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WINONA LAKE, Ind. (March 15, 2012) – In an early-morning game that kicked off the second day of the 2012 NCCAA National Championships, No. 3 Bluefield College proved too much to handle defensively as they ran past Roberts Wesleyan in the second half for a 55-50 victory.
Thursday's game was defined by turnovers as the two squads combined for 68 turnovers, including 37 turnovers by the Raiders (21-13).
Roberts Wesleyan's zone defense gave the Rams (22-11) fits throughout the first half, resulting in 20 Bluefield turnovers and 21 Bluefield points.
The Rams kicked off the second half with a 15-6 run, however, to grab a 36-30 lead with 12 minutes to play. Bluefield's fullcourt pressure got the better of Roberts Wesleyan in the second half, forcing 20 second-half turnovers and allowing the Rams to pull off the win.
By fouling and forcing turnovers late in the contest, Roberts Wesleyan managed to cut an eight-point deficit to two in less than two minutes. But Bluefield's Takieya Rouse hit 2-of-2 from the line with 27 seconds to play to put the Rams ahead by four, and Kia Gillard sealed the victory with a steal on the defensive end.
GIllard tallied 12 points and seven of the team's 21 steals in the win. Teqa McNeal led the team in scoring with 14 points and four assists off the bench.
Marissa Sell led all scorers with 15 points to go along with four steals for the Raiders.
The Raiders will square-off with the #1 seed California Baptist tomorrow at 3pm.
