Feb. 21, 2015 Box Score
ORANGEBURG, S.C. - In their second bout of the season, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) Women's Basketball Team was unable to hang on as they fell to the South Carolina State Lady Bulldogs, 69-58, inside the S-H-M Memorial Center.
With the loss, the Lady Hawks dropped to 10-14 (7-7 MEAC) overall while SC State improved to 14-10 (7-6 MEAC) on the season. Furthermore, both squads swapped spots in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) standings as UMES fell to the seventh spot whereas the Lady Bulldogs moved to sixth place.
Senior guard Shawnee Sweeney reached another milestone as she became the 22nd player in the program's history to play in 100 games. On the afternoon, the Virginia-native had a team-high 17 points after going 5-of-7 from downtown.
Minutes into the second period, SC State took a seven-point advantage after back-to-back freebies by Amber Howard, 32-25. UMES closed the gap and reclaimed the lead after a 13-2 run, 38-34, with less than 15 minutes left. Two consecutive buckets from the Lady Bulldogs tied the contest, 38-38, but Maryland Eastern Shore answered. Within the next two minutes, the Lady Hawks went on a 7-0 spurt to regain the momentum, 45-38. SC State responded with a 9-0 run to retake the lead, 46-45, with less than nine minutes remaining.
Both clubs went back-and-forth until a long ball from Mariah McCoy gave UMES a five-point advantage, 55-50, with more than five minutes left. In the closing moments, the Lady Bulldogs made clutch baskets and free throws down the stretch. SC State closed the contest on a 15-8 run to win, 69-58.
Other notable Hawk performances included junior Alexis Udoji (Randolph, Mass.) registering 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the floor. Senior guard Jessica Long added 11 points after shooting 50-percent (4-of-8) on the day.
Maryland Eastern Shore opened the game on a 10-2 run, forcing the Lady Bulldogs to use a timeout. After the brief break, the Lady Hawks continued to put the pressure on as they increase the lead to double-digits after a layup by TeAmber Burke (Washington, N.C.), 19-8. SC State stormed back as they went on a 13-2 spurt and tied the contest, 21-21, with less than four minutes before intermission. With 45 ticks left and tied, 23-23, the Lady Bulldogs' Mallory Stone nailed a jumper to give SC State the halftime advantage, 25-23.
For the Lady Bulldogs, Kourtney Williams recorded a game-high 23 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field. Howard chipped in 12 points, six boards, and four dimes in the victory.
On Feb. 24, the Lady Hawks head to Newark, N.J. to take on the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) in their final nonconference game of the season. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
For complete recaps, results and news of Hawk athletics, please visit www.umeshawks.com.
