The Fayetteville State Broncos women’s basketball will get a chance to defend their CIAA title thanks to a 62-53 victory over a game Virginia Union squad in Friday’s semifinal matchup at CFG Bank Arena.
The Broncos (20-7) will look to win its second straight CIAA when they take on Virginia State in Saturday night’s championship game. The Trojan punched their ticket to the championship game with a 63-59 win over Bowie State. Virginia Union Panthers ends its 2024-25 season at 21-7.
The Broncos jumped out a 20-4 lead thanks to a stifling defense in the first quarter that held the Panthers to just 14 percent shooting. Head coach Tyrese Brown said he wasn’t surprised by his team’s hot start to the game.
“Our motto before the game was to dominate,” Brown said. “It was no surprise to us even though that’s a good team, but it’s the way that we carry ourselves with confidence. We believe we’re the best team in America. ”
For the record, Fayetteville State is the No. 10-ranked team in the NCAA Div. 2 Atlantic Region.
Outside of an 8-2 scoring spurt by the Panthers that cut Fayetteville State’s 13-lead to seven, the Broncos had no problem winning this game. Nyah Wilkins was named the game’s most valuable player. She scored 10 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.
“We had to keep the lead through all four quarters,” Wilkins said. “Remain sane, remain calm, and play together to the end.”
Baltimore native Talia Trotter (Marriot Ridge High School) led the Broncos with 13 points. She said loves coming back to the city and playing in front of friends and family.
“I just love having my family in the stands and just hearing them,” Trotter said. “It’s just a good motivation to keep on going.
Meanwhile, Virginia Union (North’s no. 2 seed) got off to a horrific shooting the basketball, hitting just 2-of-14 shots which put them in an early 16-point hold at the end of the first quarter.
To their credit, the Panthers came to within 37-30, but they couldn’t sustain enough of a run to stay with the defending champion Broncos.
“We had some shots, and they just would not fall for us,” said Virginia Union head coach Tierra Terry. “We had some good defensive, but we could not put the ball in the basket.”