Hawks rebound their way to third straight victory
 
PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland – The University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks had 21 more rebounds than Mount St. Mary's and used a big third quarter performance to pull away with a 69-52 victory on Wednesday night.

 
"I thought we played tough and wore down Mount St. Mary's tonight. I think we did some good things defensively and competed for the full forty minutes," said UMES Fred Batchelor. "I am proud of this group and the way we took over tonight's game."

 
After falling behind by five after the first quarter, UMES held the Mountaineers to just 10 points in the second period as the Zamara Haynes scored seven points in the quarter to help her team take a 31-28 lead at half.

 
The third quarter may have been the strongest the Hawks have looked all season coming out of a halftime break. Continuing on her momentum from the third quarter, Haynes poured in another nine points while point guard Mya Thomas scored six in the quarter including a late three to put UMES up 54-40 going into the final 10 minutes of play.

 
With a 14 point lead, Hawk guard Jala Bannerman delivered eight points in the fourth including back-to-back three pointers down the stretch as UMES led by as many as 17 and cruised to the double-digit win.

 
Four Hawks scored in double-figures led by 17 points from Haynes. Thomas had 12 points and Bannerman recorded 11 points. Ariana Seawell added 10 points.

 
Rebounding numbers were lopsided in favor of the Hawks as UMES totaled 47 to the MSM's tally of 26. UMES took advantage of 21 offensive rebounds and held a 20-2 edge in second chance points.

 
Forward Mahogany Lester led the Hawks on the boards with a career-high 17 rebounds including eight on the offensive end. Haynes and Seawell each grabbed nine rebounds in the win.

 
"Mahogany brings a lot of energy and determination," Batchelor said. "She made winning plays tonight on both ends of the floor and played nearly the entire second half to help us extend our lead and ultimately win the game. Jala, Zamara, Mya and Seawell all played well and continue to improve each and every game. We have some high level opponents coming up so it was important to take care of business at home tonight."

 
The Hawks travel to face Seton Hall on Saturday at 1 pm.