The Fayetteville State University women’s basketball team’s season ended all too soon for a team that had championship aspirations. The Broncos were knocked out of the CIAA Tournament in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, February 28.
The FSU women’s basketball team entered the tournament as the top seed in the Southern division thanks to a dominant, 12-game winning-streak capping the regular season. Overall, the Broncos went 16-10. In conference play, FSU was 11-5, and more impressively, the Broncos went a perfect 10-0 against Southern division opponents. As top seed in the division, FSU had a bye for the opening round of the CIAA Tournament.

Their reward for clinching the top seed and an opening round bye? A 22-9 overall (10-6 conference) Bowie State squad that featured as a fourth seed in the ridiculously tough Northern division. Fans in Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina were treated to a thriller as the game went into overtime. Ultimately, it appeared that the Broncos ran out of gas in the extra period as Bowie State won 72-64 to stop FSU’s incredible run right in its tracks.

Early in the season, these Broncos were sluggish as they stumbled to a 4-10 start, including a six-game losing streak. A mid-January win against Johnson C. Smith is what turned the women’s season around as they would not lose until the last day of February in the tournament.

The turnaround in play and fortune for the Broncos can be attributed to the efforts of Shantel Bennett, Yakima Clifton, Noni Kuumba, and Courtney Best. Bennett was the team’s leading scorer with 11 points per game. In 19 of the 26 of games she played, she scored at least 10 points. Clifton, a preseason pick for All-Conference had a 6-game stretch where she scored at least 10 points that coincided with the Broncos’ winning-streak. Kuumba in her fifth start of the season, scored 21 points against Livingstone. She scored 26 points and 22 points in her next two games that helped turn a one-game Broncos winning-streak into four. Best started only 13 games all season, but the Broncos were 12-1 in the games she started. The only loss being to Bowie State in the tournament.

Sporting a balanced roster this year composed of seven upperclassmen and four freshman, Coach Serena King-Coleman graduates three seniors from the roster: Jamesha Mosley, Breona Jones, and Best this season. Mosley averaged 8 points and 4 rebounds a game. Jones was the team’s second leading scorer with 9 points per game and she had 12 games where she scored in double digits. Best averaged 8 points and 4 rebounds a game.

The season ended in disappointing fashion for the Fayetteville State University men’s basketball team. Despite carrying a subpar record into the CIAA Tournament, there was still hope for the FSU men’s basketball team to turn their season around, considering last season they went on an improbable run to the CIAA Championship. However, this time their season came to an end in the second round of the CIAA Tournament.

The FSU men’s basketball finished the 2017-2018 season with an 8-21 record overall and a 4-12 conference record.

Bogged down by injuries and inconsistent play, these young Broncos were never able to string more than two consecutive wins together. Coach Ken Spencer had a very young squad that featured six freshman Broncos making their collegiate debut. Their season was punctuated by a frustrating, mid-season eight game slide. However, for fans of the team, there was always hope that these Broncos would be able to flip a switch and string together impressive play thanks to their strength, their guards.

The Broncos defeated Lincoln (PA) in the first round of the CIAA Tournament, 62-55 before losing a back and forth affair to the Southern division’s number one seed Johnson C. Smith, 68-58.

All year, the men’s basketball team was led by its guards Josh Bryant, Willie Gilmore, and Denzell Hosch. Bryant was the leading scorer averaging 15 points per game. In February, Bryant was named to the All-CIAA team. Of the 27 games that Bryant played, he failed to score at least 10 points only five times.

Gilmore averaged 14 points per game and finished the season with six consecutive games with double-digit scoring. Hosch averaged 12 points while having six 20-point plus outbursts for the season. His season-high of 34 points against West Florida was the most points scored by any Bronco this season.

Looking towards next year, FSU men’s basketball’s prospects seem to be a much improved next season. The Broncos will return every player except two, seniors Javen McNeill and Gilmore. Forward McNeill was the team’s leading rebounder with 4.5 per game. Leading scorer Bryant and Hosch will be juniors next year with a shot at being named Preseason All-CIAA players for the season. It was a trying season for Coach Spencer and this FSU team, but it should not dampen the excitement and expectations for the next season.

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The Fayetteville State University sports teams did relatively well in the fall, earning two championship appearances and one championship title. In the fall, the Broncos’ football team rode a late five-game win streak to the CIAA Championship and the Broncos’ volleyball squad go 21-10, including 13-3 in the conference. The Fayetteville State Women’s Cross Country team won their first-ever CIAA Women’s Cross-Country championship. Head coach Inez Turner won Coach of the Year and freshman Aleena Cruz was named Athlete of the Year.

For the spring semester, Fayetteville State hopes to build on the standard set by the football, volleyball, and the cross country squads and win even more championships. More than six-plus sports programs of Fayetteville State will take their respective fields and courts. Here is an overview of the spring semester Broncos’ sports programs:

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: The Broncos are on a very impressive eight-game winning streak led by leading scorer Shantel Bennett, who averages 11.4 points a game on 50% shooting. She has been aided by preseason All-CIAA player Yakima Clifton. Clifton is chipping in 10.4 points per game and a team-leading 6.2 rebounds per game. As a collective, the Broncos have really upped their play in conference contests and they have a very good chance of going deep in the CIAA tournament. The Broncos are 12-9 overall and 7-5 in conference games, which is good for first in the Southern division.

MEN’S BASKETBALL: The Broncos men’s basketball team are 7-16 overall and 4-8 in the conference. The men have been reeling and with just a few games left in the season, these Broncos are running out of time to gel before the CIAA Tournament. Despite the team’s struggle, the Broncos’ Josh Bryant has been outstanding, averaging 16 points a game and 4.5 rebounds per game.

BOWLING: Last year, the Fayetteville State women bowling team went 54-8. This year, the Broncos’ women bowling team has yet to lose and is arguably the best sports program Fayetteville State has. Before the season, the CIAA predicted these Broncos to win the CIAA Championship and named five FSU players to the preseason All-CIAA team– Brittany Worthy, Savannah Starling, Veronica Colon-Santiago, Paige Brayboy, and Lola Neal. A December poll by the National Tenpin Coaches Association ranked the Broncos 21st in the sport of NCAA bowling.

SOFTBALL: With the season just getting started, the Broncos have already played series against Benedict and crosstown rivals Methodist University. Next Friday (Feb 23rd), the Broncos will be back home in Lamon St. Park to play Claflin. These Broncos, led by 2017 first team All-CIAA catcher Shi-Cara Goins are looking to build on their 2017 campaign, in which FSU went 23-17 and 13-3 in the conference before losing in the second round of the CIAA Championship. There are also four other Broncos that earned either second team all-conference or all-rookie honors on this year’s squad: 1B HaLee Knowles, outfielder Maggie Smith, and outfielder Rachel Rodriguez.

TENNIS: Sunday (Feb 11th), the tennis season kicked off for the Broncos against Salem University. Feb. 24th, Fayetteville State will play their second match of the season against Methodist. The squad hopes to be better than last season’s 3-11 campaign while returning only one player from last year.

GOLF: March 11th, the Fayetteville State golf program returns to the green courses in the VSU Trojans Spring Classic. Previously in October, the Broncos placed 6th in the Emory Fall Classic and placed 7th in the VSU Fall Trojans Classic. The Spring Classic will serve as a warmup to the CIAA Northern Divisional Championship twelve days later.

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The Fayetteville State football team may have ended their season on a loss but this season was definitely a success and a great story for second-year Head Coach Richard Hayes and his players. The Broncos started off a disappointing 1-4 before winning five straight games to clinch their fifth appearance in the CIAA Championship. November 11th, Fayetteville State (6-5) took on Virginia State (10-0) in Salem, Virginia for the conference crown, losing 42-19. Prior to this season, Fayetteville State had not made the championship since 2009.

With the season now over, we take a look back on the Broncos’ season.

The Broncos won their season opener against Chowan before losing four straight games, including nail biters against Elizabeth City State in the Down East Viking Classic, and Virginia Union. The lowest point of their season could have been the loss against Bowie State, 64-31, which prompted Coach Hayes to declare the loss a victim of “growing pains.”

However, the loss against Bowie State proved to be the catalyst for the five game winning streak that put Fayetteville State in the championship. The streak featured four games that the Broncos won by 3 points or less. In fact, the Broncos defeated those four opponents–Shaw, St. Augustine, Livingstone, and Winston Salem State by a combined 9 points.

Another catalyst for the five game winning streak? Freshman Quarterback Richard Latimer who started six games this season, including those five games and the CIAA Championship. On the season, Latimer completed 92 of 180 passes for 1228 yards and 7 touchdowns with 9 interceptions. He also had 2 rushing touchdowns.

For their efforts this season, nine Broncos made the All-CIAA First or Second Team and seven freshman Broncos made the All-CIAA Rookie Team.

The Voice, though, has chosen three Broncos to highlight.

1. David Lamb: Often times, a kicker is more known for his failures than his successes. After kicking three game-winning field goals this year, the junior Lamb deserves some positive attention while playing a pressure-filled position. Against Winston Salem State, Lamb made the game-winning extra point with 30 seconds left to actually send the Broncos to the championship. He also made game-winning kicks against Shaw with 4 seconds left from 30 yards out and against St. Augustine for the Broncos’ homecoming.
2. Stevie Green: After being named All-CIAA Offensive Rookie of the Year last season (1150 rushing yards and 6 touchdowns) , Green improved those numbers with a sophomore, Second Team all-CIAA campaign that included 1257 yards rushing on 225 rushes with 15 touchdowns, including a 250 yard and 4 touchdown performance against Elizabeth City State. He was also the second leading receiver on the team this season with 181 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns.
3. Seth Johnson: The Charlotte native led the Broncos in tackles with 69. The 6’1 210 linebacker set the tone with 43 solo tackles (also a team-high), 4.5 tackles for a loss, and 3.5 sacks in nine games. The senior finishes his collegiate career with 183 total tackles, 4 sacks, 10 tackles for loss, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and one interception.

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While the Fayetteville State women’s volleyball team’s season ended two days earlier than we’ve all would have liked, we can all still cheer for the good and fun season they had nonetheless. The Broncos, as a 3 seed from the Southern Division lost a heartbreaker to Virginia State (11-14; 2 seed from the Northern Division) Friday, November 17th in Petersburg, Virginia in the 1st Round of the CIAA Tournament. The match came down to the fifth and final set where the Trojans won 15-13. The final tally: 21-25, 25-23, 13-25, 25-20, 13-15.

Fayetteville State went 21-9 over the course of the regular season that included a captivating nine-game win streak. The Broncos were dominant for nearly three weeks, giving up only one set in the span before losing to Winston Salem State. Fayetteville State had bounced back from an early 1-4 record to be at an even 6-6 record before embarking on their winning streak.

Following the loss to the Trojans, Head Coach Reeshemah Johnson admitted that pressure may have been a factor. “The team is still young. I think the pressure was a lot to bear playing Virginia State in their gym for a spot in the semi-final game.” It is unfortunate that standout seniors Arlicia Ortiz, Jayde Jacobs, and Raven Ousley-Brown graduate this season.

Ortiz, from Spanaway, WA, earned First Team All-CIAA honors as a utility player for her efforts this season. Ortiz finished #2 in the conference in digs (414), #3 in total attacks (664) and #6 in kills with 221. Last season, Ortiz made the Second Team.

Jacobs earned All-CIAA Second Team honors as a middle hitter/blocker. It was her second season earning such honors. The Pine Forest graduate had 200 kills, 139 digs, and 60 blocks on the season.

Ousley-Brown, the native from St. Paul, MN had 133 kills and 33 blocks on the season, including a season-high 12 kills against St. Andrews on September 22nd.

Sophomores Nia Bell and Nakia McKinnie also made Second Team All-CIAA honors. Bell from Elizabeth City, NC won the honors as an outside hitter and had 201 digs and 163 kills, which ranked 14th and 16th, respectively. McKinnie, a setter from Niceville, Florida, led the team in assists with 434, which was good for 7th in the conference. She also added 113 digs.

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