SUMMARY
NORFOLK, Virginia – The University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks closed their run in the MEAC Homecoming Basketball Tournament in the semifinals with a 67-59 loss to Howard.
THE SCORE
Howard (21-10) - 67
Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (14-17) - 59
HOW IT HAPPENED
Dakieran Turner quickly put the Hawks on the board with a jumper to open up the scoring for the semfinal matchup. Following up, Ce'nara Skanes and Turner each got to the free throw line for the Hawks' next three points. Half the Hawks' first quarter points came from the free thrown line as Ashanti Lynch and Brianna Barnes added the Hawks' other three points from the stripe. Despite a hot start, Howard began to gain ground throughout the quarter before going on a 10-0 run through the final 3:20 of the quarter as the Hawks trailed 17-12 heading into the second quarter.
The second quarter saw similar numbers for both sides as the Hawks were once again forced to earn half their points from the free throw line as Howard maintained a 17-14 scoring advantage through the frame. UMES' first five points of the second came from the charity stripe while Howard extended its lead by eight, 25-17, before Mahogany Lester hit a dagger from distance for three and Zamara Haynes followed up with a jumper to cut the Bison lead down to three. Amira Ofunniyin added a putback bucket, but the Hawks were held otherwise without a basket until Barnes added a pair of free throws with 1:20 remaining for UMES' final points of the half. Howard added a three in the waning seconds of the half to take a 34-26 lead against the Hawks.
Through the third, Howard extended its lead behind a 22-12 scoring advantage. Skanes, Lynch, Barnes and Lester added a combined six points via free throws, but the Hawks were held without a made basket from the field until Lynch laid in a shot with 1:44 remaining in the quarter. Meanwhile, Howard went up by 17 points. Haynes added another layup with just over a minute remaining and Barnes knocked two more free throws to close out the Hawks' offensive efforts heading into the final quarter.
UMES pushed Howard through the fourth quarter with a 21-point output and limited the Bison to 11. Lester began the comeback effort with a layup 1:18 in before Skanes followed up with a layup after the Hawks forced a turnover. A pair of layups from Lynch and Haynes capped a 8-0 run to open the quarter and cut down Howard's lead to 56-46. Each side traded a pair of free throws before Howard connected on a jumper before adding a couple more free throws to extend the Bison lead to 14. Haynes, though, knocked down a free throw before Barnes rebounded the second attempt and gave Haynes another opportunity to knock down another jumper to cut into Howard's lead with 3:14 remaining in the game. UMES, however, could not get another shot to drop until Lester drained a three with 39 seconds left and Barnes finished off the effort with a layup in the final moments.
BY THE NUMBERS
The Hawks were forced to the free throw line 32 times throughout the game and made 24 of their shots. UMES went 13-of-16 in the first half before closing the game on an 11-of-16 mark.
Mahogany Lester recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds while also adding four steals, an assist and a block to her total.
Three other UMES players notched double-digit scoring totals as Zamara Haynes scored a team-high 16 points while Brianna Barnes added 11 points and Ashanti Lynch another 10.
Both sides were nearly evenly matched on the boards as the Hawks took a 45-42 rebounding advantage through the game. Each side scored 22 points in the paint.
The Hawks were held to 27.6% shooting from the field while going 16-of-58, including 3-of-11 from beyond the arc.
COMMENTS FROM HAWK HEAD COACH MALIKAH WILLIS
Thoughts on the game
"Still proud of this group. Six-game winning streak to end the season was great. The focus, the will to want to win, the will to continue to want to get better and continue to grow, it really showed. We came up short, but still, anytime you play us it's going to be a tough matchup. We dug ourselves a hole, but we came out and we never let up. That's all I can hope for."
First-year takeaway
"I've been blessed with this team. I really think it's a great team I walked into with the seniority, the maturity, the life lessons they've already been through as they were already were coming off a coaching change, basketball-wise, and whatever else that is going on personally. So, going into it, it was the best decision I've made. What I've learned going forward, I pretty much have to stay true to myself. I'm a truth teller and a truth seeker. I just want to continue to empower."
Fight from this team
"We haven't really gotten blown out all year. And when I say blown out, I'm looking at scores in the league and other leagues. We lost by 22, and I think that was the most, but it's going to be tough. We're not an easy win. You're going to need an ice bath. Even just in the huddle, I took a deep breath a few times, just sat there quiet and let them talk because it's really up to them. I told them, 'It's go time,' 'It's their destiny,' things like that. When it clicks and all five of them get on the same page, I know it was just going to ignite everybody. It was fun to watch, but we started too slow. We picked up too late."
