Champion Shaw Bears come home to welcoming rally
RALEIGH -- The Shaw Bears flight back home from the NCAA Division II championships was delayed by over 30 minutes Saturday, which pushed the womens basketball teams arrival an hour past the scheduled campus celebration.
But nobody was complaining, as students, faculty and fans patiently waited with open arms for the new national champions to walk through the doors of Spaulding Gymnasium.
At 3:40 p.m. they did just that to roaring applause and high-stepping music by the pep band. For the first time since 1947, Shaw University has a national champion.
The Bears (29-6) rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit to defeat No. 2 ranked Ashland 88-82 in overtime. Shaw is just the third CIAA womens program in conference history to win it all.
The title concludes a remarkable season for the Bears, who won their second straight CIAA Tournament and seventh in the past nine years.
Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/03/24/1956649/shaw-bears-come-home-to-welcoming.html#storylink=cpy