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Charleston stalls Shepherd with third period dominance

By Staff | Nov 30, 2018

SHEPHERDSTOWN — A more forceful defense allowed Charleston to enlarge a small halftime lead, and had the Golden Eagles outgunning Shepherd, 29-16, in the third quarter en route to an 85-71 verdict, in a MEC women’s basketball game.

Shepherd struggled against the aggressive defense it suddenly faced in the third quarter of a game where the Rams trailed only, 33-29, at the half.

A foul-clogged first-half had a total of 18 fouls called, and a combined 20 turnovers marred the game’s tempo and continuity.

Shepherd could claim only nine rebounds by the half’s close, a harbinger of things to come, because Charleston would out-rebound the Rams, 30-18, in final reckoning.

The Rams picked up their level of play toward the close of the half, because they once found themselves behind, 32-21.

Galloping along with a 62-45 lead moving to the final quarter, Charleston noticeably slowed the pace, and began draining the clock on every possession. When the Golden Eagles snared four offensive rebounds in three minutes, they continued taking more and more seconds off the shot clock, before attempting to score or get fouled.

Maneuvering in the half-court had the Golden Eagles using their superiority in quickness, and more-or-less playing keep-away from the trailing Rams.

In the end, the two teams were called for a combined 45 personal fouls, and Charleston benefited more than the Rams when it converted 24-of-29 of its free throws and Shepherd made 13-of-18 foul shots.

Both teams were guilty of 19 turnovers, with Charleston getting 11 steals.

Raziyah Farrington (23 points) and Shepherd’s Sydney Clayton (21 points) paced the respective teams’ scorers. Farrington was 9-for-13 from the field and Clayton worked well inside in making 9-of-11 shots from the floor.

Shepherd came out of its second conference game with a 1-1 MEC record and a 3-2 overall mark. Charleston was 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the conference.

Even with the preponderance of fouls, Charleston remained the more aggressive team, and kept putting its stamp on the action more than Shepherd could.