SC State Falls to Visiting NC A&T 101-61
ORANGEBURG, SC -South Carolina State celebrated "Senior Day" on Saturday but failed to get a win for its lone senior player - Tracey Flowers -- and a manager as North Carolina A&T took control early and raced to a 101-61 win at S-H-M Memorial Center.
Tiara Knotts had 16 points and Cabriel Duren 11 for SC State in the contest, which was marred by three late ejections. Flowers, the lone senior on the squad, had four points and tied teammate Tiana Hemphill, who was ejected with just over four minutes left, for rebounding honors with five.
The loss was the third in a row for the Coach Doug Robertson's squad which fell to 11-14 overall and 6-8 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
The Lady Aggies, who avenged an earlier 71-68 home loss to SC State on Feb. 11, got 23 points from Calvin Amber and 20 points and nine rebounds from Tiffanie Adair.
Also in double figures for the Lady Aggies, which improved to 13-14 overall and 8-6 in the league, was DeAndra Davis with 14 points.
The host Lady Bulldogs led 2-0 and 6-5 early before the visitors went on a 26-7 run to build a 31-13 advantage on two free throws by Calvin with 9:27 on the first-half clock. NC A&T continued its dominance and took a 57-19 edge to the locker room after connecting on 64.7 percent of its shots from the field.
SC State, which made just 23.3 percent of its attempts from the floor in the opening half, got the first basket of the final stanza before NC A&T put together a 10-2 run to seize its biggest lead of the game -- 44 points, at 67-23, with 16:05 to play. The closest the Lady Bulldogs came after that was 33 points, 94-61 with just 3:26 remaining.
SC State improved its shooting in the second half, hitting the nets at a 46.9 accuracy, but still managed just 35.5 percent overall. The Lady Aggies' percentage dropped off slightly to 56.7 percent, but they still wound up with 60.9 percent for the contest.
For the complete story, visit www.scsuathletics.com or www.ncataggies.com
LADY PIRATES BEAT FLORIDA A&M TO TAKE FIRST PLACE IN MEAC
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -Hampton won a low-scoring affair on Saturday, beating Florida A&M 46-43 at the Lawson Center to take first place in the MEAC.
The Lady Pirates (21-4, 13-1 MEAC) have won six straight games overall and five in a row on the road.
Junior forward Keiara Avant led the way with 18 points and a career-high-tying 17 rebounds, going 6-for-13 from the floor and 6-for-7 from the free throw line. She was the only Lady Pirate in double figures.
The two teams went back-and-forth throughout the first half, an opening 20 minutes that saw seven ties and eight lead changes. Senior guard Choicetta McMillian hit a 3-pointer with 3:52 left in the first half to put Hampton up 19-16.
The Lady Rattlers scored six unanswered points to take a 22-19 lead with 58 seconds left in the half after a layup from Kimberly Sparkman.
Florida A&M took a 24-21 lead into the half.
However, the Lady Rattlers were held to just six second-half field goals - despite opening the second half with three straight points to go up 27-21 after a Jasmine Grice free throw. Hampton responded with seven straight points, going up 28-27 at the 16:44 mark after a jumper from senior guard Jericka Jenkins.
After Jenkins put Hampton up 29-28 with a free throw at the 15:35 mark, Florida A&M answered with a 9-0 run to take a 37-29 lead with 11:08 to play after Jamie Foreman converted a 3-point play.
The Lady Pirates scored the next eight points to tie the game at 37-37 with 7:40 to play after a Jenkins jumper, before FAMU answered with a trey from Grice to take a 40-37 lead. Avant tied the game at 40-40 with 6:18 to play after hitting a free throw, but her free throws with 3:11 remaining gave the Lady Pirates a 42-41 lead.
Senior center Sherena Abercrumbia hit a putback with 2:44 left to put Hampton up 44-41, and from that point, the Lady Rattlers would get no closer than within one, cutting Hampton's lead to 44-43 at the 1:19 mark on a Grice tip-in.
Avant's jumper with 46 seconds left iced the game, as Tameka McKelton's last-second 3-point heave fell short.
Grice led FAMU with 13 points.
For the complete story, visit www.famuathletics.com or www.hamptonpirates.com
Savannah State Home-Court Advantage Leads To 59-43 NCCU Loss
SAVANNAH, Ga.- In the second meeting between North Carolina Central University and Savannah State University, the Lady Tigers evened out the 2011-12 series with a 59-43 victory over the mighty maroon in Tiger Arena on Saturday, Feb. 25 in Savannah, Ga.
NCCU junior Chasidy Williams led the Lady Eagles with 13 points, while coming up one rebound shy of a double-double with nine boards. Sophomore Tenika Neely added eight points to the offense, as senior Blaire Houston circulated five assists.
In the loss, NCCU was 39 percent from the field on 14-of-36 shooting, 4-of-10 from the long range and 46 percent from the free-throw line on 11-of-24 shooting.
SSU offense was led by three double-figure outings. Shawanda Hanton guided the Lady Tigers with 19 points, while Zadous Pollard finished with 12 points and Jasmine Norman dropped 10 points. Hanton also led in assists (seven) and steals (four), as Alisha Nelson pulled down seven rebounds in the win.
Statistically, Savannah State was 30 percent from the field on 22-of-74 shooting, 7-of-26 from the behind the arc and 62 percent from the free-throw line on 8-of-13.
For the complete story, visit www.nccueaglepride.com or www.ssuathletics.com
Milestone Night for Howard Women's Basketball in Regular Season Finale
DOVER, DEL. - Tamoria Holmes join teammates Saadia Doyle and Zykia Brown in the elite 1,000th point club as Howard (22-7, 14-2 MEAC) defeated Delaware State 67-52 in its regular season finale. The victory gives the Lady Bison the most wins in a season since 1997-98 when they went 23-7.
For the game, Holmes finished with 23 points, three rebounds, and two steals in 40 minutes of action. She is tied for fifth place on the all-time steal list with 176 behind future MEAC Hall-of-Famer Alisha Hill. Doyle collected her 13th double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 boards. The Atlanta, Ga. native is now second on the all-time scoring list with 1,603 points - Hill holds the record with 2,179. Cheyenne Curley-Payne chipped in with nine points, five assists, and pulled down five off the glass. The 5-5 junior is now third on the all-time assist list behind Felicia Oliver with 218.
HU, who was held to just a 30 percent shooting clip (18-of-60), went a season-best 26-for-29 (89.7 percent) from the charity stripe - including a 22-for-24 mark in the second half. The Lady Bison scored 23-points off second-chance opportunities, and recorded 28 points off 22 Hornet mishaps. HU also won the battle on the glass, 37-32.
For Delaware State, Keyanna Tate and Briscow both tallied 13 points. Tierra Hawkins finished with 10 points, while Uchechi chipped in with six.
For the complete story, visit www.howard-bison.com or www.dsuhornets.com