Lady Pirates Pick Up First Conference Win Over South Carolina State
HAMPTON, Va. - Hampton picked up its first conference win of the season on Saturday, as the Lady Pirates opened their 2011-12 home slate with a 73-41 win over South Carolina State at the HU Convocation Center.
The Lady Pirates (5-1, 1-0 MEAC) have won three straight games overall - and 11 straight at home dating back to last season. The win was also the 50th in the young collegiate coaching career of head coach David Six.
Hampton has held four of its six opponents so far this season under 60 points.
Senior guard Jericka Jenkins , who was honored before the game for eclipsing the 1,000-point milestone on Nov. 26 at IPFW, led three Lady Pirates in double figures with a game-high 19 points to go along with seven assists.
Senior forward Melanie Warner added 12 points to go along with a team-high six rebounds, while junior forward Ariel Phelps added 10 points and six rebounds of her own.
Sophomore forward Alyssa Bennett added nine points, five rebounds, a team-high two blocks and two steals.
Knotts led the Lady Bulldogs (2-4, 0-1 MEAC) with 13 points.
For the complete story, visit www.hamptonpirates.com or www.scsusathletics.com
NSU Wins MEAC Opener over Savannah State, 54-49
NORFOLK, Va. - Norfolk State held off Savannah State late in the second half and picked up its first MEAC win of the season with a 54-49 victory over the Tigers Saturday afternoon at Joseph Echols Hall.
The Spartans had at least a four-point lead throughout the entire second half before Savannah State cut it to two with less than three and a half minutes left in the game. NSU responded with a key run at the end to ice the win and improve to 5-2, 1-0 in league play. Savannah State fell to 4-3, 0-1.
NSU won the first MEAC game of the season for the first time since 2006-07, thanks to 11 points from senior Whitney Long and 10 each from junior Recca Trice and sophomore Rae Corbo. The Spartans forced 21 Tiger turnovers and held them to a 15-of-56 effort from the field (26.8 percent).
NSU, though, did not fare a whole lot better from the field, hitting just 37.5 percent for the game (21-of-56), including 3-of-8 from beyond the arc. Savannah State hit just 3-of-17 from long range.
Sophomore Rachel Gordon stuffed the stat sheet for NSU with nine points, 10 rebounds, four blocks, three assists and two steals. Trice had a game-high five assists, and junior Marian Brooks chipped in with eight points.
Ezinne Kalu finished with a game-high 20 points for the Tigers, while Jasmine Kirkland joined her in double figures with 11. Alisha Nelson had a game-high 13 rebounds with three assists and three steals.
Savannah State held the rebounding edge, 45-40, and was successful on 16-of-19 attempts from the charity stripe. NSU struggled mightily, hitting just 9-of-20 from the foul line
For the complete story, visit www.ssuathletics.com or www.nsuspartans.com
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Senior Jeanine Manley scored 16 points and sophomore Kyra Coleman added 10 points, but Howard closed the game on a 19-5 run leading the Bison to a 63-52 victory over Coppin State in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opener for both schools on Saturday in Burr Gymnasium.
The Eagles held a 47-44 lead with 7:07 to play in the game, but Zykia Brown jump started the run with a three-point basket that tied the score with 6:53 left in the second period.
Howard (2-5, 1-0 MEAC) took the lead for good when Tamoria Holmes connected on another three-pointer giving Howard a 50-47 lead.
Coppin State (2-5, 0-1 MEAC) was limited to just three free throws and one basket over the final 7:07 of the contest.
Holmes finished with 22 points to lead Howard, while Saadia Doyle added 14 points and 10 rebounds. Cheyenne Curley-Payne had 13 assists for Howard.
Manley and Coleman combined to shoot 11-of-17 from the floor, while the rest of the Coppin State team shot 7-for-27 from the field.
Coppin State committed 28 turnovers, which Howard turned into 31 points.
The Eagles outshot the Bison, but Howard attempted 16 more shots from the floor and attempted six more free throws.
For the complete story, visit www.howard-bison.com or www.coppinstatesports.com
Eagles Push Aggies To The Limit In 84-74 Loss
DURHAM, N.C (www.NCCUEaglePride.com) - The North Carolina Central University women's basketball team sent a message to all its MEAC foes as the Lady Eagles turned a 17-point North Carolina A&T State University lead into two final-minute ties before the Aggies paced to a 84-74 win on Saturday, Dec. 3 in Durham, N.C.
With over 2,000 Eagle fans supporting the Lady Eagles, the mighty maroon managed to turn a nine-point N.C. A&T lead into two ties at the 7:38 mark of the second half of play, before the third-leading scorer of the afternoon, Mikala Scott paced the Aggies on a final 16-6 run to conclude the first NCCU MEAC contest. In the second-half play, the mighty maroon outscored the Aggies 42-41.
NCCU junior Chasidy Williams led the maroon and gray with a career-high 27 points, while freshman Kabrina Truesdale finished with 14 points and four assists and sophomore Tiffany Gary provided a career-high 13 points. Sophomore Alesha Jenkins pulled down nine rebounds and circulated five assists, as senior Blaire Houston shot a perfect 8-of-8 from the charity stripe and also distributed five assists.
On the night, the Lady Eagles were 43 percent from the field on 26-of-60 shooting, 3-of-11 from behind the arc, and 63 percent from the charity stripe, 19-of-30.
Along with JaQuayla Berry and Scott's offensive dominance, Amber Calvin, who was 4-of-4 from the free-throw line and circulated seven assists, netted 17 points and Tracy King finished with 11 points, while Scott stole four NCCU possessions. In the MEAC contest, N.C. A&T was 37 percent from the field on 24-of-65, 6-of-16 from the long range, and 75 percent from the free-throw line, 30-of-40.
For the complete story, visit www.nccueaglepride.com or www.ncataggies.com
DSU SUFFERS UGLY 60-32 LOSS AT UMES
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - Delaware State got off to a slow start Saturday afternoon at the W.P. Hytche Athletic Center and was unable to overcome a 34-8 halftime deficit to lose, 60-32, to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in the conference opener.
The Lady Hornets (2-5, 0-1 MEAC) scored a season-low eight points in the first half, their lowest point total in a half since Dec. 4, 2010 when they scored just three at Syracuse en route to an 87-17 loss.
The 32 points scored is the team's lowest since Nov. 19, 2010 when DSU scored 21 points in a 66-31 loss at West Virginia. Del State was also held without a 3-point field goal.
The Lady Hornets collected 27 rebounds, their lowest since Dec. 29, 2010 when they tallied the same amount at Towson.
Despite being held scoreless in the first half, Hawkins ended the game with a team-high 10 points on 5-of-11 shooting in addition to a team-high six rebounds. Harmon finished with eight points and a team-high four steals.
UMES' Chelsea Sanders posted a game-high 13 points while Adobi Agbasi recorded a double double of 11 rebounds and 10 points. Shanyce Stewart also tallied 11 rebounds in the win for the Lady Hawks.
For the complete story, visit www.dsuhornets.com or www.umeshawks.com
Lady Wildcats Fall Short in MEAC Opener
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - A strong second-half comeback fell short for the Lady Wildcats as Florida A&M defeated B-CU 81-57, Saturday afternoon at Moore Gymnasium.
The Florida A&M press caused troubles for the Lady Wildcats in the first half, putting B-CU out of position in their offense, as the Lady Rattlers ran away to a 43-23 halftime lead.
Coming out in the second half, the Lady Wildcats played with fire and intensity, clawing their way back into the game and mounting a comeback that spanned 13 minutes. B-CU used stifling defense and great ball movement to shift a 24 point deficit to just eight with a hair over six minutes to go.
After holding FAMU to just 12 points in 13 minutes, a three pointer by Kimberly Sparkman proved to be the momentum shift to break the game back open, launching FAMU onto a game-closing 14-0 run to collect the 81-57 win.
Clenience Roberts got her share in, tallying 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting, while Frank put up eight points and a team-high nine rebounds. Jalisa Isaac led the Lady Wildcat scorers with 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting.
FAMU (3-4, 1-0 MEAC) was led by senior forward Antonio Bennett, who finished with a double-double of 23 points and 14 rebounds, collecting four of the Lady Rattlers' nine steals.
For the complete story, visit www.bcuathletics.com or www.famurattlers.com