NORFOLK, Virginia — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore took another step toward the top of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference ranking on Saturday (Jan. 26) when they picked up a hard-fought 59-43 win at Norfolk State and moved to second place in the standings.

The Hawks used a smothering defensive effort to hold the Spartans (11-9, 6-1 MEAC) to seven points in each of the two first quarters forcing 15 turnovers and putting Norfolk in a hole they never dug out of.

"We came in knowing that Norfolk was No.1, so we knew what we had to do in order to get the win," sophomore Bairesha Gill-Miles (Lexington, Kentucky) said. "Knowing we actually did it and how much we won by was really exciting. Of course, we lost a game to N.C. A&T so if we hadn't, we would be No. 1, but we'll see them again. We are just happy about this win."

The Hawks (10-10, 6-1 MEAC) forced 25 turnovers in the contest and held Norfolk to 30 percent from the field. No Spartan reached double digits in scoring and they shot 21 percent from behind the arc.

"It was on the defensive end and just paying attention to the assignments," Hawks coach Fred Batchelor said. "I thought we had a couple of lapses where we went out and closed out on a kid that doesn't want to shoot it. But the thing about this team is they'll do it once, but they won't do it twice. That's the thing that makes them a good defensive team. We'll bend a little, but we are not going to break."

The effort was there form the start as The Shore left Norfolk State no opportunity to get comfortable in their offense. Senior Ra'Jean Martin (Jacksonville, Florida) did her best to make NSU point guard Dana Echols miserable just trying to set up the Spartans offense.

"I thought it started with Ra'Jean and then I thought we got energy from Bunz (Gill-Miles) playing a kid (Kendrea Dawkins) who has been playing the best basketball for them since conference play began," Batchelor said. "She hit a couple of 3's. But outside of that, I thought we did a good job of defending her as far as keeping her off the glass and just matching her energy."

The Hawks held Dawkins to nine points on 3-of-10 shooting.

Gill-Miles played a season-high 35 minutes and had just one foul despite the tough defensive assignment and the aggressive defensive game plan. She finished with nine points, nine rebounds and three steals.

"Bunz was the Rookie of the Year last year and I think that Bunz hasn't played her best basketball yet," Batchelor said. "She hit a jump shot tonight that was big and big for her conference. She is just going to continue to develop and work and the more she can play the better she is going to get because she's still young. She is just a sophomore."

The Hawks again got contributions from up and down the lineup. In the first half, it was freshman Brooklyn who came off the bench for a pair of three pointers.

The Shore held an 11-7 advantage at the end of the first quarter as Gill-Miles hit a long jumper that sent the team to the huddle with more energy. At the end of the second quarter it was JUCO transfer Adrienne Jones (Baltimore, Maryland) who hit a pretty runner form the right wing as the half expired for a 29-14 advantage.

"That shot was a killer for momentum swing," Batchelor said.

Offensively, the Hawks never seemed to get flustered despite shooting just 35 percent from the field themselves and 19 percent from three. They built the first half lead and then worked their way through the Norfolk defensive changes in the second half.

Ciani Byrom finished the contest with 10 assists and her first career double-double despite being under constant pressure especially in the second half.

"It's about control and it starts with your point guard," Batchelor said. "We get the ball in her hands — a senior point guard like her as talented as she is — it's just our job not to mess it up because she is going to take us home. She hit a shot in the fourth quarter (her only basket of the second half) I thought it was a game-winning shot because it was a shot that she kind of took control of the game. I think she just did that over and over again.

"She played with composure as they tried to trap her and do some things. She used her speed when she needed to. She didn't go too fast, but she was fast enough. I thought her ability to see the floor and make the right plays and find the right person makes her the guard she is."

Byrom finished with 11 points, 10 assists, four rebounds and a steal in 36 minutes. She took just 11 shots in the game.

"If you would have told me she only had 11 points I wouldn't have believed you," Batchelor said. "She just made big plays and I thought they did a good job of trying to defend her, but she did a better job of making them pay for not guarding her teammates."

Senior JUCO transfer Dominique Walker (Bel Air, Maryland) led the Hawks with 16 points off the bench to go with six rebounds a steal and a block against bigger Spartan players. Jones, her former Harford Community College teammate had seven points off the bench despite playing sick.

Walker scored eight of her points in the fourth quarter and made a big impact on the defensive end as well playing 30 minutes and making the Spartans work for every basket.

"I love Dom's game," Gill-Miles said. "She is just a player who is going to go get it. If you tell her to do it she is knowing to do it and knowing she can make it happen is great. She knows she has to rebound, so she is going to go do it. She knows where she needs to be on the court on offense and defense. I feel like we can really depend on Dom for a lot of things and she is going to get it done when we need her to."

The Hawks bench actually outscored the starters after a couple of late free throws by Stephen Decatur High School graduate Dayona Godwin (Berlin, Maryland).

"We talked about kids coming off the bench and giving us production minutes," Batchelor said. "Dom and Adrienne off the bench and then Brooklyn gave us six in the first quarter. I'm looking at bench points and the bench scored 31 points. We had one starter in double figures. Getting that from the bench is huge."

The Hawks scored 26 points off 25 Spartans turnovers.

"That's huge when you can capitalize off the turnovers," Batchelor said "You are getting points and they are getting less opportunities to score. A lot of that has to do with Jean's energy and the assignments.

"I thought that came from coach Sidney Raikes' scouting report and his preparation of the team for how we wanted to defend Norfolk — which he does consistently without overwhelming them. The kids come in and they know what they have to do without a whole lot of extra."

The Hawks will next face Howard in Washington, D.C., Monday (Jan. 28) at 4 p.m. The last time the two teams met, the Hawks were able to pull away in the second half for an 80-72 win. Eastern Shore shot just 33 percent in the first half in that game.

"We didn't come in here and play all that great either offensively,"Batchelor said. "I thought we just played tough enough, but I thought they stuck together and I think that's what makes them special."