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Jan. 25, 2009 PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) men’s basketball team broke a 28 road game losing streak this past week. The Lady Hawks basketball team is on their longest win streak of the season and women’s bowling is back in action after a long break. Junior Neal Pitt and senior Merrecia James have been named UMES Athletes of the week for the period ending January 18. It is the third consecutive week Pitt, of the men's basketball team, has been given the honor. He helped the Hawks to a 1-1 week, averaging 16.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in a 66-63 home win over South Carolina State and a 76-61 road loss at North Carolina A&T. Pitt shot a combined 11-for-26 from the field (42.3 percent). James, of the women's indoor track and field team, won the 800 meters at the Navy Invitational in Annapolis, Md., January 17. She also had a hand in UMES' victory in the 4x400-meter relay, and was one of three Lady Hawks to win individual events at the meet. MEN’S BASKETBALL Pitt scored a team and career-high 27 points, 23 of which came in the second half, but the Hawks could not overcome a 14-point halftime deficit, falling, 79-70, to Norfolk State on the road. Senior Gary Lee equaled his career high with 17 as Jaime Boyer and Marc Davis totaled 11 and 10 points, respectively. Pitt scored a game-high 24 points helping the men's basketball team snap a 28-game road losing streak with a 73-58 win over North Carolina Central at McLendon-McDougald Gym in Durham, N.C. Three other Hawks found themselves in double figures for the game with Josh Bright and Boyer scoring 14 apiece and Lee adding 10. For UMES, the win was its first away from home since March 3, 2007 when the Hawks topped Howard, 63-60. The Hawks picked up their fourth consecutive home win, 54-50, over Florida A&M at the William P. Hytche Athletic Center. They were led by Pitt with 20 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. It was the third straight game that Pitt had 20 points or more. Lee was the only other UMES player in double figures with 12 points. He also pulled down six boards. WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
On average, a foul was committed every 42 seconds in UMES’ battle against Norfolk State University (NSU). The Lady Hawks outlasted NSU 88-76 to bring their record to 2-2 in the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). Casey Morton had a career-high 23 points to lead the Lady Hawks. April McBride grabbed her third double-double of the season with 22 points and 12 rebounds. This marks the fourth time in two season that two Lady Hawks have posted 20 plus points in the same game. Freshman Adobi Agbasi grabbed an offensive board and hit the game winning shot with one second on the clock to put UMES over Longwood University 57-55. The Lady Hawks hit 90-percent of their free throws in the win with four players seeing double-digits in points. McBride had game-highs of 17 points and three steals. Tiffany Reid finished with 14 points and Morton and Agbasi each had a team-high eight rebounds with 11 and 10 points respectively. "It's not what it seems," said UMES Associate Head Coach Revonda Whitley when the Lady Hawks opened their season 0-6. Those words could not be truer. UMES is now 7-9 and 3-2 in the MEAC after coming from behind to defeat Florida A&M University (FAMU) 45-38 at home in the William P. Hytche Athletic Center. This is the first time this season UMES has held an opponent to under 40 points and they tied a season high 14 steals in the process Morton led the Lady Hawks, tying with a game-high 18 points. The 2007-08 MEAC Rookie of the Year also had a career high five steals. McBride netted her fourth double-double of the season with 10 points and tied for the game-high 10 rebounds while adding a game-high four blocks. WOMEN’S BOWLING
After nearly 30 days off, the Lady Hawks of the UMES bowling team returned to the lanes in fine fashion, quickly brushing off the rust and bowling like the nation's top team. UMES posted a 12-3 mark, the second best at the event and improved their overall record to 58-18. The event also marked the debut of brand new Hawk, Paula Vilas, a freshmen sensation and member of the Dominican Republic National Team. Vilas, accompanied by the already solid Lady Hawk lineup, was hot, posting a 4-1 record each day of the event and posting big wins over third ranked Nebraska, 11th ranked Alabama A&M, fourth-ranked Central Missouri and 10th ranked Minnesota State. Vilas tallied a 935 individually on day two of the event with an average of 187 in her Hawk debut. Kristina Frahm was the star of the show once again for UMES. Last season's National Rookie of the Year posted a pin fall of 998 and an average of over a 199. She had the fourth highest average at the event, and the highest of any non-Vanderbilt bowler. Those numbers earned her a spot on the All-Tournament Team. Also bowling well individually on day two was Martha Perez who posted a 931 pin fall for an average of over a 186. For the fourth time this season, Frahm was named the MEAC Bowling Athlete of the Week. She earned the accolade after being named to the All-Tournament Team of the Mid-Winter Classic, hosted by Arkansas State. Frahm helped guide UMES to a 12-3 mark, the second best record in the field, and a fourth place overall finish. She had a game-high 224 in a win over Grambling State. She also posted three 200-plus games in the event. UPCOMING COMPETITIONS Hawk Basketball will be back in action on January 26 at home against Bethune-Cookman in double-header play. Tipoff for the Lady Hawks is set for 5:30 p.m. with the men following at 7:30 p.m. Against the Wildcats, the Lady Hawks are 8-1 under Head Coach Fred Batchelor and boast an undefeated record at home. UMES bowling will keep the balls rolling when they travel to the Kutztown Invite in Reading, Pa competing January 30 - February 1. |
