Staff report

WINSTON-SALEM — Livingstone’s great January run continued here Saturday, as the Lady Blue Bears came away with a thrilling, 75-71, double overtime win against Winston-Salem State.

Livingstone (11-9, 6-4 CIAA) is now 8-2 since Christmas break and its roster was reduced to nine players. The Blue Bears, while small in numbers, have played big during this recent roll.

With the loss, the Lady Rams fell to 10-10 overall and 6-4 in the conference.

Senior guard Brittany Taylor put the game into overtime for Livingstone with a layup that tied the score, 56-56, with just one second left. WSSU had left the door open with missed free throws down the stretch.

At the end of the first overtime period, Livingstone again needed a hero — and it got one. After Taylor Boyd put the Rams up, 64-62, with 15 seconds remaining, Livingstone guard Deonna Young connected on a jumper that tied the game again.

In the second overtime, WSSU had a 69-65 lead at the 3:13-mark, but again, the Blue Bears were not to be denied. Senior guard Bria Patterson buried a 3-pointer, her only points of the game, and then Asia Green hit a jumper to give Livingstone a one-point lead.

The Blue Bears took the lead for good with 1:14 left, when guard Zena Lovette, zoomed in for a layup and a foul shot. The old-fashioned three-point play put Livingstone on top, 73-70.

Boyd added a free throw with 57 seconds left, but missed the second one. On the other end, Lovette missed a jumper but post player Shannon Buchanan rebounded and scored with 10 seconds remaining, finally securing the win.

Lovette led all scorers with 28 points, hitting 12-of-27 shots from the field. She also grabbed 16 rebounds.

Taylor also had a monster game, with 22 points and 17 rebounds. Young added 11 points but was off her normal good shooting game (4-of-14). Buchanan scored just five points but grabbed 12 rebounds, 10 of which were off the defensive board.

Post player Candace Tate led the Rams with 26 points and 12 rebounds.

Despite the exciting ending, the game, in some ways, was a battle of futility. WSSU had 26 turnovers and missed 16 free throws (18-of-34). The Rams were also an ice-cold 1-of-12 from the 3-point arc (8.3 percent).

Meanwhile, Livingstone made just 16 percent of its 3-point attempts (5-of-32) and missed 58 shots from the floor (30-of-88). The Blue Bears did limit their turnovers to 17, no doubt helping them grab the victory.

Livingstone returns to action at home on Monday, hosting Chowan at 5:30 p.m.

LIVINGSTONE (75) — Green 6, Patterson 3, Taylor 22, Lovette 28, Buchanan 5, Young 11, Cardriche, Redfern.

WINSTON-SALEM STATE (71) — Torain 6, Carter 9, Tate 26, Edwards, Williams 6, Saunders 6, Mandeville 2, Stevens, Dunn, Arnold 3, Boyd 13, Johnson, Daniels.

Livingstone                       12    18    11    15    8    11 — 75

Winston-Salem St.          21     9     15    11    8     7  — 71