CORAL GABLES, Florida — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore gave the University of Miami more than it probably expected in the first quarter on Monday (Nov. 7), but eventually succumbed to the size and pressure of the Hurricanes in an 83-51 loss.
"To come out at this level against an ACC opponent, score 17 points and lose the first quarter by three and then find a way to win the fourth quarter playing everybody, there are positives," head coach Fred Batchelor said. "It was just that middle part that really was the difference in being able to stay with a team at their level with that size and level of athlete."
The Hawks (0-1) were outrebounded 52-34, but Miami (1-0) boasted three front line players who were 6-foot-4 and played significant minutes.
"This may have been the biggest team I have ever seen," Batchelor said. "They were huge."
Sophomore Ariana Seawell (Bronx, New York) led the Hawks on the glass with seven rebounds and added eight points. It was her first game action since suffering an injury at Delaware State on Feb. 3 of last season. All of her eight points came in the first half and she had just one shot attempt in the second half.
"The forwards play off of the guards," Batchelor said. "I thought there were a couple of situations where we made some bad decisions in guard play. With the way she was playing early, I thought we should have been able to capitalize."
UMES also turned the ball over 18 times in the second and third periods combined.
"The thing about it was that we would beat the pressure and then turn it over on the offensive end," Batchelor said. "It was just about decision making, but I thought we really showed a lot of fight. I thought we grew a lot today in a tough challenging situation. We had our lapses and some of that was fatigue."
With junior Caché Wilson (Baltimore, Maryland) off the active roster with an injury, Batchelor had just four true ball handlers to go to during the game and three of them were playing at the same time.
Junior Zamara Haynes (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) led the Hawks with 11 points on 2-of-13 shooting, was 6-of-8 from the free throw line and chipped in three assists and a pair of steals.
Senior Mya Thomas (Chesapeake, Virginia) had a team-high four assists to go with nine points and four rebounds.
Freshman Jála Bannerman (Baltimore, Maryland) played 23 minutes off the bench and had seven points, two rebounds and a steal in her debut.
Redshirt junior Makayla Adams (Bowie, Maryland) played 8 minutes off the bench in her first action in two years and went 1-for-4 from behind the arc. It was her first basket since March 11, 2020. She missed last year with an injury.
Batchelor was happy with the minutes he was able to get his reserves and those could be valuable as the season goes on.
"And they finished out the game," Batchelor said. "They finished the game out getting back on defense, executing and doing things you coach them to do."
All 14 active players saw the court for UMES. The Hawks shot 35.3 % from the field, 23.5 % from behind the arc and 68.8 % from the free throw line. They turned the ball over 29 times and forced 20 turnovers.
"I thought we responded well," Batchelor said. "I wish we could have made a few more plays that would have made it a little bit better outing. But all in all I just felt like we fought."
The Hawks will next play at George Washington on Thursday at 6 p.m.
