SUMMARY

The University of Maryland Shore closed out its home stand for the season with a 70-59 win against Morgan State.

Before the game, UMES recognized its seven senior players: Chaniqwa Gilliam, Lainey Allen, Amiaya Morgan, Ce'nara Skanes, Kiarra Kennedy, Zamara Haynes and Mahogany Lester.

THE SCORE

Morgan State (11-16, 4-8 MEAC) - 59

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (11-16, 6-6) - 70

HOW IT HAPPENED

Morgan State struck first with a couple of early baskets before the Hawks scored nine unanswered to take a lead UMES never surrendered for the remainder of the game. Dakieran Turner put the Hawks on the board first with a layup on an assist from Ce'nara Skanes before Ashanti Lynch converted an and-one opportunity to give UMES its first lead. Zamara Haynes and Ashanti Lynch followed up with a couple of buckets to follow up and cement the run. Morgan State responded with four more to cut the Hawks' lead down to one, but UMES continued to push forward and maintain its distance as Brianna Barnes knocked down five points to go along with another free throw from Skanes and a jumper from Mahogany Lester to take a 17-12 lead after one quarter.

Lester continued to showcase the Hawks' hot hand with a three to open the second quarter before the Bears responded with a triple of their own. Morgan State closed the gap with another triple between a pair of free throws from Barnes and before Lainey Alen helped UMES keep its lead with an inside jumper. Each side traded blows throughout the remainder of the half as the Hawks held a 33-26 lead going into the break with help from Allen's six points in the quarter.

Turner put the first points of the second half on the board 16 seconds in before the Bears responded with a pair of baskets to cut into UMES lead, 35-30. However, UMES again showcased its offensive momentum with a 15-2 run through the next seven minutes before heading into the final quarter with a 54-37 lead. Skanes knocked down nine points through the quarter while Barnes added another four in the effort.

Morgan State pushed the tempo in the fourth quarter, outscoring UMES 22-16, however the Bears' efforts fell short as the Hawks quelled the comeback attempt. UMES went a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line while knocking down 4-of-12 from the field. Zamara Haynes knocked down seven points while Kiarra Kennedy, Lester, Barnes and Turner each made their way to the basket to help secure the win for the Hawks in their final home game of the season.

BY THE NUMBERS

UMES held the lead for just over 36 minutes in the game while leading by as much as 18 during the end of the third quarter.

The Hawks scored in bunches from the bench as the UMES bench scored 45 in the outing.

In a similar pattern for UMES, the Hawks led on the boards with 38 rebounds to the Bears' 27. The Hawks pulled down 17 offensive and 21 defensive rebounds.

Four UMES players reached double digits scoring with Zamara Haynes, Brianna Barnes and Ce'nara Skanes each putting up 13 with Mahogany Lester scoring 10.

Ce'nara Skanes recorded a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds to go along with a pair of assists and a steal.

Both teams shot the ball well with Morgan State going 21-of-49 (42.9%) from the field while UMES went 25-of-54 (46.3%). The Hawks also went 17-of-24 from the free throw line.

COMMENTS FROM HAWK HEAD COACH MALIKAH WILLIS

Thoughts on this senior class

"It's just a dynamic situation with the senior class. Coming in and having so many leaders on and off the floor has been a blessing. And for me, it's made my job easier. Just having their attention, they have a different type of approach to the game. I've been lucky with teaching all the philosophies on offense and defense, and as we see it's starting to happen. It takes time, but their approach to the game is coming from a learning approach. I love that because there was no fighting it, they wanted to learn and do something different. It's been a blessing and I think a lot of that happens because they're older and more experienced."

Senior class leadership

"Even with new players like Ce'nara Skanes, she fit right in, a great addition. She's felt like she's been here forever, I feel like I've been here forever. It's been a heckuva season. But they've fit in the same way, another piece to the puzzle. And the seniors that were here already, they embraced everybody right away. They wanted to win and do something different, and hopefully we still have a chance to do that. They're turning it on at the right time."

Carrying momentum forward

"I just told them how proud I am of them. We had a long stretch at home with three wins, Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. So I told them I was proud of them locking in. Three tough games and we're staying as disciplined as we can with our rebounding, and now we're scoring points. The last few games we've scored 70, and that's huge for us to get out of that 50 range. It's a momentum builder. We're going to go on, give them a little rest, and approach things a little bit different with practice because we know it's heavy on them with class and all these games back-to-back. So we'll get them some rest, get them in the film room, and then go out and play again with two more next week."

NEXT UP

The Hawks travel to face Coppin State on Monday, March 3, before traveling to Delaware State on Thursday, March 6, to close out the regular season.