Jan. 13, 2009
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PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) women's basketball team led by as much as 18 points as they pushed past Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) rival South Carolina State University 73-61.
The Lady Hawks (4-8, 1-1 MEAC) took care of the basketball tying a season low 13 turnovers and added a season-high 17 assists. April McBride (New Rochelle, N.Y.) led UMES tying with a game-high 21 points. Casey Morton (Mardela Springs, Md.) was the only other Lady Hawk in double digits, finishing with 17 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Nine steals in the first half would help lift UMES up early. The Lady Hawks never trailed in the contest. Morton finished off a three point play at the foul line with 3:50 left in the first half to put UMES by 12.
A long three with 1:55 left on the clock by Josephine McLane (Centerville, Va.) pushed the lead to 15, but Sophilia Hipps responded with a layup for the Lady Bulldogs to close out the first half.
South Carolina State (3-10, 0-2 MEAC) would continue the rally to close the gap to seven in the second half. Hipps capped off a 6-0 run by completing a three point play of her own with just over 17:00 minutes to play.
McBride then scored seven unanswered points to put UMES back up by 15. The Lady Hawks would keep a double-digit lead through to the end of the game.
Three Lady Bulldogs finished in double-digits. Hipps tied McBride for a game-high 21 points and Kristin Johnson would finish with a double-double, netting 12 points and grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds. Marie Reid had 10 points.
UMES is back on the road again. They will travel to Greensboro, N.C. to face MEAC rival North Carolina A&T on January 17. The Lady Hawks are 3-3 against the Aggies under Head Coach Fred Batchelor, boasting a 2-1 record on the road.
Batchelor said, "[North Carolina] A&T is talented enough to not be focused and still beat people by 30 or 40, but I think we match up with them very well. We can't shoot 37-percent from the floor against them. We're going to need to make some shots to beat them."
Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. and will be a homecoming for freshman Amber Cook (Greensboro, N.C.) who is fifth on the team with 57 points and currently leads all bench players.
