Bluefield, WV – Bluefield State University women's basketball fell short to Johnson C. Smith 76-73 on Sunday at Ned E. Shott Gymnasium.
The Big Blue were led in scoring by Essence Cowan with 18 followed by Rori Cox with 12 and Dani Janutolo with 10. Londen Coleman and Katrina both came away with eight points and eight rebounds.
The Big Blue quickly built a 10-point lead midway through the first quarter outscoring the Golden Bulls 17-7. The Golden Bulls would pull within six at the two-minute mark, but the Big Blue would close out the first on a 6-2 scoring run to take the 10-point lead into the second quarter.
The Golden Bulls took the one-point lead at 5:59 in the second quarter, but a trip to the line for Cox put the Big Blue back on top. Two free throws by Coleman tied it up at 43 with 53 seconds left in the second quarter. The Golden Bulls would hit the midrange jumper to take the two-point lead into the half.
The Big Blue opened the third quarter with a three by Cowan to take back the lead. The Big Blue maintained their lead until two minutes left in the third. The Golden Bulls took the two-point lead, but Coleman answered with a put back layup to tie it at 52. Later, a free throw from Coleman and a three from Cowan put the Big Blue ahead by four, but a three from the Golden Bulls would take the Big Blue into the final quarter with the one-point advantage.
The Golden Bulls opened the fourth with seven straight points to take the lead, but a three from Janutolo would stop the Golden Bulls run. Down by seven with 22 seconds left in play, a free throw from Coleman and a three from Cowan would pull the Big Blue within three with eight seconds remaining, but could not get any closer, falling 76-73.
Up Next
The Big Blue will travel to Central State University Wednesday, December 7th with tipoff at 5:30 p.m.
