The Central State Lady Marauders basketball team defeated the Kentucky State Thorobreds Feb. 11, 2019, at the William Exum Center in Frankfort, Kentucky.
Nearly three thousand people filled the gymnasium to witness the biggest rivalry game of the year.
“I bought my tickets two weeks in advance, because I knew it would be a sold-out game,” sophomore Travon Brice said. “Central State and Kentucky State really go at it, and I needed to see it.”
The Marauders were seeking revenge over the Thorobreds after losing to the Kentucky squad a few days earlier in Wilberforce. Head Coach Latonya McDole said the team was ready for the second game. “I told them that before they met success, they would first meet failure,” McDole said. “I assured them that they would have to play this game as if it were their last, and as if it was a championship game.”
The Thorobreds scored the first five points of the game before the Lady Marauders went on an 8-0 scoring run. The Marauders built their lead up to ten points with the help of point guard Takyra Gilbert and small forward Falon Edwards. “My team and I really wanted that win, especially how we lost the first game at home,” Gilbert said. “We weren’t going home without it.”
Entering the second half of the game, the Marauders maintained a comfortable lead, but the Thorobreds climbed back into contention and went on a 9-0 scoring tear to end the third quarter.
Shooting guard Jaeda Davis broke Kentucky’s run with a huge three-point shot to open the fourth quarter and give the Marauders a seven-point lead. “Coach drew the play for me to shoot at the start of the fourth and that’s exactly what I did,” Davis said.
The Thorobreds’ Jessie Kee answered back with baskets of her own to close the margin to just three points. However, it was not enough. The Marauders closed the game by scoring on four of their final five possessions to win 66-53.
Joseph Price, head coach of the Central State men’s team, thinks that both CSU squads are headed in the right direction. “For sure, we’ll be going somewhere, but we just have to take it one step at a time,” Price said. “Marauders basketball is going to reach its apex as long as athletes can maintain their grades and play hard.”