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Bluefield to face Emmanuel College for 5th-place game on Friday

Sports Information Department BC

March 15, 2012

Bluefield College Athletics

Bluefield, Virginia

Sports Information Department

Winona Lake, Indiana- The Lady Rams rebounded after a heartbreak loss on Wednesday at the national tournament with a quality win over Roberts Weselyan 55-50 on Thursday morning at the Orthopedic Capital Center.

Bluefield and RWU played in the first consolation bracket game of the day at 8;30am and the winner advancing to the 5th/6th place game on Friday.

It was slow-moving first half for both teams as they combined for only 45 points. The first half was close in score for a majority of the time. While there was three lead changes in the opening twenty minutes, Roberts Wesleyan got the largest lead of the half for either team at six, 18-12 with the 18:12 mark.

Tied at 12-12, Marissa Sell went for six straight points to get RWU up on top of the Lady Rams.

Takieya Rouse was able to help chip into the lead and finish the half off strong with a basket as Bluefield only trailed 26-23 at the break.

Bluefield spent a majority of the second half, especially the first ten minutes to not only come from behind, but also gain a considerable lead on the Rochester, New York - based team.

In fact, the Lady Rams snagged the largest lead of the game at 6:01 mark left in the game when Monique Robson knocked two consecutive baskets for Bluefield in between a pair of free throws by Gillard.

While the Lady Rams never let Roberts Wesleyan take another lead, they did come very close to doing so. A combination of Sell and Lester helped get RWU back into the contest late in regulation. After a Lester field goal with :32 seconds left, the Raiders only trailed two points to Bluefield at 53-51.

In another game coming down to the wire, the Raiders would put Bluefield at the FT line. After two made free throws by Rouse, Gillard came up with a big steal on the defensive resulting in another RWU foul. Consequently, McNeal was fouled and would sink another two at the charity stripe to give BC a six-point lead.

The Lady Rams wouldn't look back as they picked up their first victory of the first two games at the National Tournament by defeating the Raiders 55-50 at Grace College.

Bluefield was led in scoring by Teqa McNeal with 14 points. The Lady Rams had two other players in double-figures as Gillard went for 12 points and Monique Robson added ten points and seven rebounds. 

The win moves Bluefield to 22-11 overall for the 2011-2012 season. BC will look to stay in the winning column and take home a 5th-place finish at the national tournament when they face #4-seed, Emmanuel College, on Friday at 7:00pm EST.

Be sure to follow online via Twitter @BluefieldRams or watch live video of the broadcast at this link here.

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