Winston-Salem State University women's basketball team has had a historic season as they compete for an NCAA Division II Basketball Championship. After a huge turnaround from their 7-20 season a year prior, the Lady Rams find themselves in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division II tournament.
They earned decisive victories over Glenville State University, 88-71, on March 13. Then on March 14, they blew out Gannon University 67-48. The highlight of both of the Lady Rams' victories is their scoring prowess. In both games, they started with a decisive scoring run. Against Glenville State, they opened the game with a 10-0 scoring run, and against Gannon, they started with a 9-0 run. In both games, they withstood a comeback scoring effort by their opponent and ultimately cruised to dominant victories.
Maia Charles has been a constant for the team. At the start of their playoff run on Friday versus Glenville State, Charles finished the game with 16 points in 29 minutes. She then led Winston-Salem State in scoring on Saturday against Gannon, as she scored 19 points in 31 minutes. Winston-Salem State also won the hustle and turnover battle in both games, leading both teams in steals with 14 against Glenville State and 16 against Gannon.
They forced Glenville into 20 turnovers overall and Gannon into 23. They decisively won the rebounding battle against Glenville State 43-32. While the rebounding advantage was narrower against Gannon, they won the battle 35-34. Now they face their biggest test of the season as they head to the Atlantic Region Championship and face off against Indiana University of Pennsylvania. They've also had a penchant for dominating the competition this season, but narrowly beat Gannon 61-57 in the PSAC Championship.
After a definitive 79-53 victory over Charleston on March 13, they narrowly escaped Seton Hall, 94-87, winning a game tied 84-84 with four minutes left. Tonight, Winston-Salem State plays Indiana University of Pennsylvania at 7 p.m.
