Winston-Salem State’s first-ever run in the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Tournament continued, notching yet another dominant win to advance to the Round of 16.
It was another wire-to-wire win for the Lady Rams, taking down the two-seed Gannon 67-48 for their 28th victory of the season.
In what is WSSU’s fifth straight win, all have come by a winning margin of at least 17 points, with the last trailing in the CIAA tournament quarterfinals against Bluefield State.
Maia Charles provided the spark for the Rams offensively, scoring 19 points on 78% shooting, adding six rebounds, two steals, and two blocks.
Makayla Waleed and Jakaiya Mack each scored 10 points, with the former snagging five steals and the latter getting four.
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Rams buried Gannon with second-half surge
While Nevaeh Farmer did not have the hot hand as she did in the tournament opener, she found other ways to be effective, recording eight rebounds, five assists, and three steals.
It only took Winston-Salem State nine seconds to put the first points on the board, as Charles made an aggressive move to get the first bucket, drawing a foul and getting to the free-throw line.
The onslaught was on from there, outscoring Gannon 22-6 in the first eight minutes of the contest, building a significant separation and never surrendering it.
After Gannon closed the first-quarter deficit to eight points at the end of the period, they would not get any closer, trailing by as many as 22 the rest of the way.
Winston-Salem State becomes the second CIAA women’s basketball team in the past three seasons to advance to the Regional Final of the Division II tournament, joining Fayetteville State, which did so.
They will have their opportunity to secure a spot in the National Quarterfinal on Monday when they face the Atlantic region, Indiana (PA).
