PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland — Sometimes the math catches up to you.

The University of Maryland Eastern Shore led South Carolina State for the first 30 minutes and 27 seconds of Saturday's (Jan. 22) matchup at the William P. Hytche Athletic Center. But Bulldogs sophomore Nadia Reese gave her team the lead 41-39 with a 3-pointer with 9:33 to go in the fourth and they never trailed again.

Graduate student Amanda Carney (Old Bridge, New Jersey) briefly tied the score moments later with a pair of free throws and then again with one at the 7:11 mark, but South Carolina State never relinquished the lead.

The Hawks (4-10, 0-2 MEAC) shot just 28% from the field, 6% from behind the arc and 56% from the free throw line in the 54-50 loss.

"That says it all," Hawks coach Fred Batchelor said. "We had 29 offensive rebounds, they had 20 turnovers. We had 23 extra possessions. We shot 21 extra shots. So at some point you are just not going to beat teams shooting the ball like that."

With the Bulldogs (2-14, 2-0 MEAC) shooting 40% from the field, 32% from three and 64% from the line, it was just a matter of time.

"It just seemed like the basket kept getting smaller and smaller," Batchelor said. "Obviously we have to work through some things. I don't even think it's on the court stuff. I think we really need to find our purpose and we don't seem to have that direction and that responsibility falls on me. So I have to figure out how to find it. The only way I can figure out how to find it is to keep working."

All the misses resulted in 37 defensive rebounds for the Bulldogs, but the Hawks still outrebounded them 48-40 overall.

"I told them the loss wasn't for lack of effort, which I can take," Batchelor said. "But we have to play better and I think a lot of it is just being more mentally tough. I'm a little perplexed with this group."

Batchelor juggled the lineup throughout the game trying to find the hot hand, but the offense just never seemed to get on track.

"We played nine players for 17 minutes or more," Batchelor said.

Carney led the Hawks with 11 points to go with four rebounds and Mahogany Lester (Virginia Beach, Virginia) chipped in seven points and six boards. Freshman Ariana Seawell (Bronx, New York) played double-digit minutes for the second straight game and had six points, six rebounds and a pair of blocks.

Freshman Cache' Wilson (Baltimore, Maryland) played a team-high 32 minutes and despite being one of the smallest players on the roster led the squad with 11 rebounds. She added a pair of assists, three steals, four points and turned the ball over just once.

"Cache' has shown me that she is the future of this program as a freshman with what she has done," Batchelor said. "She guards the toughest perimeter player. She handles the responsibility and she is a joy to coach. You can get on her and she doesn't blink. She is as tough as they come and she's working her butt off out there. I appreciate her effort."

Eastern Shore will host North Carolina Central (1-11, 0-3 MEAC) on Monday at 5:30 p.m.