Bethune-Cookman Defeats Morgan State To Advance to Semifinals
Bethune-Cookman jumped out to a big early lead and then held off a furious rally to get by Morgan State, 63-52 in the quarterfinal round of the MEAC Basketball Tournament at the Joel Coliseum.
The Lady Wildcats (17-14), the Number six seed, advances to the semifinal round against Hampton, the Number 2 seed, at 2:30 pm on Friday.
Bethune-Cookman parlayed the scoring of Demetria Frank (10 points) and Sarah Bolden (8 points) and some stifling defense on Corin Adams, the MEAC Player of the Year to take a 38-17 lead at the half.
The talented senior guard faced double and triple teams on every possession and thus missed six of seven shots for only three points. As a team, The Lady Bears (17-13) missed 26 of 33 shots and turned the ball over 14 times.
"Our game plan was to make sure that Corin did not get good looks," said B-CU head coach Vanessa Inge, the MEAC Coach of the Year. "She is a great player and we knew that she is what makes Morgan State go. And we wanted to keep pressure on them."
Added Morgan State head coach Donald Beasley. "Bethune-Cookman came out and played aggressive basketball. "Tiny" (Adams) struggled the first half and it is no secret that as she goes, so do we."
The Lady Bears mounted a furious comeback on the scoring of Adams, who poured in 23 of her game-high 26 points in the second half. What was once a sizable margin was reduced to 49-43 with 5:34 still remaining.
The Lady Wildcats aided the comeback my missing several easy shots and 8 of 9 free throw attempts during a 19-8 Morgan State run.
"You never want to mention the negative in a situation like that, so we tried to stay positive and stress hanging in there through the adversity," said Coach Inge. "We had a little slump there for a moment but we have a goal of getting to the free throw line shooting 70 percent. I knew it was a matter of time before we would knock them down."
Bethune-Cookman was able to stave off the comeback as Sarah Bolden and Jasmine Bugg combined to hit 8-of-10 from the charity stripe down the stretch.
"When you have to come from that far down, fatigue is a factor," said Beasley. "We needed someone else to step up. Take your hat off to Bethune-Cookman. They did what they had to do."
Hampton and Bethune-Cookman split during the regular season. The Lady Pirates prevailed 81-44 at Hampton on January 23 but the Lady Wildcats snapped Hampton's eight-game win streak with a 62-53 victory in Daytona Beach on February 20.
"We have beaten everyone who is left in this tournament," proclaimed Inge, in her second season at the helm. "In fact, the loss at Hampton was the turning point in our season. Sometimes you win when you lose. Since that game, we have had a different resolve."
BROWN, PAYNE HELP HOWARD ADVANCE PAST FLORIDA A&M
Winston-Salem, NC-March 11- Zykia Brown scored the go-ahead basket and then came up with a key steal as Howard edged Florida A&M, 56-54 in the quarterfinal round of the MEAC basketball tournament at the Joel Coliseum.
The Lady Bison (16-13), the number four seed, will play South Carolina State, the surprise number eight seed, at 12 noon. The Lady Bulldogs upset the number one seed, North Carolina A&T on Wednesday to advance.
Brown, a first team All-MEAC selection, and Saadia Doyle, the 2010 MEAC Rookie of the Year, combined for 21 of Howard's points as the Lady Bison led 25-21 at the half.
"We knew that it is a new season when you get into the tournament," said Brown, a junior guard. "We came out focused and ready to play."
The game was a carbon copy of the two previous matchups. In both games, Howard won by a single point.
"We knew coming in that it was going to be a very tough game against Florida A&M," said Howard second year head coach Niki Reid Geckeler. "We talked about staying focused for 40 minutes. The game of basketball is a game of runs, but you have to stay the course. That is what we were able to do."
Howard was able to maintain a slim lead through most of the second half and continued to hold FAMU at bay until FAMU guard Tameka McKelton got hot and led a 10-2 run that gave her team its first lead of the second half at 50-48 with 4:03 left on the clock. Howard's Curley-Payne contributed a series of big plays that included a couple of clutch threes, two rebounds and a steal.
"I can't explain it," said the soft-spoken freshman point guard. "All I know is that I had to step up and make plays if we were going to go to the next round." Payne scored all 10 of her points in the second half while also grabbing five rebounds and dealing out a game-high five assists.
McKelton singlehandedly kept the Lady Rattlers in the game with 19 of her game-high 24 points in the second half.
"I thought that we were a little stagnant to start the game," said FAMU head coach LeDawn Gibson. "Our guards were not attacking as they should have and we spent too much time on the perimeter passing the ball. We did a better job in the second half."
After Brown's driving layup gave Howard a 56-52 lead with 24 seconds remaining, McKelton knocked down two free throws with 11 ticks on the clock to get to within two at 56-54.
Then came the biggest play of the game. The Lady Rattlers got possession and pushed the ball up the floor and appeared to have an advantage in numbers. But Brown stepped into the passing lane, stole the pass and dribbled out the clock to send her team into the semifinals.
"It seems like in all three games, we gave them the games," lamented Coach Gibson. "It came down to bad decisions each time. But that is a part of game and maturity."
Antonia Bennett recorded a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds and Qiana Donald garnered a game-high 15 rebounds in a losing effort.
Brown added four assists and four steals to her 20 points while Doyle recorded her 21st double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Howard, which fields one of the youngest teams in Division I basketball with eight freshmen, four of whom start, will take on the Lady Bulldogs, whom they lost to in the only meeting of the season in Orangeburg, SC.
"When you get to this point in the season, they are no longer freshmen," said Geckeler. "South Carolina State played very well in their game against NC A&T. It is a tough matchup for us. But then, when at this point, they all are. We just have to stay focused and continue doing what we do and that is defend and rebound. Everything else will take care of itself."