Lady Railsplitters Fall To N.C. Central

Spartanburg, S.C. - Jori Nwachukwu scored a game-high 18 points to lead North Carolina Central to a 65-60 victory over Lincoln Memorial in the final day of the Allstate Insurance Women’s Basketball Holiday Classic at the G.B. Hodge Center Saturday. (Box score)

North Carolina Central was the only team to win both games in the tournament and improves to 5-4 on the year.  USC Upstate improves to 5-6 on the season, while Lincoln Memorial and Lenoir-Rhyne fall to 7-2 and 6-4.

Lincoln Memorial held the lead for most of the game, taking a 32-29 lead at halftime and holding as much as an eight-point lead in the second half before North Carolina Central made its decisive push for the win.  LMU did not score from the field for the last eight minutes of the game.

Lincoln Memorial led 58-50 with 7:32 to play in the game when North Carolina Central went on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 58-56 with 5:02 to play.  Cassie King scored four of the points.  After Heather Benton’s two free throws gave Lincoln Memorial a four-point advantage, King converted a layup and LaVonna Hailey’s jumper tied the game at 60-60 with 1:56 on the clock.

Hailey converted a layup to give North Carolina Central a 62-60 lead and the Lady Eagles made three free throws down the stretch to take the five-point victory.  North Carolina Central scored the final nine points of the game to secure the victory. 

King finished the game with 14 points, six rebounds, and three blocked shots.  Hailey and Jasmine Newkirk also reached double figures for the Lady Eagles, each finishing with 10 points.  Andi Winney and Madeline Richards led Lincoln Memorial with 14 points apiece, while Latoya Johnson, Betsy Bowser, and Benton each added 10 for the Lady Railsplitters. 

2006 Allstate Insurance Women’s Basketball Holiday Classic All-Tournament Team

Madeline Richards, Lincoln Memorial
Cassie King, North Carolina Central
Jori Nwachukwu, North Carolina Central
Jami Safrit, Lenoir-Rhyne
Danielle Edwards, USC Upstate