PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore used a third-quarter run to cut the Wagner advantage to single digits on Wednesday (Nov. 16), but faltered shortly after suffering a 72-60 loss at home.
"The whole game was a struggle," Hawks coach Fred Batchelor said. "I just don't think we know how to win. It's a young team and sometimes they have to learn things for themselves as opposed to you trying to tell them. It is tough to go through and it's tough to watch, but it's growing pains and we'll get through it."
The Seahawks (2-2) got out to a 17-11 lead by the end of the first quarter and pushed that to 35-22 at the half. In the first half, the Hawks (1-3) shot 55% from the field, but turned the ball over nine times and sent Wagner to the free throw line nine times where they hit seven.
"We have to work our way through it," Batchelor said. "We have been here before and we have got to find some leadership on the floor, but we have to find some ways to get more out of some kids. I didn't see the effort today that I would have liked to see on our home court."
Midway through the third quarter, and trailing 49-29 the Hawks went to the bench bringing in freshman Ja'la Bannerman (Baltimore, Maryland) along with sophomore Lesley Thomas (Brown's Summit, North Carolina), Lainey Allen (Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania), Kiarra Kennedy (Bronx, New York) and Amiaya Morgan (Sicklerville, New Jersey).
Those Hawks cut the lead to just eight (51-43) with 54 seconds left in the third on a pair of made free throws by Lesley Thomas.
"I liked what we got from that group that we put in," Batchelor said. "Some of those are kids that don't play much and I thought that was a real positive. They came in with a lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm and I really appreciate that because it kind of gave us a boost."
But after a 5-0 run by Wagner to start the fourth, Batchelor had to go to his bench again with seven minutes left in the game and the Seahawks held their ground from there.
Mya Thomas (Chesapeake, Virginia) led the Hawks with 10 points, on 4-of-6 shooting, and added a pair of rebounds and two assists. Freshman Ashanti Lynch (Hookerton, North Carolina) added eight points, also on 4-of-6 shooting, and six rebounds. Allen scored nine points off the bench, grabbed four rebounds and blocked two shots in 19 minutes.
UMES turned the ball over 24 times, shot 42.3% from the field and 60% from the free throw line (12-of-20), but outrebounded Wagner 32-29 and forced 17 turnovers.
The Hawks will next travel to Drexel for a 2 p.m. Saturday (Nov. 19) matchup, which will be televised on FloSports.
