Women's Basketball MEAC Media Relations

Shorthanded FAMU Keeps Howard Winless, 69-53

Shorthanded Florida A&M jumped out to an early 10-0 lead and never looked back as they grabbed a 69-53 decision over Howard in a MEAC game at Gaither Gymnasium Saturday evening.

Florida A&M (6-6, 2-0 in MEAC) won their second straight overall and remained perfect in conference play, while dealing the winless Lady Bison (0-13, 0-2 in MEAC) their 15th straight loss overall dating back to the final two games of last season.

The Lady Rattlers also played without the senior duo of forward Stephanie Foster, the club's number two scorer (13.2) and leading three-point shooter (16), plus forward Denise Tate, the fourth-leading rebounder in the MEAC (8.2).

Foster was absent due to death in the family, while Tate was recovering from a tonsillectomy she underwent last week.

Still, with just nine players, FAMU built an early 10-0 lead, capitalizing on Howard turnovers in the first four minutes, and went on to a 31-19 advantage by halftime.

Howard committed 12 of their 20 turnovers on the evening in the first half, which coupled with 25 percent floor shooting really put them behind the eight ball against the Lady Rattlers.

Both teams shot 34 percent from the floor in the second half, but FAMU, which outscored Howard, 38-34, owned a decided rebounding edge, 26-17. The FAMU total was highlighted by 16 defensive rebounds, which limited Howard to just two (2) second chance points in the final stanza.

Senior Deidra Jones led FAMU with 15 points, followed by freshman Tameka McKelton, who recorded a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds off the bench. Freshman Antonia Bennett added 10 points, scoring the first four points of the game for FAMU, while first-year forward Qiana Donald just missed a double-double, finishing with nine points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

For Howard, Lonice Kenley led the way with 17 points. Natalie Day added 16 points and a team-high five rebounds, followed by Zykia Brown with 12 points.