SUMMARY

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore never trailed the entire way as the Hawks earned their first MEAC win of the season with a 63-55 road win against South Carolina State.

THE SCORE

South Carolina State (2-18, 1-3 MEAC) - 55

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (6-12, 1-2) - 63

HOW IT HAPPENED

Both sides were held scoreless for the first 2:22 of the game before Mahogany Lester found Aleah James for the first bucket of the game on a shot from beyond the arc. The duo of Lester and James combined to help pace the Hawks early on in the first quarter as Lester dropped nine points with the assist while James dropped six points with a pair of assists. While South Carolina State found some rhythm from the field in the middle of the quarter, the Hawks opened the game on a 10-2 run over the first four minutes. UMES closed the quarter with a 9-0 run in the final 2:26 with Lester notching four points, James three and Lainey Allen her first of four buckets for the game.

The second quarter was closer as the Bulldogs notched 13 points in the frame with an efficient 66.7% shooting from the field to the Hawks' 37.5%. However, the Hawks could not be denied as they hit 16 points with their long game working as they went 4-of-8 from beyond the arc. Six different Hawks sank a shot in the quarter with Zamara Haynes, Brianna Barnes, Amiaya Morgan, Allen, Lester and James getting in on the action.

The Hawks continued to hold their lead through the third quarter, though the Bulldogs held the slight scoring advantage, 15-14, in the frame. After neither side attempted a free throw in the second quarter, both sides were pushed to the charity stripe in the third as the Hawks showed their efficiency with a 6-of-8 performance.

In the final quarter the Hawks got off to a hot start with Ashanti Lynch responding to the Bulldogs' opening score with a layup and three-pointer before Haynes and Ce'nara Skanes tookover for the remainder of the quarter. Haynes and Skanes combined for nine points to close out the game and help secure the Hawks' first MEAC win of the season.

BY THE NUMBERS

Mahogany Lester paced the Hawks with 19 points while adding six rebounds and five assists in the game. Lester's scoring total was a season-high for her while coming within one point of tying her career-high at UMES.

Zamara Haynes hit the ground running to the tune of 10 points while adding four rebounds, four steals and a pair of assists.

Aleah James did all her damage from beyond the arc as she went 3-of-5 for nine points while dishing out five assists.

As a team, the Hawks went 9-of-21 from beyond the arc as they hit more three-pointers in the game than they had in any other this season as they hit on 42.9% of their attempts.

UMES held control of the paint for the game with a rebounding advantage of 31-29 while tying the Bulldogs with 24 points apiece in the paint.

COMMENTS FROM HAWK HEAD COACH MALIKAH WILLIS

Thoughts on the game

"I thought we bounced back well. We came out ready to play, and didn't have a slow start like we normally do. We're still working on some things defensively. Statistically, as good as we are, defensively we have a lot to work on. That's why we play zone the majority of the game. We need our players in the game. I'm not sure if it's us or the elements against us right now, but we've got to stay out of foul trouble. I think we did a better job starting."

What does this win do for the team

"Hopefully this just gives us momentum. We always get to working on ourselves. We just have to continue to find rotations because we're rotating a lot of players — we have to due to the way we play — but we have to find the right rotations that will help us score."

Focus of the team's defensive intensity

"It's been leading us the entire way. We're not going to put a ton of points on the board. That's just not our specialty right now, it's not our strength, but our defense is. We have to hone it in a little more and adjust to the way fouls are being called in the MEAC because we're coming off playing bigger guards, bigger posts where we had to get physical and they let us play. Now it's a different match up and they're not letting us play. We keep watching and keep talking to our players about the adjustment. But the momentum, we're going to ride it, hopefully get a little time off and get ready for the next game."

Preparation for next game

"We're excited for it. We're excited to be back in front of our fans. School will be back in, and we want to get the crowd out there. We'll definitely be ready for that game and we'll have better rotations, we'll have more of a game plan on how we're going to rotate people in and out. We're excited, more so, because school is back in."

NEXT UP

The Hawks will rest for a week before returning to the Hytche Center to host Delaware State on January 25.