Women's Basketball 2/19/2008 5:00:00 AM MEAC Media Relations

Reid Powers SC State To Easy Win Over Howard

Marie Reid came off the bench to score a career-high 31 points and lead four players in double figures as South Carolina State rolled to an easy 106-78 win over Howard University in a MEAC women’s game at Burr Gymnasium.

The Lady Bison overcame an early first half, 14-point deficit to get within three at 34-31 at the 4:14 mark. Howard guards Shannon Carlisle (10 points) and Asha Santee (nine points) combined to get their team within striking distance during a key run.

But that was as close as Howard would get as Reid (10 points) and Sophilia Hipps (13 points) helped the Lady Bulldogs regain momentum and take a 47-36 lead to the locker room.

“Our defense was able to get us close, but we let up and took some bad shots,” said Carlisle, who had another fine outing with a team-high 18 points to go along with 7 assists and 5 steals. “When you get behind like that and your shots don’t fall, this is what happens.”

With Reid and Jennell Moore dominating inside for SC State, guards Brittany Baity and Hipps were able to get good looks from the perimeter as they combined on 8 of 16 from the floor, including 5 of 8 from the arc. That balanced attack proved to be too much for the Lady Bison to overcome.

Howard (3-21 overall, 2-9 in the MEAC) tried to get back in the game via the three-point shot, but the team misfired, missing 40 of 49 attempts. The guards Reyna Gross, Carlisle, Santee, Lonice Kenley and Zykia Brown combined for 49 attempts from beyond the arc among them.

Reid, a 6-4 sophomore, who hit on 14 of 17 from the field in 25 minutes of play, affected the game plan for both teams.

“Howard is one of those teams we match up with well,” explained SC State Coach Tonya Mackey. “Marie was able to get shots inside the paint and that was a big part of our success. It is a nice luxury to have her come off the bench and give us what she gives us. It is her comfort zone.”

“We wanted to make it a 94 feet game, but they were able to get points off their half court sets and that gave us problems,” said Howard Coach Cathy Parson. “The difference was the play in the middle.” Howard was able to force the visitors into 33 turnovers that it converted into 24 points

SC State (10-13 overall, 7-5 in the MEAC) shot 63 percent from the field, held a 58-33 rebounding advantage and dominated points-in-the-paint, 62-26.

Santee finished with 15 while Kenley and Tamaya Daniels tallied 10 and 11, respectively off the bench.

Hipps scored 24, Moore 20 and 13 rebounds and Baity added 12 points for the Lady Bulldogs.

NEXT UP: SC State hosts Norfolk State next Saturday at 1 pm while the Lady Bison will try to re-group when they travel to Baltimore, MD to take on Morgan State University next Saturday at 2 pm.