UMES Comes From Behind To Defeat Coppin State, 55-53
BALTIMORE, Md. -Maryland Eastern Shore erased 13-point halftime deficit on its way to a 55-53 MEAC win over Coppin State at the Physical Education Complex Saturday.
UMES trailed 37-24 heading into the second half and outscored the Lady Eagles, 31-16, to pick up its fourth win in five games, improving to 6-8 overall and 4-1in conference play. CSU fell to 6-10 and 2-3 in the MEAC.
Freshman Chelsea Sanders and junior Casey Morton each had 13 points to lead UMES in scoring. Chena Parker and April McBride had 12 and 11 points, respectively, to round out the Lady Hawks four starters in double figures. Sanders grabbed team-high nine rebounds while McBride had eight.
Down, 39-26, with 18:30 remaining, UMES ran off nine straight points to cut the margin to four at 39-35. The run began with a McBride 3-pointer off an assist by Morton and it finished with consecutive layups from Morton, the last of which was the result of a steal at midcourt.
Coppin quickly regained a comfortable lead at 47-35 with just over 10 minutes left when Sesalie Johnson hit a jumper, but the UMES bounced back with a 12-0 run to knot the game at 47 with 5:05 remaining. Parker had half of UMES' points in the stretch. She started the spurt with a three and pulled the Lady Hawks even with an old-fashioned 3-point play.
Amber Cook (later gave UMES its first lead since 6-4 in the first half with a pair of clutch free throws at the 3:27 mark to put the visitors up, 51-49.
Coppin State made one final push, cutting the lead to 55-53 and had two possessions in the final seconds to steal the game but Johnson couldn't convert on a layup and Chanelle Downing missed a three with one tick left.
For the complete story, visit www.umeshawks.com
Curley-Payne Spurs Howard To Overtime Win Over Florida A&M
Washington, DC-Cheyenne Curley-Payne scored the go-ahead basket with 15 seconds remaining and then came up with a steal to seal the victory as Howard edged Florida A&M, 69-68 in a thrilling, overtime MEAC game at Burr Gymnasium.
After the Lady Rattlers (10-6 overall, 3-3 in the MEAC) took the lead at 68-67 on two free throws with 15 seconds remaining, Curley-Payne calmly the ball upcourt, used a screen and maneuvered her way to the basket to give the Lady Bison the lead at 69-68.
Florida A&M inbounded the ball and attempted to push it up the floor but Curley-Young deflected the ball away from the Lady Rattlers' LaShonda Gaines and dribbled out the clock.
The play of Curley-Payne, a 5-5 freshman from Chula Vista, Calif, Kara Smith and Saadia Doyle proved to be key in the victory as Howard had to play without its leader and team-leading scorer, junior guard, Zykia Brown, who injured her ankle in practice on Friday and did not suit up.
"We stepped up as a team," said a happy Howard Coach Niki Reid-Geckeler. "We made some big plays down the stretch. Cheyenne came up big the last two plays. Kara (Smith) also played a huge role in this win. I told the team after the game that our babies grew up today."
The Lady Bison (8-9 overall, 4-2 in the MEAC) led 34-30 at the half despite the absence of Brown, who averages over 18 points per game and ranks among the conference leaders in several statistical categories. With the play of Smith, Curley-Payne and Doyle, Howard opened the second half with a 14-5 run over the first nine minutes to take a 48-35 lead at the 11:08 mark.
For the complete story, visit www.howard-bison.com
SC State Win Drop 5th Straight Contest
ORANGEBURG, SC - Defending Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion North Carolina A&T closed the game with 14-7 run to capture a 67-60 win over host South Carolina State Saturday at Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center.
After SC State's Tiara Knotts made the second of two free throws to deadlock the contest at 53-all with 4:18 to play, the Lade Aggies' Jaleesa Sams converted on two free throws at the 3:09 mark to trigger a 6-0 run that put the visitors ahead 59-53 with 2:11 showing.
Reserve Shontay Wylie got a follow shot for the Lady Bulldogs and Trinese Fox made one of two from the line to pull the host to within 59-56 with just under a minute left. But Amber Calvin converted a three-point play on NC A&T's next trip down court for a 62-56 advantage and the closest SC State could get after that was that six-point margin.
Sams had 14 points and seven rebounds to lead NCA&T. Crystal Murdaugh came off the bench for 12 points and Calvin finished with 11 in the Lady Aggie victory, the 10th straight regular-season MEAC triumph and the 13th overall against conference competition for Coach Patricia Bibbs' squad. NC A&T improved to 11-7 and 6-0 in the MEAC.
For the complete story, visit www.scsuathletics.com
Morgan Plays at Home; Defeats Delaware State, 62-58
BALTIMORE, Md. (Jan. 23, 2010)-Corin Adams scored a game-high 21 points including the Lady Bears' final four points to secure the victory, as Morgan State defeated visiting Delaware State, 62-58 in a MEAC game Saturday afternoon at Hill Field House. The game marked Morgan State's conference home opener.
With the win, the Lady Bears' ended a seven-game losing skid to Delaware State, whose last lost to Morgan State came in Baltimore (1/8/07), following a game-winning floater by Adams for a 42-40 win.
Morgan State (8-9, 4-1 MEAC), which after 14 straight road contests was finally playing in front of the friendly confines of home, also got 14 points from Georgien Williams and 13 points from Theresa Davis.
In a game, which looked like it would be a blowout in the first half, quickly turned into the typical close Morgan State-Delaware State battle in the second half, which the two teams of come accustomed to. Heading into the contest, the final score in the last three contests played at Hill Field House have resulted in no more than a three point difference.
Delaware State (3-15, 1-4 MEAC), which trailed by as much as 23 in the first half and 17 in the second half, was led by Ferderica Holloman, who scored 19 points and Selena Galloway, who added 18 points. Kianna D'Oliveira added 10 points in the loss.
The Lady Bears seemed to take control when they went on a 13-0 run to take a 36-13 lead with 2:32 remaining in the first half. Delaware State however countered with a 10-0 spurt, before Adams scored on a jumper at the half to give the hosts a 38-23 halftime advantage.
Adams would hit two free throws prior to the start of the second half, after a technical foul was charged to Delaware State head coach Ed Davis at the end of the first half, pushing the Morgan lead to 17 points at 40-23.
However, the Hornets continued their run it started at the end of the first period, by going on a 13-0 spurt to pull within 36-40, following back-to-back three-pointers by Holloman and Galloway.
For the complete story, visit www.morganstatebears.com
Key Shots, Strong Inside Play Helps NSU Beat Winston-Salem State, 60-56
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Freshman guard Recca Trice banked an off-balance jumper with 33 seconds left in the game to break a 56-all tie and freshman center Batavia Owens recorded game- and career-highs of 22 points and 20 rebounds as Norfolk State defeated Winston-Salem State 60-59 on Saturday afternoon at the C.E. Gaines Center.
Whitney Long and Trice each connected on the front end of two free throws and Rene Rector missed a meaningless 3-pointer on the other end to seal the win for NSU (3-11).
The game was close the entire way with neither team leading by more than seven points. The Spartans took their largest lead of the game, 14-8, after a three-point play by Marian Brooks with 14 minutes left in the first half. The teams traded baskets for remainder of the period and WSSU (2-16) went into halftime with a 29-24 advantage.
The Spartans came out focused in the second half and tied the game at 31-all after a 3-pointer by Long with 17:32 left in the game. The Lady Rams were able to keep NSU at bay for the next six minutes, but the Spartans got within two, 44-42, on a layup by Owens with 10:16 left and tied it up two possessions later after a shot by Tyisha Bridges with 9:20 left.
The teams exchanged leads over next few minutes until Trice's free-throw put the game out of reach.
For the complete story, visit www.nsuspartans.com
Lady Wildcats Rocked by Hampton
HAMPTON, Va. - Coming off of two straight conference wins, the Lady Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman Women's Basketball hit the road for their first away conference matchup. Despite recent successes, the Lady Wildcats never really got on track in any facet. Match that with the fact that Hampton shot lights-out at times, and it created a bad situation for B-CU, leaving them on the losing end of a dominating performance by the Lady Pirates, falling 81-44.
The first half set the tone for the entire night, as B-CU only scored 16 points in the first period, while committing 17 turnovers in the opening period. HU took advantage of the situation, scoring 17 off turnovers early. Late in the first half, down 15, the Lady Wildcats made a surge that brought the score back to just 8, but B-CU couldn't hold onto that momentum and went into the half down 21.
In the second half, B-CU got more on track offensively, notably due to more frequent free throw shooting, but Hampton stepped it up on their end as well, having an answer for B-CU's attack at every angle. Hampton expanded their lead and shocked B-CU with a 37-point loss; Hampton topping B-CU 81-44.
The Lady Wildcats got their turnovers under control in the second half, but the damage was done, especially once HU got hot from the perimeter. The Lady Wildcats hung in on the boards, only outrebounded by two boards. What did the most damage was shooting percentages. The Lady Wildcats only produced a 34 percent field goal percentage for the game, while Hampton lit up the Lady Wildcats for a stunning 57 percent three-point shooting performance in the second half.
For the complete story, visit www.bcuathletics.com