Golden leads Bethune-Cookman women to first NCAA berth

NORFOLK, Va. -- Angel Golden scored 18 points and Bethune-Cookman took control in the fourth quarter to earn its first NCAA Tournament berth with a 57-45 win over Norfolk State in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament championship game on Saturday.

Golden and Amaya Scott had seven points apiece as the third-seeded Wildcats (21-10) outscored the fourth-seeded Spartans (17-15) 21-12. Bethune-Cookman went 8 of 10 in the final 10 minutes with two 3-pointers and was 3 of 3 from the foul line.

Golden, the MVP after scoring 26 points in each of the previous two games, hit a 3-pointer for a 39-33 lead early in the fourth quarter. Golden and Scott combined for six-straight points for a 48-36 lead with six minutes to play.

Scott finished with 12 points and Harris had 10 for the Wildcats, who made the last three WNIT fields. Chasimmie Brown grabbed 16 rebounds.

Bethune-Cookman earned its third straight 20-win season in the semifinals, a first for the school for men or women and a notable accomplishment with the loss of three key players due to injury during the season. That win also gave Golden 83 wins her career, the most for any Wildcat, passing the 82 by men's legend Carl Fuller.

Le'Deja James scored 18 points for the Spartans, whose upset of top-seeded North Carolina A&T in the semifinals ended the Aggies' 28-game conference winning streak. Norfolk State, in its first title game since 2005, shot just 38 percent.

The teams split a pair of games during the regular season, each winning by seven points on its home court.