mark.
Shaw then answered back and scored the final four points of
the first half, including a pair of free throws by Leslee Anderson
with 17 seconds left, to take a 31-25 advantage at intermission.
The host Lady Bears stormed out of the locker room and scored
eight unanswered points on a pair of long triples by Harrell
and a lay-up by Boucicault to extend the cushion to 39-25 with
17:38 on the clock.
“We had a flat spot coming out in the second half and
that turned out to be the difference,” said Wingate head
coach Johnny Jacumin, now in his 26th season at the helm of
the Bulldogs’ basketball program.
“They were big,” Curtis said about Harrell’s
two three-pointers to open the second half. “That made
everybody else loose and the other shots started to fall.”
Wingate managed to narrow the deficit to 59-52 on a Barrett
jumper at 5:24, but Shaw posted an 8-2 run over the next three
minutes to put the game away.
Wingate out-rebounded the Lady Bears 53-40, including a 27-13
advantage on the offensive glass that resulted in 23 second-chance
points for the visitors.
The Bulldogs, however, shot just 30.6 percent from the field
(22-for-72) and 19.4 percent from long range (6-of-31), while
Shaw hit 41.4 percent from the floor (24-for-58) and 34.8 percent
from three-point land (8-of-23).
“Not to take anything away from Shaw … they have
a talented team,” Jacumin said, “but we normally
shoot better than 30 percent.”
Shaw’s defensive pressure also turned out to be an issue
for Wingate, as the Bulldogs turned the ball over 14 times,
including 10 miscues in the first half.
“They are quick,” said Wingate rookie point guard
Atkinson. “Coach did a good job of preparing us for the
press, but their speed surprised us.”
After losing four starters from last year’s regional
title winning team, expectations outside of the Shaw community
were not high. That is why this championship is so special
to the Lady Bears’ head mentor.
“Winning the regional title is big, because no one believed
this team could do it,” said Curtis. “We started
out the season 3-4 and now we are 29-4. I am really proud of
this team, because we didn’t have the talent we had last
year, but we won with heart.”
Harrell’s heroics were rewarded with the Most Outstanding
Player award for the regional championship. She was joined
on the All-Tournament Team by teammates Boucicault and sophomore
forward Nicky Souter, along with Wingate’s Barrett and
Atkinson.
Shaw now returns to the Elite Eight in Hot Springs, Ark. to
face the winner of the North Dakota and Saint Cloud State championship
game in the North Central region on March 22.
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