Women's Basketball 3/13/2008 4:00:00 AM MEAC Media Relations

Butler?s Strong Second Half Pushes Hampton Past UMES

Rachel Butler scored 16 of her game-high 20 points in the second half and Quanneisha Perry provide a boost off the bench to help Hampton pull away to a 56-49 win over the Maryland Eastern Shore in the quarterfinal round of the MEAC women’s tournament at the RBC Center.

The Lady Pirates (18-12), the number four seed, will advance to the semifinal round against North Carolina A&T, the number one seed on Friday at 12 noon.

With both teams struggling to find any rhythm, it was Butler, the senior guard, who took over and made the difference. After missing 7 of her 8 from the field, Butler hit on 7 of 11 shots, coming on a variety of ways.

“I’ve been here (Raleigh) three times and this was my first win,” said Butler, a second team All-MEAC selection. “I was disappointed in my play in the first half so I knew I had to come and play better in the second half. The team needed for me to score in order for us to have a chance to win.”

There was a stretch when the teams exchanged seven leads and were deadlocked twice. Then Butler scored seven straight points, grabbed two defensive rebounds and assisted on a basket that proved to be the difference.

“I think Rachel Butler’s play in the second half was the difference,” said Fred Batchelor. “As a senior, she really stepped up and her impact in the second half was big.”

The Lady Hawks (17-13), who were the number five seed, relies a lot on the three-point shot and it failed them as they missed 16 of their 19 attempts. Their woes were compounded by their inability to get the ball inside against Hampton’s Perry and Chinyere Ukoh. UMES shot only nine free throws for the game.

“Rebounding was a key for us,” said Mebane. ?Ukoh and Perry were exceptional for us.”

Added Batchelor, “Overall, we didn’t shoot well and didn’t attack as much as they did to the free throw line. It’s tough sometimes to compete when a team enjoys that big of an advantage at the line.”

April McBride, a second team All-MEAC selection, led her team with 18 points and Queenique Tyler contributed 10 off the bench, but it was not enough to overcome Butler and a poor shooting night.

2008 MEAC Rookie of the Year, Casey Morton dealt out six assists, but she had a poor shooting night, missing 12 of her 13 attempts and scoring only two points.

“She got some good looks at times but was unable to knock them down,” said Batchelor. “It was not a good shooting night for her, but she’s a great player and she will grow from this experience.”