ORANGEBURG, South Carolina — Senior Brooklyn Bailey (Rock Hill, South Carolina) rebounded from a poor shooting performance one week ago to pour in 21 points in her home state as the Hawks picked up a big road win at South Carolina State, 65-57 on Saturday.
Eastern Shore (8-14, 4-6 MEAC) used a strong defensive effort to score 19 points off 22 Bulldogs turnovers. The Shore also won the battle on the glass 40-32 and held South Carolina State to 33% shooting from the floor.
"In February, to get a conference win on the road, is a great day for us," head coach Fred Batchelor said. "I'm really proud of the way Brooklyn came back after going 0-for-11 last Saturday. She took 15 shots after going 0-for-11 and I'm not talking about how many she made (7-for-15) I'm taking about the fact that she took 15."
"The game plan for me is the same for every game," Bailey said. "That's to put up shots, even though I wasn't shooting the ball too well the last game, I knew I still had to put up shots this game and I was feelin' good."
The Hawks led the entire first quarter, but gave up the lead in the second on a Nadia Reese 3-pointer with 6:57 to go in the half. They battled back a couple of times, but with 2:46 to go before the break the Bulldogs were holding a 27-26 lead.
But Eastern Shore was about to go on a run. Back-to-back triples by Bailey was followed up with a pair of free throws by Mahogany Lester (Virginia Beach, Virginia). Lesley Thomas (Browns Summit, North Carolina) pulled down a big defensive rebound and Zamara Haynes (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) drove to the basket for a 36-27 Hawks lead.
The Hawks then forced a turnover and then at the other end Bailey took a contested three with second remaining. Graduate student Amanda Carney (Old Bridge, New Jersey) followed the shot from outside near the 3-point line, caught the airball and tipped it in with just two seconds left to give The Shore a 38-27 lead at the half along with all the momentum.
"That was a play that was made at the end of the second half that I will never forget," Batchelor said. "There are certain plays that you experience that are like that. I remember Casey Morton (now Monroe-Gaskins) getting a defensive rebound at homecoming against Howard. That play she made was just an effort play and that is the type of play you have to make to dig out of your hole. I thought that play changed everything for her and gave her confidence. That is what we talk about being mentally tough and no one can take your confidence away if you are mentally tough.
"Basketball is like life. Nothing is going to be sweet and nothing is going to be easy for most people. And the ability to fight through adversity is really what this is about and it's what is going to help you overcome the challenges you are going to face in life."
The Hawks would push the lead to as many as 13 points in the third quarter, but the Bulldogs didn't go away. South Carolina State would cut it to six in the fourth thanks in part to the Hawks struggles from the line where they finished 12-of-22.
"We had to do what we had to do to win," Bailey said. "The things that we did was to talk on defense, work together and get out on No. 32 (Nicole Gwynn). That changed the game and we were able to get fast break points."
Down the stretch it was the consistent defensive effort by the Hawks that made the difference. Bairesha Gill-Miles (Lexington, Kentucky) played 31 minutes of solid defense, chipping in six points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Haynes finished with a career-high 14 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Carney put up 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting and had four steals and a pair of assists.
Thomas played 15 big physical minutes off the bench grabbing five boards in the process. Lester has four points and six boards in a strong first half.
The bench as a whole, scored 41 of the teams' 65 points.
"We may not be the most talented team, but we are going to be the most mentally tough team and I think that is why we had the type of experiences we have had at this time of year. I am just proud of the mental toughness they showed on the road."
