Jan. 6, 2009

Box Score | Photo Gallery

DOVER, Del. - In what proved to be an exciting contest between bitter rivals, Delaware State University (DSU) picked up a 59-57 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) win in the conference opener for both teams at Memorial Hall on Tuesday night. Keyhanna Wakefield took over in the final minutes and a go ahead basket by Sonia Johnson with eight seconds left gave the Hornets what proved to be the final bucket in a come from behind win.

UMES (2-8, 0-1 MEAC), down four at the break, 32-28, battled back in the second frame, leading by as many as five eight minutes into the half, but the back and forth battle ended in disappointment for the Lady Hawks as they couldn't convert their final possession after the Johnson bucket.

"Wakefield just took over in the final minutes," said Head Coach Fred Batchelor. "You have to admire her play, we couldn't stop her. That late game defense and the fact that we just didn't make good decisions down the stretch really hurt us tonight."

In a game that lasted more than two hours, saw 43 combined fouls and had each team use every timeout at its disposal, there was little flow, if any. That could have resulted in the Hawks undoing as they seemed to make shots in transition but struggled in the paint, getting outscored 30-18.

They also committed 21 turnovers, but got 21 points off of DSU's 18.

"We played their pace tonight," said Batchelor. "We were right with them playing their game the whole night, we play our pace and the outcome may have been different."

The game was almost over, the clock was showing 1:16 and the scoreboard was tied for the ninth time, now at 55, following two successful April McBride (New Rochelle, N.Y.) free throws. Wakefield, who had accounted for the Lady Hornets' last ten points pulled down a Thea Littlepage miss and got the putback with 46 seconds remaining to give DSU the 57-55 edge and record her 12th point in the last three minutes.

She would finish with 17, five coming in the first half.

The Lady Hawks called a timeout and got an open Jasmine Speed (McDonough, Ga,) under the basket, she would miss the lay-in but McBride would get the board and be fouled by Jameka Smith. She calmly sank both free throws with 21 seconds remaining, tying it at 57 all.

As DSU (4-9, 1-0 MEAC) went down the floor everyone thought the ball would go to Wakefield but it was Johnson, who made the most important two points of her game high 22 with eight seconds on the clock and gave DSU the final tally of 59. After a timeout UMES got a shot off, a highly contested runner from Casey Morton (Mardela Springs, Md.) but it would go off to the left and fall harmlessly away as time expired.

McBride led the UMES offense with 15 points, including nine of 10 from the charity stripe, and had eight caroms while Speed added nine points and six boards. Morton also had eight rebounds. UMES got inspired play on defense from Tyche' Mozie (Washington, D.C.) and Amber Cook (Greensboro, N.C.), who posted seven points, both freshmen in their first conference contest.

"Those two really inspired some confidence in me," added Batchelor. "They played well in their first MEAC game."

The Lady Hawks went 18-24 from the free throw line, including a perfect 12-12 in the second half.

Johnson's game high 22 was impressive as she carried the DSU offense with 15 first half points. She was one rebound shy of a double double, getting nine boards. Smith pulled down eight caroms. Wakefield's 17 was the second highest total in the game but no other DSU player scored more than six points.

This was the fifth win in a row for Delaware State over UMES in Memorial Hall.

"This is a game we should have won," said Batchelor. `We have to play a lot better on the road, tonight we didn't play well enough to win. This is a hard one to swallow right now, but we are going to learn from this and be better for it. We will bounce back and we will get better."

UMES has a chance to show that improvement on Saturday when they host Winston-Salem State in a non-conference contest at 2:00 p.m. They turn around for the conference schedule on Monday, hosting South Carolina State at 5:30 p.m. Both games will be in the friendly confines of the William P. Hytche Athletic Center, somewhere the Lady Hawks have only been three times this year.

Fans not attending the game can listen live on WGOP-540 AM, Timeless Classics, the flagship station of Lady Hawks basketball.