PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore will take another shot at getting on the right track at home on Saturday (Feb. 18) when they host South Carolina State University looking for a season sweep.

"This is a big game for us," Hawks coach Fred Batchelor said. "I told the kids it's a must win situation for the season. Hopefully it will get us going in the right direction at the right time. We have to play hungrier than them, but  we want to play an up tempo game and make sure we rebound and get to that glass. Up tempo is going to help us offensively as well and getting some second shots will as well."

In the previous meeting in Orangeburg, South Carolina, sophomore Ariana Seawell (The Bronx, New York) and redshirt junior Mahogany Lester led the way for the Hawks. Seawell had a career-high 21 points and chipped in 11 rebounds, while Lester also came up big with nine points, nine rebounds, a pair of blocks, two assists and a steal in just 23 minutes.

But like much of this season, the guards struggled, which kept the game pretty tight.

"Our guards have got to get going," Batchelor said. "We have to get better guard play in order for us to be successful. That is the case for the rest of the season. Our guards have got to pay better than they have played or we are going to continue to struggle."

Sophomore Sonnier Lovely led the Bulldogs (3-21, 2-7 MEAC) at home with 17 points and 19 rebounds and the two teams each had 27 rebounds in that game. Lovely had eight offensive rebounds which Batchelor characterized as "way too many."

"We have to guard Nicole Gwynn, their best perimeter player and Lovely — their best interior player," Batchelor said. "We have to match up well against them whether we are in man or zone and not allow them to hurt us."

Following Saturday's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference battle, there will be no rest for the weary as the Hawks host North Carolina Central on Monday (Feb. 20) at 5:30 p.m. as part of a men's and women's doubleheader. They then face Coppin State on Wednesday (Feb. 23) at 5:30 in a rescheduled single game from earlier in the year.