DAYTONA BEACH, Florida — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore had one of its best defensive effort of the season the last time out at Florida A&M and will look to continue on that track at Bethune-Cookman (9-7, 2-2 MEAC) on Monday (Jan. 21).

The Shore (8-10, 4-1 MEAC) has won six of its last eight contests. While seniors Ciani Byrom (Winston-Salem, North Carolina), Kerera Eaton (Winston-Salem, North Carolina) and Ra'Jean Martin (Jacksonville, Florida) have all played a big role in the recent success, the Hawks have gotten big games out of players up and down the roster over that span.

Most recently, senior JUCO transfer Dominique Walker (Bel Air, Maryland) put up a double-double in two of the last three games. They were the first two of her career and she led the team in scoring at Florida A&M.

"I feel confident with our bench that we can go on the road and have some success," head coach Fred Batchelor said.

That will be put to the test as the Hawks face off with the defending Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Champion. The last battle between the two squads came in the MEAC tournament last season when the Wildcats escaped with a 71-65 victory as the Hawks made then for to advance.

The Wildcats are off to a rough start after they lost 2017-18 MEAC Defensive Player of the Year Ashanti Hunt to an injury after just two games. They then lost standout freshman Kiana Williams after 12 games.

But much of the team's others core is still around. Senior guard Angel Golden is coming off a 27-point performance at home in a win against Delaware State on Saturday (Jan. 19).
Senior Chasimmie Brown leads the team in rebounding with 6.9 a game.

In the win at Florida A&M, the Hawks held the Wildcats to just 27 percent from the field and forced 23 turnovers. They grabbed 51 rebounds including 16 on the offensive end — seven by Walker.

"I really feel like we are going to do great at Bethune too," Walker said. "Coach gives really inspiring speeches and it makes us want to do better."