March 4, 2010
Box Score
DOVER, Del. - Three players scored in double figures led by sophomore Amber Cook (Greensboro, N.C.) and senior April McBride (New Rochelle, N.Y.) as the University of Maryland Eastern Shore women's basketball team topped Delaware State, 58-55, in the final regular-season game for both teams at Memorial Hall Gym Thursday.
Cook and McBride each had 14 points to help the Lady Hawks (11-15, 8-8 MEAC) secure the seventh seed for the MEAC Tournament in Winston-Salem, N.C. UMES will play the No. 10 Lady Hornets (6-23, 4-12 for a second straight game Tuesday, March 9 at 11 a.m., at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The win for UMES is its third in four games while Delaware State lost for the second time in a row.
Cook also corralled nine rebounds and shot 5-for-6 from the floor and 4-of-7 from the line with three steals while McBride was 4-of-8 from the field and 6-for-10 from the stripe with five boards. Junior Chena Parker (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) was the other UMES player in double digits with 10 points and six rebounds.
UMES led at the half, 27-24, quickly opening a 34-24 advantage less than two minutes into the final period on a 3-pointer by junior Casey Morton (Mardela Springs, Md.). Delaware State battled back to take the lead with a 15-1 run over the next five minutes. DSU's Sade Bowen finished the spurt with a layup at the 13:36 mark to go up, 39-35. Alexis Abraham led the charge with five points in that span.
UMES held DSU off the scoreboard for the next six minutes as the Lady Hornets missed five consecutive shots and committed six turnovers to let UMES back into the game.
The Lady Hawks responded to with an extended run of their own to take control the game back from good. Parker converted a layup to make the score 50-48 with 5:18 left on the clock and UMES tallied six of its last seven free throws, including a pair by Parker with 1:13 remaining, to ensure the win.
UMES shot 52.2 percent (12-for-23) in the first half and finished the night over 45 percent from the floor while hold DSU to 37.7 percent for the game. Salena Galloway registered a game-high 18 points for the Lady Hornets on 7-of-12 shooting and Abraham chipped in with 11.
The guests used the hot-shooting first half to score the game's opening six points over 2:39 with two buckets from Cook and one by Morton. UMES gained a 10-point margin at 21-11 with a three by junior Latoya Buckner (Washington, D.C.) at the midway point of the half, but the Lady Hornets climbed back into it with a 13-4 stretch right before the break to cut the deficit to 25-24 with just over a minute to play on an Abraham trey.
UMES outrebounded Delaware State, 39-31, and had 14 more assists in the contest The Lady Hornets forced 21 UMES turnovers while committing 14 themselves.
