SUMMARY

RICHMOND, Virginia – While the University of Maryland Eastern Shore kept the game close, VCU took the Hawks' season opener during a 75-60 contest.

THE SCORE

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (0-1) – 60
VCU (1-0) – 75

HOW IT HAPPENED

The visiting Hawks pushed the VCU Rams consistently during UMES' first game of the season. Through the opening quarter, the Hawks led VCU 12-8 after going on a 10-2 run to open the game. VCU ultimately took the lead during the second quarter and never relinquished it the remainder of the game.

Through the third period, the Hawks made headway and kept within striking distance as they continued to earn points in the paint. Zamara Haynes dropped 15 on VCU through the third quarter, going 6-8 from the field. UMES battled and kept the VCU lead to 55-44 at the end of three, but the Rams were able to open up their lead behind a 13-point effort from Timaya Lewis-Eutsey during the fourth quarter.

KEY STATS

Wednesday's game marked the first with UMES for head coach Malikah Willis.

VCU's Lewis-Eutsey led all players with 28 points.

Haynes led the Hawks with 23 points and seven rebounds.

Mahogany Lester and Lainey Allen each collected six rebounds as UMES outrebounded VCU 35-27.

Eight of the 12 Hawks who saw action on Wednesday logged points.

The Hawks moved the ball around to the tune of 13 assists compared to VCU's 16.

COMMENTS FROM HAWK HEAD COACH MALIKAH WILLIS

"I think we played hard. I knew we were going to do that. We came out and jumped all over them. They came back and gave us their best shot, and that second quarter kind of hurt us a lot."

"We expected to be in a dog fight and expected to be in the game the whole time. We expect to be in every game we play because we do play hard, we can get to the basket, we can score, which we were not doing a lot tonight. The ball wasn't falling. But our expectation and reality is to always be right there."

"We've got to bounce back, watch a lot of film and share the ball a little more. We had 13 assists, 32 paint points, 12 offensive rebounds and nine steals. We still have a lot to put in, but we're looking forward to upping the intensity."

NEXT UP

The Hawks will host Bowie State at 2 p.m. for Homecoming in what will be UMES' first home game of the season.