Box Score

DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University women’s basketball head coaching debut of Vanessa Taylor resulted in a 43-42 victory over Paine College in Tuesday's exhibition game at McLendon-McDougald Gym in Durham, N.C.

NCCU redshirt senior forward Chasidy Williams led the way with 11 points, 12 rebounds and seven steals. Junior forward Tiffany Gary added 11 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three blocked shots, while freshman forward Tisha Dixon chipped in 10 points and seven boards. Junior point guard Tenika Neely tallied nine points and three steals for the Lady Eagles.

Paine was paced by sophomore guard Ashley Watts with 16 points, six rebounds and six assists.

After seven lead changes and four ties in the opening 20 minutes, the score was all square at 26-26 at halftime.

Coming out of the locker room, Dixon netted four points in the first four minutes to give the Lady Eagles a 30-29 lead. Those were the last points for NCCU until Dixon made the front end of a pair of free throws at the 6:45 mark. During the 10 minute scoring drought, Paine built a 37-30 advantage.

NCCU responded by scoring nine unanswered points to take a 39-37 lead on a steal and layup by Neely at 1:49.

Moments later, Neely broke another tie by nailing an eight-foot baseline jumper in traffic to put the Lady Eagles up 41-39 with 33 seconds left.

Williams sealed the victory by connecting on two free throws with seven seconds remaining to provide NCCU with a four-point cushion.

Watts drained a last-second bomb for Paine to make the final score a one-point margin.

NCCU opens its regular-season on Saturday, Nov. 10 at Charlotte at 6 p.m.