Box Score BLACKSBURG, Virginia — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore faced a Virginia Tech front line on Tuesday night (Nov. 19) that boasted a 6-foot-5 center in Elizabeth Kitley and a roster with seven player six-foot or bigger.
It was not a recipe for success for a relatively small Hawks team with two forwards out of the lineup due to injury. The Shore were outscored in the paint 38-6, outrebounded 52-27 and dropped the contest 86-43.
"I thought we were a little overmatched," Hawks coach Fred Batchelor said. "The size was a big part of it. That wears on you. You make plays, but the size wears on you and you start to break down on other things.
The Hawks (1-4) were held to 25% shooting from the field and 22% from behind the arc. They did manage to keep the turnovers relatively low at 16 and forced the Hokies to cough it up 14 times.
"All-in-all we executed really well," Batchelor said. "Outside of that offensive rebound that we gave up to end the first half, and defensive transition those things concerns me. That's a commitment to getting back, sprinting back and talking — understanding the moment."
Freshman forward Makayla Adams (Bowie, Maryland) led the Hawks in scoring with 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field including three from deep. She also grabbed three rebounds and had a pair of blocks.
"I thought Makayla was a bright spot coming off the bench," Batchelor said. "She was someone that gave us a little lift and spark and actually led us in scoring as a freshman. That's encouraging to see something like that from her. She's a great kid. She's a pleasure to coach and she's not afraid and she's not afraid to be coached.
"She has high self-esteem and in this society, having a kid with high self-esteem makes it easier to coach them."
Sophomore Brooklyn Baily (Rock Hill, South Carolina) finished with nine points, five assists and a steal and a pair of rebounds.
"I thought Brooklyn had a bounce-back game," Batchelor said. "She made some good plays and continued to be aggressive. She kind of kept us in and made it difficult for them."
Junior Amanda Carney (Old Bridge, New Jersey) scored all nine of her points in the first half, grabbed three boards and had an assist.
"I thought we showed a lot of fight particularly early on, but they were just too big," Batchelor said. "You look at the end of the first half and statistically we were even other than the points in the paint. There were turnovers and offensive rebounds, but the points in the paint just wear you down.
"At the end of the day, I thought we just got worn down by that aspect of the game."
Kitley finished with 10 points and nine rebounds for Virginia Tech (4-0) while 6-0 forward Trinity Baptiste had eight rebounds and 20 points and 6-foot-4 Alex Obouh Fegue had seven rebounds and 12 points.
The Hokies shot 45% from the field and made 14-of-15 from the free throw line. They also picked up 22 assists as a team.
"They do a good job of taking advantage of taking what the defense gives them," Batchelor said. "They have an ability to go inside and to knock down perimeter shots. They are a very talented ACC team and it was a tough matchup for us."
The Shore will have a few days before hitting the road again to play East Carolina University on Saturday (Nov. 23) at 2 p.m. A short holiday break will follow and the team will play against home on Dec. 3 against Greensboro College at 6 p.m.
