Feb. 16, 2015 Box Score
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - On a cold and wintery night in the Delmarva area, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) Women's Basketball Team caught fire late in the second half as they knocked off the Howard Lady Bison, 61-54, inside the William P. Hytche Athletic Center. With the victory, the Lady Hawks avenged their loss two weeks ago and improved to 10-13 (7-6 MEAC) on the season.
Furthermore, UMES secured their first double-digit win season for the first time since the 2011-12 season. The third consecutive win also propelled them two spots in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) standings from eighth to sixth, surpassing South Carolina State and Morgan State.
Junior Taryana Kelly (North Brunswick, N.J.) notched her second career double-double, tallying a career-high 12 points and 14 boards. Defensively, the New Jersey-native also recorded a career-high three steals in the win. Sophomore Mariah McCoy (Rock Hill, S.C.) gave UMES a spark off the bench, finishing with 13 points on 3-of-6 from downtown.
Howard charged out to a 5-0 run and reclaimed the lead after intermission, 29-27. Two consecutive layups gave UMES the advantage back, 31-27, but two freebies by the Lady Bison's Allese Morrison tied the contest, 31-31. Howard held the lead for majority of the second period, but Maryland Eastern Shore kept fighting back. With less than nine minutes left and trailing, 48-43, the Lady Hawks made a run to regain the momentum. In the next few minutes, UMES went on a 15-2 run to take back the lead, 58-50. Howard battled back as they cut the margin down to four, 58-54, but clutch plays down the stretch helped the Lady Hawks to victory, 61-54.
Four Lady Hawks earned double-figures, led by senior guard Jessica Long (Fort Washington, Md.). Long had a team-high 16 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor. Additionally, the Maryland-product registered her 10th career five-plus steal performance, producing a game-high five steals. Long also reached another milestone as she moved into fifth place on the all-time assist leaderboard, passing Aileene Frazer (1996-00).
Fellow senior Shawnee Sweeney (Chester, Va.) chipped in 12 points, seven rebounds and two dimes. Maryland Eastern Shore outrebounded the Lady Bison, 46-43, which improves their mark to 10-6 when they outrebound the opposition.
UMES began the contest on a 6-0 spurt, capped off by a layup from Alexis Udoji (Randolph, Mass.). Midway through the first period, Howard found their rhythm and took the lead, 10-9. The game went back-and-forth as there were eight lead changes and four ties. Before the under four media timeout, Sweeney drained a long ball to put the Lady Hawks back in front, 21-20. Howard managed to recapture the lead, 24-23, with more than a minute to go before halftime. UMES re-established the momentum as they scored the final four points of the half to go ahead, 27-24.
For Howard (3-22, 3-9 MEAC), they were led by Victoria Gonzales and Cheyenne Brown. Both ladies tallied a double-double on the night. Gonzales posted a game-high 24 points and 10 boards while Brown registered 11 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.
UMES hits the road in search for their fourth consecutive victory. Maryland Eastern Shore begins a three-game road swing in Orangeburg, S.C. where they will have a date with the South Carolina State Lady Bulldogs. The squad looks to avenge another early season loss as the Lady Bulldogs are the lone MEAC team to knock off UMES at the Hytche. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.
For complete recaps, results and news of Hawk athletics, please visit www.umeshawks.com.
