PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore was within two points of Howard University, 49-47, with 2:51 left in the third quarter on Saturday (Jan. 4) at the William P. Hytche Athletic Center. But a 22-3 run over roughly the next six minutes of the game put the Hawks (3-11) in a hole they couldn't get out of in a 79-58 loss.
"I thought we had a bunch of turnovers in bunches and Jayla Thorton continued to find a way in the second half to get her shot off," Hawks coach Fred Batchelor said. "I thought some other kids stepped up and made plays for them. I thought us turning over the basketball was key.
"They are a better team. I don't know if they are 20 points better on our home court, but they are a better team. They showed that today. We have to get better."
Thornton led all scorers with 22 points including six 3-pointers.
Meanwhile Howard sophomore forward Krislyn Marsh put up 17 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks on 8-of-12 shooting, while dominating the paint area for most of the game.
"She is a dawg and I mean that in the most flattering way," Batchelor said. "You better be ready to come and play because she is going to be ready. I talked to my kids about being a little more physical and we weren't. We were a little soft down inside and they just took advantage of that. I think that softness comes from inexperience."
Eastern Shore was outrebounded 49-37, turned the ball over 19 times and shot 34% from the field.
Brooklyn Bailey (Rock Hill, South Carolina) led The Shore in scoring with 16 points and junior Amanda Carney (Old Bridge, New Jersey) had 15. Bairesha Gill-Miles (Lexington, Kentucky) — seeing her first action since getting injured during the first half at UNC Greensboro — put up 10 points in 16 minutes. Kenetria Redfern (Cheektowaga, New York) led the Hawks with seven rebounds, while Ksenia Popovich (Moscow, Russia) pulled down six.
The Hawks will remain home and will host North Carolina A&T State on Jan. 11. Between now and then Batchelor knows there is work to do.
"I really haven't even thought about that game yet," Batchelor said. "I really need to look at how we are playing. Right now our guards are not handling the ball like we need them to consistently and it kills us. It takes away so much momentum and it feeds the other team. And it doesn't even give us a chance if we can't get it over half court consistently against a basic trap. So, I have to come up with some different ways to attack it and find some things we can do. But we have got to get better from today to get ready for Saturday because that is going to be tougher."
