PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore faces its first real challenge of the season on Saturday (Nov. 9) at 6 p.m. when it faces off with Colonial Athletic Association mainstay William & Mary at Kaplan Arena in Williamsburg, Virginia.
"Being a CAA team is always a challenge," Hawks coach Fred Batchelor said. "They are a well-coached team and they have a solid foundation program. Coach (Ed) Swanson has been around for a while and he's done some good things there. He's a guy who knows what he's doing and he's got a good fit of kids who fit his system who play well off each other and they'll be a tough team to beat — particularly on their home floor."
For the Tribe, everything starts with sophomore guard Eva Hodgson who took CAA Rookie of the Year honors last year. She started this season with a career-high 27 points against Army and added a career-high six rebounds plus three assists and five steals.
"She is very efficient shooting the ball," Batchelor said. "She's a solid player who can play on and off the ball. They have a couple of other kids who can really shoot the ball. They return three starters from last year's team, which is big. The kind of remind me of us in the sense that they lost their leading scorer and they are trying to find a new identity, but they return a little more."
The Hawks will be without freshman forward/center Mahogany Lester (Virginia Beach, Virginia), who did not make the trip after suffering an upper body injury in the first game. She will have tests, but how much time she will miss is unknown at this point.
It would have been a homecoming of sorts for Lester who won four state championships just down the road in Virginia Beach, but classmate Mya Thomas (Chesapeake, Virginia) will be playing in front of friends and family.
The family of classmate Makayla Adams (Bowie, Maryland) is also from the area, so it's a big night for the pair in just their second college game.
Senior Adrienne Jones (Baltimore, Maryland) led the Hawks with 14 points in the opener against Wesley, while junior Amanda Carney (Parlin, New Jersey) chipped in 11. Sophomore Rose Smith (Harlem, New York) leads the team in rebounding with nine.
"We want to play the best basketball that we can play at this point in the year," Batchelor said. "I don't actually know exactly what that means. I think we are going to learn more about ourselves than anything today."
