Box Score by John Hackney
WILSON, N.C.-The Barton College women's basketball team used a 14-0 run midway through the first half to build a nice halftime lead, but then had to fight off a feisty Elizabeth City State University squad in the second half Wednesday night for a 72-60 conquest in Wilson Gymnasium.
Junior 5-foot-10 center Janae Jackson (Fort Belvoir, Va.) had a huge game for the victors with 17 points, 10 rebounds and two steals. Junior guard Faith Hunter (Raleigh, N.C.) added 16 points, three assists, two blocks and one steal while junior forward Shante Neal (Spring Hope, N.C.) and sophomore guard Nyeshea Willie (Virginia Beach, Va.) contributed 10 points apiece.
ECSU got a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds from junior forward Stephanie Harper (Charleston, Ill.) along with a game-high 22 points from junior guard Shatara Jackson (Wilmington, N.C.).
The Lady Bulldogs, who dominated the backboards with 46-33 (a season-best total), rose to 4-2 overall while the Vikings exited with a 3-3 ledger. Barton travels to play at defending NCAA DII National Champ Clayton State (currently ranked No. 6 nationally) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in Morrow, Ga.
The winners finished 28-of-62 from the floor for 45.2 percent while the Vikings shot 22-of-57 for 38.6 percent. Barton had a 23-4 advantage in points from non-starters and 20-7 edge in second-chance points. The game was slowed by 26 turnovers for ECSU and 24 for Barton.
ECSU's lone lead came at 2-1 on a layup by Harper. Barton pushed the lead to 13-6 on a layup by Jackson, but the Vikings responded with a layup by Whitney Gray and a 3-pointer from Harper, trimming the lead to 13-11. Five straight points by Hunter, followed by layups from Willie, Hunter and Jackson, made it 24-11. Two foul shots from Willie and one by junior Ashley Crumel (Zebulon, N.C.) finished off the 14-0 run and put Barton up 27-11. A short-range jumper by Jackson gave Barton a 35-23 cushion at halftime.
At intermission, Jackson and Hunter had 10 points apiece and Barton's bench had outscored ECSU 11-2.
Barton led by 19 points at 46-27 with 17 minutes left, but the Vikings stormed back within 52-50 at 11:41 with a 23-6 run. Harper had eight points in the run and Jackson netted seven. Hunter quickly scored off an assist from senior guard Jannetta Robinson (Willard, N.C.) just 10 seconds later, followed by jumpers from Robinson and junior guard Elaine Morgan (Raleigh, N.C.) for a 58-50 cushion.
Barton led by double figures for the final six minutes of the game.
