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Gibson felt the start was manageable if the Lady Rattlers could just get in sync. "We just told everybody to just stay together and just keep plugging at them one basket at a time. We had a goal of going in at halftime down by just 10 points or less. We kept chipping away" Gibson said. In the end, Antonia Bennett and Qiana Donald's foul trouble escalated the problems. I don't think we played as aggressive without Bennett and Donald," she added.
Jasmine Grice led the Lady Rattlers with 14 points on 5-of-18 shooting from the field. In one crucial stretch as FAMU was clawing its way back into the game, Grice scored five straight points. Donald and Bennett would finish with 13 points each. With the Lady Rattlers' usual balanced scoring attack, only four players scored in this game. Jamie Foreman led the Lady Rattlers on the board with 11 on the day.
Howard was paced by Saadia Doyle, who nailed a game-high 21 points. Tamoria Holmes also had a hot hand for the Bison with 19 of her own. Doyle would card a double-double with 11 rebounds.
Gibson felt that it wasn't what Howard did, but what the Lady Rattlers weren't able to do. "The thing that hurt us the most in the game was turnovers. They had 23 points off of our turnovers. Offensive rebounds were also key. We would get within two or three points and they would get the rebound. We out-rebounded them in the end, but key rebounds at crucial times in the second half was what hurt us," Gibson concluded.
The Lady Rattlers finish an overall successful season with 22 wins against just eight losses. With several accolades along the way, coach Gibson amassed a level that the team hadn't achieved in some time. Between the preseason that began in turmoil and the final crushing blow put on by the Bison, the Lady Rattlers provided a much-needed spark to the athletics department and the whole university.
