Kyria Buford, Aslea Williams and Brittany Ransom combined for 70 points to send Shaw past West Virginia Wesleyan, 92-78, in the first round of the NCAA Division II women’s tournament.
The Lady Bears (24-6) will face Gannon, which defeated Johnson C. Smith 61-50, in the second round, Saturday at 5 p.m. in Edinboro, Pennsylvania.
Buford led all scorers with 28 points and 14 rebounds, while Williams added 22 points and Ransom finished with 20 points.
Despite those performances, Shaw needed a strong second half defense to put away the Bobcats (24-7), who scored 49 points in the first half, but only 29 in the second half.
“It’s always good to advance,” said Shaw head coach Jacques Curtis. “Everyone here has a good team. What we saw on tape is pretty much the game we got.”
The first half featured tons of scoring and very little defense. For Shaw, it was the Buford-Williams-Ransom tandem.
For West Virginia Wesleyan, Lydia Bridenbaugh and Jamie Kaufman shouldered the load, combining for 55 points. Daria Abros’kina and Brittany Mayer each added 11 points, but the rest of the Bobcats contributed just a single point.
