CHARLOTTE, N.C.- The Queens University of Charlotte women's basketball team dropped in a cross-town rivalry game against Johnson C. Smith, 59-48, on Saturday, November 26, 2016. The loss moved the Royals to a 0-6 overall record as the Golden Bulls advanced to 5-1 on the season.
 
The game started with a Royals' lead, as Queens quickly took control with McKell Oliverio knocking down all seven Royals points while Johnson C. Smith found just a lone basket. Oliverio added another basket to keep the team at distance after a three pointer from the Golden Bulls, 9-5.  Carmen Richardson tallied her first basket of the night to increase the lead to 11-5 shortly after. The Royals led by six with two minutes left to play in in the first quarter but a large momentum shift gave Johnson C. Smith 11 unanswered points for the lead, 21-14.
 
With strong defensive play, the Royals held the Golden Bulls to just one basket in the first seven minutes of the second quarter while Queens chipped away at the Johnson C. Smith score.  Victoria Robinson, from the floor, and Madison Turlington, from the free-throw line, both found the net to move the team within five, 23-18, with 7:20 to play in the half. Johnson C. Smith added two baskets late in the period to extend the lead back out to seven, 27-20, but a three-pointer by Sarah Henson gave the team momentum heading into the half, 27-23.
 
Out of the break, Johnson C. Smith made three quick baskets moving to a ten point lead before Richardson's basket at 7:31 settled the Royals back into the game. Queens found opportunities but the points would not fall as Johnson C Smith tallied an 18 point lead by the end of the third quarter.
 
Both teams took looks in the last period of the game but Queens was still left staring at their largest deficit of the game, 51-30. Henson converted the three-point play to bring the score back under 20, 51-33, as the Royals never gave up the fight. The team outscored the Golden Bulls 20-13 in the last 10 minutes of play.
 
The Royals were led on the floor by Oliverio who put up 16 points followed by Henson who tallied 15.
 
Johnson C. Smith was led by Blaire Thomas who tallied 10 points followed by Asha Jordan and Anika Jones who evened at nine. Jamia Johnson led the team in rebounds with six rebounds followed by Malia Rivers with five.
 
The Royals will host Anderson University on December 3, for a 2 p.m., game. The team will also welcome in past alums of the program for Alumni Day.