Spotwood Career High Not Enough To Lead Eagles Past North Carolina A&T
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Leola Spotwood scored a career-high 22 points, but Tracy King led a balanced North Carolina A&T attack with 17 points as the Aggies defeated Coppin State 70-64 at the Corbett Sports Center on Monday.
King led four players in double figures in scoring with 17 points, while Amber Calvin had 13 points, Adriana Nazario scored 12 points and JaQuayla Berry had 11 points.
Coppin State (8-13, 4-4 MEAC) also received 17 points and 13 rebounds from Larrisa Carter and 13 points and six rebounds from Kyra Coleman.
North Carolina A&T (12-7, 4-2 MEAC) shot 50.0 percent from the floor in the second half to overcome a three-point halftime deficit.
The Aggies erased the lead when Calvin nailed a three-pointer with 19:08 to play in the game to tie the contest at 30-30.
Eboni Ross put the Aggies in front with a jumper, but Spotwood answered with a three-pointer giving the Eagles a 33-32 lead with 17:03 to play in the second half.
A layup by Ariel Bursey and a layup by Berry gave North Carolina A&T the lead for good at 36-33 with 16:31 left to play.
A pair of free throws by Carter cut the lead to 36-35, but the Aggies answered with a 7-0 run to push the lead to 43-35 with 14:25 left.
The Eagles got to within 62-60 on a three-point play by Carter with 3:44 remaining in the game.
A free throw by Calvin and a layup by King increased the lead to 65-60, but Spotwood connected on a three-pointer with 2:29 to play to bring CSU to within 65-63.
But the Aggies made 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to hold off Coppin State.
For the copmlete story, visit www.coppinstatesports.com.
Lady Pirates Run Past Howard, Win Seventh Straight
HAMPTON, Va. - The Hampton University women's basketball team picked up its seventh straight win on Monday night, upending rival Howard 67-45 at the HU Convocation Center.
The Lady Pirates (16-5, 7-0 MEAC) have won the last nine meetings over Howard.
Olivia Allen and Alyssa Bennett each had a team-high 16 points, while Bennett also grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season.
Keiara Avant added 15 points, while Nicole Hamilton had nine points and a team-high eight assists.
The Lady Pirates opened the game on a 7-2 run, taking that lead at the 17:32 mark after an Avant layup, but Howard (11-8, 5-2 MEAC) answered with seven unanswered points to tie the game at 7-7 with 15:58 left in the first half after a a layup from Saadia Doyle.
After Cheyenne Curley-Payne cut Hampton's lead to 11-9 at the 12:55 mark with a layup, the Lady Pirates went on a 14-0 run to take a 25-9 lead with 7:18 left in the half after an Avant free throw. The run ultimately ballooned to 20-3, as Hampton led 31-12 after two free throws from Brielle Ward at the 5:43 mark.
Jerrelle Gorham cut Hampton's lead to 33-19 with 4:20 left in the half with a 3-pointer, but the Lady Pirates answered with seven straight points to go up 40-19 after another Allen trey at the 3:02 mark. Hampton would take a 40-23 lead into the break.
Hampton led 53-31 with 11:38 left in the second half, after Hamilton sank a layup, then Avant sank a layup of her own with 9:26 left to give the Lady Pirates a 56-31 lead and cap a 9-4 Hampton run.
After Doyle hit two free throws with 2:52 left, cutting Hampton's lead to 60-42, the Lady Pirates rattled off five straight points to take a 65-42 lead after a pair of Bennett free throws with 1:45 left to play.
Curley-Payne led Howard with 14 points. Doyle, the MEAC's leading scorer, managed just 10 points.
For the complete story, visit www.hamptonpirates.com.
B-CU Grabs Late Lead, Holds Off UMES In 55-54 Win
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Lady Wildcats had another close call this week as Maryland Eastern Shore (5-11, 1-4 MEAC) pushed Bethune-Cookman (9-10, 4-3 MEAC) to the final seconds, with the Lady Wildcats holding their ground in the 55-54 win at Richard V. Moore Gymnasium.
Experimenting with a new, youthful starting lineup, the Lady Wildcats jumped out to a quick offensive start, set off by Terrenisha Hollis grabbing her own rebound and getting B-CU on the board just 26 seconds in. B-CU opened on a 9-2 run, but with just under seven minutes without a Lady Wildcats score, the Lady Hawks were able to pull ahead briefly near the midpoint of the half.
Three consecutive scoring possessions from the Lady Wildcats, with Jasmine Evans coming off the bench for three scores and Taylor Houston hitting a pair from the arc, sparked the Lady Wildcats to a 30-22 halftime lead.
Cold B-CU shooting out of the locker room allowed UMES to outscore the Lady Wildcats 7-1 in the first four minutes of the second half, leading to the Lady Hawks' second lead on Chalyse Taylor's three with 11:56 to go. The Lady Hawks would lead the next 11 minutes, growing the lead to as many as nine.
In the final five minutes, B-CU turned to pressure defense and started to make their move, opening with a successful pair of free throws from Shakeyia Colyer. Hollis scored six as B-CU picked apart the UMES lead, capping off the run with a Hollis layup to tie it up at 54-all, using the steal by Chastity René Taylor to get the fast break opportunity.
Houston gave B-CU the lead hitting the back end of a pair of free throws with :58 on the clock, fouling out UMES' leading scorer Karona Roach (14 Pts., 6 Reb.) on the play. The final minute was possibly the most tense of the season for B-CU, as the Lady Wildcats clung to a one-point lead while UMES held the final possession.
A UMES offensive foul on the inbound play granted B-CU the ball with 1.3 seconds to play, while the response from the UMES bench resulted in a technical foul and free throws. Though Taylor, coming in an 81.8 percent free throw shooter, missed the pair, B-CU held on for the 55-54 victory.
Terrenisha Hollis made it consecutive games with a double-double, leading the team with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Over the past two games, she has scored 33 points with 21 rebounds, sliding into the number two B-CU scorer position with tonight's output.
Taylor and Evans made it three Lady Wildcats in double figures, each logging 10.
For the complete story, visit www.b-cuathletics.com.
Lady Eagles Suffer 55-39 Loss To Morgan State
DURHAM, N.C. - After a first-half full of ties and lead changes, the North Carolina Central University women's basketball team came up short in its second half efforts against the Lady Bears from Morgan State as they suffered a 55-39 loss at McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium, in Durham, N.C.
The Lady Eagles were led offensively by Tenika Neely, who finished the contest with a season-high 12 points while shooting 5-for-12 from the field, 1-for-2 from behind the arch and 1-for-2 from the charity stripe.
Tisha Dixon led all rebounders on the night with a total of nine boards while also contributing seven points and Chasidy Williams also added to the Lady Eagles offense with eight points and two steals.
NCCU struck first during the start of the game after a made jumper from Neely put the Lady Eagles on top 2-0. The next ten minutes of the contest consisted of four ties and seven lead changes before the Lady Bears pulled ahead by nine after a 7-0 run with 8:21 left in the half. A last second basket as time expired by Tracey Carrington put MSU ahead by eight heading into the locker room as they led NCCU 26-18.
The Lady Bears took control during the second-half of the ball game, leading by as many as 22 after an 11-0 run put NCCU down 53-31 with 5:29 left on the game clock. The Lady Eagles last second efforts left them down by 16, falling to MSU with a final score of 55-39.
MSU was led offensively by Bianca Jarrett, who shot 8-for-17 from the field, 4-for-9 from behind the arch and 3-for-4 from the free throw line totaling 23 points while also contributing five rebounds, 4 steals and 4 assists.
For the complete story, visit www.NCCUEaglePride.com.
Lady Hornets Hold Off Rattlers For Fourth Straight Win
Tallahassee, Fla. - Delaware State completed held off Florida A&M 57-53 in a MEAC women's basketball contest at the Al Lawson Center.
The Lady Hornets won their fourth straight game to improve to 7-11 overall and 4-1 in the MEAC. The win streak is DSU's longest since the 2008-09 campaign; and the five-game MEAC record is its best since that season.
Delaware State led by nine points with less than three minutes to play before holding off a furious Florida A&M rally down the stretch. The Rattlers cut DSU's lead to two points in the last 15 seconds, but the Lady Hornets made two defensive stops and hit three-of-four free throws in the closing moments to seal the win.
Delaware State's Tierra Hawkins led all players with 24 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, marking her fourth double-double of the season. Hawkins, who was 8-for-12 from the field, has seven games with 20-or-more points this season.
Jade Washington had nine points and a game-high five assists for the Lady Hornets.
Delaware State got off to a fast start in the game, opening up a 12-2 lead after a short jumper by Uchechi Ahaiwe with 14:00 minutes left in the first half. Florida A&M pulled to within two points in the half, which ended with the Lady Hornets in front 23-17.
The Rattlers pulled to within 28-27 after a three-pointer with 17:21 left in the second half, but DSU answered with a 6-0 run. Tasia Bristow (five points) capped off the rally with a three-point play to give the Lady Hornets a 34-27 lead with 15:39 left in the contest.
The Rattlers used an 11-4 spurt to tie the game midway through the second half. Florida A&M's Kimberly Sparkman scored five straight points, including a three-pointer, to tie the game at 38-38 with 10:04 remaining in the game.
Delaware State regained the lead, 40-38, on a lay-up by Deanna Harmon (nine points) on the ensuing possession. The Lady Hornets also scored on their next three possessions, and opened up a 47-38 lead on two free throws by Hawkins with 7:38 left to go.
For the complete story, visit www.dsuhornets.com.