Lady Pirates use strong second half to beat Brown
ATLANTA, Ga. – For the third straight game, the Hampton University women’s basketball team had a strong second half. This time, the Lady Pirates used it to upend Brown 71-50 on Sunday in the first game of the Georgia Tech Holiday Tournament at McCamish Pavilion.
The Lady Pirates (10-3) led by just two at the half, but outscored the Bears 38-19 in the second half to pull away with their fifth straight win. Hampton will face host Georgia Tech in Monday’s title game at 2 p.m.
Junior guard Kenia Cole led the Lady Pirates with a season-high 19 points, thanks to a career-high five 3-pointers and seven field goals. Freshman guard Malia Tate-DeFreitas added 16 points – 10 in the second half – seven assists, and six rebounds.
Senior guard Nicole Hamilton scored 13 points and dished out seven assists.
The Lady Pirates shot 40.5 percent (30-for-74) from the floor – including a 45.5 percent clip (15-for-33) in the second half – and made eight of their 26 3-pointers (30.8 percent). Hampton also held a 43-41 edge on the glass, and the Lady Pirates turned 16 Brown turnovers into 25 points.
Hampton also outscored the Bears (5-5) 38-22 in the paint.
Brown shot 32.8 percent (19-for-58) from the floor – hitting just eight of their 30 field goals (26.7 percent) in the second half – and went just 7-for-31 (22.7 percent) from behind the arc.
Lauren Clarke led Brown with 17 points.
For complete story, visit www.hamptonpirates.com
Norfolk State Defeats UMBC to Claim first Road Win of the Season
HARRISONBURG, Va. – Senior Rachel Gordon and junior Quineshia Leonard each scored 11 points to give NSU a 56-43 victory over UMBC in the JMU Invitational on Sunday afternoon at the Convocation Center. The win against UMBC is the Spartans’ first road win of the season.
NSU moved to 5-6 on the season while UMBC fell to 1-10 overall.
Gordon also tallied 11 rebounds in her effort to claim her fifth double-double of the season. She now has 864 rebounds in her career. Gordon needs 11 more rebounds to tie Beverly Davis for seventh all-time career rebounding at NSU.
The Spartans ended the game shooting 41.2 percent (21-of-51) from the field and 57.1 percent (12-of-21) from the free throw line. NSU shot only 22.2 percent (2-of-9) from beyond the arc on the afternoon.
The Spartans out-rebounded the Retrievers 38-31 on the afternoon. NSU outscored UMBC in the paint, 28-14, and also outscored UMBC on second chance points, 18-3.
UMBC shot 34.0 percent (16-of-47) and was 60.0 percent (6-of-10) from the free throw line. The Retrievers also shot only 23.8 percent (5-of-21) from 3-point range. Janelle Saling and Tayler McCarley led UMBC in scoring with 12 points each.
The Spartans will face James Madison tomorrow in the JMU Invitational Championship game. Tip-off is set for 2:30 p.m.
For complete story, visit www.nsuspartans.com
North Carolina Central drops 65-47 decision to Ohio State
COLUMBUS, Ohio – After a slow offensive start during the first half, the North Carolina Central University women’s basketball team was unable to close the gap, falling to the Ohio State Buckeyes 65-47 on Sunday, Dec. 29 in Columbus, Ohio at the Value City Arena.
OSU took its largest lead of 12 into the locker room at the break, leading the Lady Eagles 28-16.
The Lady Eagles and the Buckeyes exchanged baskets back-and-forth during the opening of the second half before OSU went on an 11-6 run giving the Buckeyes their biggest lead of the contest at 21.
During the second twenty minutes of action, NCCU tailed OSU by only six points giving up 37 Buckeye baskets compared to the Lady Eagles 31, as OSU took home the eighteen point victory, 65-47.
NCCU was led by Khyra Conerly’s 12 points and nine boards.
As a team, the Lady Eagles shot 15-for-55 from the field, 1-for-11 from behind the arc and 16-for-24 from the charity stripe while pulling down 37 rebounds and collecting seven steals.
NCCU returns to action on Thursday, Jan. 2 as the Lady Eagles host Bluefield State College in McDouald-McLendon Gymnasium at 4 p.m.
For complete story, visit www.nccueaglepride.com
Bethune-Cookman Falls to East Carolina to Close Out 2013
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Despite limiting the high-scoring East Carolina Pirates to their lowest point total of the season, second half scoring troubles hindered the Lady Wildcats, falling at home for just the second time this season, 58-49.
Coming into Sunday’s non-conference contest with a record ranked among the top 20 in the NCAA and scoring nearly 80 points per outing, East Carolina (11-1) was expected to be a stout challenge for the tough Bethune-Cookman (3-10). However, the Lady Wildcats’ defense kept the Pirates at bay early in the game and the B-CU offense matched shot for shot, leading by as many as five.
Chastity Rene Taylor led the Lady Wildcats with 18 points, while shooting 50 percent from long range. Deja Gibson and Shakeyia Colyer followed with seven and six points, respectively. Kailyn Williams led the Lady Wildcats on the glass, notching nine rebounds and three blocks in the loss.
Although typically a high-percentage shooting team, B-CU limited the Pirates to just 33 percent shooting, including 29 percent in the second half and just 9.1 percent (2-for-22) from three-point range.
ECU’s high-output tandem of Jada Payne and Abria Trice led the Pirates with 21 and 18, respectively. Only one other player had more than five points.
The Lady Wildcats will open the new year in South Florida, facing off with Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton on Jan. 2.
For complete story visit www.bcuathletics.com
Lady Rattlers take consolation game, defeat Fairleigh Dickinson
MIAMI, Fla. – The FAMU Lady Rattlers (7-8, 1-1 MEAC) closed out 2013 play with a 62-52 win over the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights (1-10) in the consolation game of the FIU Fun-N-Sun Basketball Classic at the U.S. Century Bank Arena on the campus of FIU.
FAMU held FDU to 30.2 percent shooting from the field and just 20 percent from three-point range. The Lady Rattlers scored 20 points off turnovers, while garnering 28 points from the bench. FDU outscored FAMU in the paint by a margin of 24 to 10, while adding 13 second chance points.
Jasmine Grice led all scorers with 20, collecting a double-double by adding 10 rebounds. She ranks in the NCAA DI Top 20 in scoring, and was happy to get the win.
Patrice Collie, a West Palm Beach native, scored 12 points, making her the only other FAMU player in double figures. She just missed a double-double by two as she grabbed eight rebounds on the game as well.
Desiree Crawford, paced FDU with 19 points, while Amanda Andrades also scored in double figures with 11 points. Crawford carded 12 rebounds for a double-double as well. The Knights committed 16 turnovers, but got four blocks.
The Lady Rattlers will take a break for the New Year, returning to action on Jan.11 as they will take on the North Carolina Central Lady Eagles at the Al Lawson Center.
For complete story, visit www.famuathletics.com
Lady Hornets Stumble at Home to St. Francis Brooklyn
DOVER, Del. – Sunday afternoon, the Delaware State women’s basketball team (3-8, 0-1 MEAC) returned home for the first time since Dec. 7, only to fall to the visiting St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers (9-2), 68-55.
With this loss, it extended DSU’s season-long losing streak to five games, while the Terriers pushed their winning streak to a season-high five games.
Tierra Hawkins poured in a game-high 26 points (9-of-19), to go along with a team-high 12 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season. Raven Bankston finished with 11 points, on 5-for-19 shooting (.263), while guard/forward Deanna Harmon finished with nine points (4-of-7), nine rebounds and a game-high four steals.
Despite cooling down in the second half by scoring 24 points on 9-for-24 (.375) shooting, St. Francis Brooklyn finished the game at 45 percent (25-of-56), including 9-for-19 (.474) from long distance.
Three players also finished the game in double figures the Terriers, led by Jaymee Veney’s 20-point (9-of-19) and 12-rebounds. Guard/forward Leah Fechko (3-of-8) and guard Eilidh Simpson (3-of-9) both dropped 11 points, while Fechko recorded a game-high 13 rebounds and seven assists.
The Terriers won the battle on the boards (42-34) and dished out 18 assists, compared to DSU’s five.
Coming up, the Lady Hornets will back in action on Jan. 2 (5:30 p.m.) on the road against MEAC foe Howard.
For complete story, visit www.dsuhornets.com
Coleman reaches 1,000-point milestone in setback to Alabama
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – With the Coppin State University women’s basketball team in the middle of a huge second-half rally, senior forward Kyra Coleman didn’t have time to think about the significance of her sixth basket against the University of Alabama in consolation contest of the Cavalier Classic Sunday afternoon.
With seven minutes, 38 seconds remaining against the Crimson Tide, Coleman’s jumper pulled the Eagles to within three points and cemented her legacy as one of the best players to ever wear the royal blue-and-gold. Coleman became the 13th women’s basketball player in Coppin State history to score 1,000 career points during Coppin State’s 82-60 setback to Alabama at JPJ Arena.
Coleman, who was selected to the all-tournament team after averaging 17.5 points during the two-day Cavalier Classic, had a large family contingent in attendance headlined by her mother and father along with her siblings, aunts, and cousins.
Needing 16 points entering the game to join the exclusive club, Coleman finished with a team-high 19 points and in the process raised her career total to 1,003. A scoring machine since she arrived in Baltimore, Coleman has rung up points like a cash register on Black Friday. She scored 243 points as a freshman, 206 as a sophomore and has 366 as a junior. She has 188 points through 12 games this year.
During her magnificent career, Coleman has scored in double figures 42 times, including three straight games. She leads the Eagles in scoring with a 15.7 point per game average.
Senior forward Larrisa Carter scored 12 points for Coppin State (4-8 overall) and sophomore guard Amber Griffin scored 11 points and dealt five assists. Sophomore guard Tanaysa Henderson and freshman forward Omaah Tayong provided energy off the bench as they scored seven points each. Junior forward Bria Harris also pulled five rebounds.
Daisha Simmons and Shafontaye Myers led four Alabama (7-6) players in double figures with 16 points each. Ashley Williams had 15 points and 10 rebounds to be named to the all-tournament team.
Coppin State returns to action Saturday afternoon when it hosts Towson University at 2 p.m. It will be the start of a three-game home stand for the Eagles.
For complete story, visit www.coppinstatesports.com