Hot hand, clutch performance send Fayetteville State women, men sweeping into CIAA finals
BALTIMORE, Md. — Fayetteville State men’s and women's basketball teams will have a shot at a CIAA championship sweep on Saturday at CFG Bank Arena.
The FSU women reached the CIAA Tournament finals after dominating Virginia State 86-61 in Friday's semifinal as senior guard Aniylah Bryant didn't miss a shot from the field on her way to 31 points.
The Lady Broncos (23-2) will face defending champion Elizabeth City State, coached by former WNBA and NC State All-ACC guard Tynesha Lewis, in Saturday's championship game at 1 p.m.
The FSU men’s team (18-12) gutted out a 53-51 victory over Virginia Union (14-18) to set up a championship showdown with Lincoln (16-13) at 4 p.m.
Both games will be televised on ESPNU.
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Trailing 40-35 with 9:06 remaining, FSU pulled ahead of VUU on a pair of Caleb Simmons jumpers and a Kaleb Coleman triple while the Broncos defense held the Panthers scoreless.
FSU wouldn’t trail again, as Simmons hit a 3-pointer for a five-point lead with 3:33 left, and added two more buckets while All-CIAA guard Tairell Fletcher went 4-for-4 from the line to put the game away.
Simmons finished with a game-high 20 points and nine rebounds in the physical matchup. Coleman added 13 points to go with five boards.
Fletcher and D’Marco Baucum scored seven apiece, with Fletcher adding six assists and five rebounds.
FSU is trying to win its second CIAA championship in three seasons after breaking an almost 50-year drought with the 2022 title.
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Fayetteville State women win big
Broncos senior Aniylah Bryant flashed her CIAA Player of the Year skills, shooting a perfect 11-for-11 from the field, including a 5-for-5 night from 3-point range in Friday’s semifinal win. She also had four steals and made 4-of-6 free throws.
Talia Trotter, playing near her hometown of Ellicott City, Maryland, dished out 13 assists to go with seven points.
With FSU's 6-foot-2 sophomore Amina Miles sitting out after an injury just a minute into Wednesday’s quarterfinal, the Broncos responded with balanced contributions from Niyah Wilkins with 16 points; Keayna McLaughlin, who added 10 points and six rebounds; Morgan Graham's eight points and six each from Ashara Hayes and Laila Harris.
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The Broncos never trailed VSU (23-5) in the semis, and led by as many as 26 points in the second half of a dominant performance.
CIAA Coach and Player of the Year
Bryant came into the tournament as the freshly crowned CIAA Player of the Year after averaging 16.7 points per game and a league-best 113 steals. In the Broncos' 59-45 quarterfinal win over Bluefield State on Wednesday, she had 25 points, seven rebounds and four steals to send FSU to the semis.
Fayetteville State's Tyreece Brown was named the CIAA Coach of the Year in his first season at the helm with the interim tag. He has led the Broncos to a 23-2 overall record, going 17-1 in conference play and winning a second straight Southern Division title.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fayetteville State men’s, women's basketball in CIAA championship
