Tiffany Reid returned to action against the Kent State (KSU) Golden Flashes and poured in 19 points, on 7-15 shooting to lead the Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) Lady Hawks to overtime win, 76-71.

Reid, who had missed the last two games with a head injury sustained at Syracuse, looked to be her old self, knocking down two three pointers, going a perfect 3-3 from the free throw line and tallying three blocked shots and three assists for an overall solid performance.

UMES (5-6) was glad to have her back, as four players sat out against Army last Thursday. Today it was just three players, including Talareah Frazier who missed the game after playing against Army. Casey Morton also returned after missing the Army game. She added 12 points and handed out four assists.

Injuries seem to be the story for the Hawks who hope to have Frazier and Jelila Abdul-Bassit back for the game at American on Tuesday. April McBride went down with three minutes to play in the overtime period and could not finish the game. Luckily however she is not expected to miss much time, if any.

McBride would finish with her fourth double double in her last five games, dropping in 13 points and grabbing a game high 13 rebounds.

"Effort overcame free throw shooting tonight," said Head Coach Fred Batchelor. "We missed some big ones but we kept pushing it and came away with the win." Ironically it was McBride, hurt in the overtime period, which made only one of two at the end of regulation with fewer than 10 seconds left that tied the game at 67 instead of giving the Hawks the lead. In the final three minutes Morton and Jessica Ayilola both missed two free throws that would have given UMES a lead.

The Lady Hawks shot just 12 of 26 from the charity stripe, 46.2 percent for the game but got two key ones from Reid with less than two minutes to play in OT that gave them the lead for good, 72-71.

Kent State (3-9) also knows what it is like to have a limited bench. They came into the game with just eight players and lost two of them to fouls before the overtime period.

First Ellie Shields fouled out with less than five minutes to play and then their big gun, Anna Kowalska fouled out with just over two minutes to play in regulation. Kowalska had a game high 23 points and four blocks while Shields left with six points and seven rebounds.

The Golden Flashes never gave up as Stephanie Gibson had a double double of 18 points and 10 rebounds while teammate Asheley Harkins, playing for the first time in six games, added 12 points.

The Lady Hawks didn't lead the game until the 12:46 mark of the second frame when Morton took a pass from Queenique Tyler after a Reid steal and laid it in. Reid extended the lead to five after a Harkins turnover with a three from the wing, 46-41. UMES led by as many as eight in the game, that coming with 7:37 to play when Josephine McLane hit a jumper to make it 56-48.

Tyler finished in double figures for the first time this season with ten points.

UMES won the battle on the boards 49-45 and shot a respectable 41.4 percent form the field. They forced 26 turnovers from Kent State and converted those into a whopping 34 points. The Hawks took care of the ball themselves, committing just 18 turnovers but getting back on defense when they did as KSU would convert those into just eight points.

The Lady Hawks also used size to their advantage scoring 22 points in the paint and allowing just eight from their opponent.

KSU took a 35-29 lead into the locker room after leading by more than 14 in the first half. They started out hot, leading 23-9 with just under 12 to play in the first half but then got freezing cold, only scoring three more points until the 3:20 mark, a drought of almost eight minutes. UMES cut the lead to one at the 3:24 mark, 26-25 on a McBride put back but Kent State regrouped to go back and forth with the Hawks, spreading their lead to six at the break.

UMES is 2-0 against teams from the Mid-American Conference (MAC) this season as they topped Western Michigan earlier this season. The Hawks travel to American on Tuesday for just their third road contest of the year. Game time is slated for 7 p.m. in Washington DC

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