Feb. 13, 2012
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - There was a fair amount of action for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore's athletic program this past week. The women's basketball team went 2-0 to catapult into fifth-place in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference standings, while the men's team went 1-1 and the softball team opened up with three losses. This week was relatively quite in comparison to the schedule over the next several weeks.
Let's take a look at action from this past week:
MEN'S BASKETBALL
The UMES men's basketball team went 1-1 this week. The team began the week by dropping a 72-60 decision against Norfolk State University on Monday, before they posted a 68-56 victory over Morgan State University on Saturday.
The team was led against Norfolk St., by the performance of senior forward Hillary Haley (Ft. Washington, Md.), who had a game-high 24 points on an 11-for-19 shooting performance. The squad fell behind early in the game and despite outscoring the opposition in the second, were unable to overcome the deficit. Senior Ronald Spencer (Sickerville, N.J.) had a team-high 11 rebounds.
In the Hawks' win over MSU, UMES posted its sixth Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference win. The team was led by senior Percy Woods (Hyattsville, Md.), who had a game-high 21 points and was 3-for-6 from long range. Woods was one of four Hawks to post double-digit point totals in the game.
For his performance this week, Haley was honored as the men's recipient of PRMC UMES Athlete of the Week for the week of Feb. 13.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
The UMES women's basketball team went 2-0 this past week. The women posted a dominant second-half rally to upend NSU, 62-58, in overtime on Monday, before breaking open a tight contest at half to defeat Morgan St., 75-57, on Saturday.
It was the Adobi Agbasi (Columbus, Ga.) show for the women in both contests last week. The forward collected 15 blocks on the week to move to within 25 of Kristi Veltkamp's all-time blocks record. She notched 37 points on the week and neared a triple-double in both games.
In Monday's win over Norfolk St., the Hawks used a 17-2 scoring advantage in final 10 minutes to erase a large Spartan lead and send the game into overtime. The Hawks dominated the extra frame to move up in the MEAC standings.
The Hawks benefitted from a 21-3 second-half run against the Bears to take a huge lead and never look back. The 75 points scored by UMES was a season-high. Senior forward Chelsea Sanders (Rochester, N.Y.) posted a game-high 23 points in the victory, the sixth consecutive game she led the Hawks in points.
For her performance this week, Agbasi was honored as the women's recipient of PRMC UMES Athlete of the Week for the week of Feb. 13.
INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
The indoor track & field results at the Millrose Games in New York, N.Y., were unavailable as of press time.
SOFTBALL
The UMES softball team went 0-3 this past week.
The team opened their season with a 17-9 loss to Stillman College in the first-round of the Alcorn State University Tournament in Irondale, Ala. The Hawks would go on to face Miles College and despite a late rally, would come away with a 19-11 loss. They would lose their third straight in the tournament with a loss against Alcorn State on Sunday.
The team was led by the solid play of junior Carmen Gurrola (Arleta, Calif.). The junior went 3-for-3 in the opener, while throwing complete games in both of UMES' games on Saturday.
Junior transfer Cherokee Williams (Upper Marlboro, Md.) was a standout for the women offensively, while junior Jasmine James (Willingboro, N.J.) ripped the Hawks' first homerun of the season against Miles.
UPCOMING WEEK
The next week will be a very busy for UMES athletics.
The men's and women's basketball teams will hit the road for Coppin State University on Monday, Feb. 13, before the men take off for Hampton University on Wedensday, Feb. 15. The women will play Hampton on Saturday, Feb. 18.
The indoor track team will compete in the MEAC Championships on Thursday, Feb. 16 in Landover, Md., in an event that will take place all day. The event will continue on until Saturday.
The baseball and tennis teams will make their season debuts this weekend. The baseball team hits the road for Boiling Springs, N.C., where the Hawks will take on Gardner-Webb for a three game series Feb. 17-19.
The tennis teams open play at 10 a.m. at the Hawks Outdoor Tennis Facility, where they match up against Saint Francis (Pa.) on Saturday.
The softball team will come north from Alabama but will make a stop in Elizabeth City, N.C., as the Hawks will meet Elizabeth City State University for a double-header on Saturday, Feb. 18 and Sunday, Feb. 19.
The Hawk bowling team is set for action in the Morgan State Invitational this week. The team begins play on Friday and will conclude participation in the tournament on Sunday.
For complete recaps, results and news of Hawk athletics, please visit www.umeshawks.com
