NORFOLK, Virginia — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore found a way to come away from their lone matchup with Norfolk State last season with a 59-43 road victory. Led by then sophomore Bairesha Gill-Miles (Lexington, Kentucky) and the senior class, the Hawks disrupted the Spartans on offense and frustrated the backcourt.
Fast forward to this season and the tables have turned. That senior class is gone and with them went 65% of the offense and a considerable amount of toughness and know how. Meanwhile, Norfolk's roster shakes up differently as well.
"This is probably the most experienced team in the league — looking at their top eight players, they have one junior, a grad transfers and three redshirts then everyone else is a senior," Eastern Shore head coach Fred Batchelor said. "They are coming off a really good year last year and they are going to be tough throughout the year based on their experience and athleticism."
Redshirt senior Chanette Hicks — a transfer from Virginia Tech — leads the way for the Spartans with 22.8 points per game to go along with 5.4 steals and 5.4 assists per outing. The 5-foot-6 point guard is leading the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in assists and assist/turnover ratio (1.6).
"At the end of the day, you are playing against probably the best player in the league," Batchelor said. "It's early yet. This is her first year in the league and I'm not one to really give people those titles, without seeing them, but specifically she is a tough kid to handle. She affects the game in so many ways on both ends of the floor and she is a dominant force to deal with in a small package."
The Hawks (4-12, 1-2 MEAC) are coming off what could be a turnaround performance as they feel their way through the early conference season. A 65-63 win against North Carolina Central was just what the team needed in the middle of a brutal first four games. That was Gill-Miles' third game back after injury and the 27 minutes she played were her most since Nov. 12 at Syracuse. With the Hawks at close to full strength for this matchup with Norfolk (9-7, 3-0 MEAC) this could be the time to take another step forward.
"They are a team that has some faults in regard to turnovers and they are not very big which doesn't overpower you," Batchelor said. "We are excited about our chances against them. We just know that we need to do certain things and we need to do them very well in order to compete with them. That is taking care of the basketball on offense, defensive transition and making an effort to outrebound them."
Since the start of conference play, the Hawks are being led by Gill-Miles (9.0 ppg), sophomore Brooklyn Bailey (Rock Hill, South Carolina) and Amanda Carney (Old Bridge, New Jersey). Carney is the only player on the roster averaging double digits for the season, but several players have begun to emerge lately.
"I thought last year we were a bit tougher when it mattered most and when we came down here and played them that was probably one of signature wins of the year as far as beating one the better teams in the league," Batchelor said. "We are finding our way through the season right now and having played arguably the top three teams in the MEAC in the first four games, you get to find out who you are real quick. This will be a good challenge for us and it will be a very tough time for us to play in the environment they create in Norfolk.
"They create a great Saturday afternoon atmosphere. I'm really excited about participating in that environment. I think of all the team in the league they do the best of creating an environment that really makes you feel excited about college basketball."
