In Short: Cape Fear Women's Basketball loses to #16 and 17-0 Richard Bland Statesmen.
Highlights:
The 17-0 (10-0 in conference play) Richard Bland Statesmen (currently ranked #16 in the NJCAA Division II polls) traveled from Virginia to the Schwartz Center on Saturday afternoon to take on the 13-2 (9-2 in conference play) Cape Fear Sea Devils. The Region 10 Conference standings now rank Cape Fear #3 behind the both 10-0 Bryant & Stratton Bobcats and the Richard Bland Statesmen. The Statesmen will host the Bobcats this coming Wednesday, February 1st, where they will battle for the top spot in the conference.
The Sea Devils initially came out with high energy and confidence, but struggled to make key jumpers in the first quarter. The fast-paced transition play from the Statesmen put them at a 21-10 lead in the first.
Moving into the second quarter, Cape Fear struggled with defensive foul calls and sent numerous Statesmen to the line where they made 16 out 25 free throws throughout the afternoon. However, a few tenacious drives from Freshman Senali Moss and Sophomore Imani Sutton kept the Sea Devils in it as they ended the half down 30-37.
While the Sea Devils attempted to draw fouls in their favor and create numerous scoring opportunities for each other, they struggled to find their rhythm as their missed shots led to fast break opportunities for the Statesmen - as they totaled 42 defensive rebounds against the Sea Devils. Sutton did what she could to make hard drives to the basket while Sophomore Alonna Dunlap worked hard in the paint to draw defensive fouls and power through for a couple of easy buckets.
In the final quarter, the Sea Devils struggled to keep their composure as the Statesmen continued to play a high-tempo game on both ends of the floor. The game ended with a questionable ejection call against the Sea Devils due to the intensity and physicality of both teams fighting to win the game.
Moving forward, the Sea Devils are frustrated, but determined to rally as they face another conference opponent later this week. "We had a great first half with great energy and ball movement, but in the second half we did the complete opposite," says Head Coach Trae Bryant. "The Statesmen played hard and have a talented team. But it's nothing that we can't handle in the future - we will go back to the drawing board and emphasize to each other that we have to play a full 40 minutes of good basketball every time we step on the floor."
Up Next: Cape Fear Women's Basketball will host Wake Tech on Wednesday, February 1st at 6PM in the Schwartz Center.
