West Virginia State Edges UDC, 58-55
Washington, DC: January 3, 2010-Alixandria Barnette scored 17 points, collected 3 rebounds and made 2 steals to give the West Virginia State University Yellow Jackets Women's Basketball Team a, 58-55, win over the University of the District of Columbia Firebirds late this afternoon in Washington, DC during the 3rd Annual UDC New Year's Classic. The game was not decided until the final minutes as UDC fought hard to regain the lead, but could not overcome the more aggressive opponent.
The Firebirds went into the break leading 29-25, but could not hold on as the Yellow Jackets improved their second half shooting to 46 percent (11 for 24) to finish with a 43 percent game completion rate (21 for 49). UDC shot 43 percent (12 for 28) in the first half but finished with 37 percent (19-51) for the game.
The Yellow Jackets shot 25 percent (2-8) from beyond the arc and 48 percent ( 14 of 30) from the charity stripe to UDC'S 38 percent ( 3 for 8) from three-point range and 58 percent (14 of 24) from the charity stripe.
Tonesha Members was the only other Yellow Jackets to reach double figures with 10 points, 2 rebounds 1 assist and 1 steal. Senior guard Nicole Cooper (Fort Washington, MD) led the Firebird scoring with a game-high 18 points, 14 of which came in the first half. Junior center Lillian McGill (Sumter, SC) joined Cooper in double figures, scoring 11 points, and grabbing 9 rebounds, and freshman guard Marketa Salley (Capitol Heights, MD) added 10 points, 2 rebounds and 1 steal.
UDC fell to 4-10 with this loss, while West Virginia State improved to 6-8. The Firebirds will now travel to Puerto Rico for the Puerto Rico Classic, January 5-7.