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Jan. 31, 2004 Tallahassee, FL - Florida A&M built a 16-point second half lead, then barely held off a furious Maryland Eastern Shore rally at the end for a 63-60 victory Saturday afternoon at the Gaither Center. The Lady Rattlers (11-7, 7-2 MEAC) led 59-44 with 11:58 remaining, but UMES held them scoreless for the next 10:10 and went on a 13-0 run to get back within two points. But FAMU made four free throws in the final two minutes, and Tekeya Gooden missed a shot in the lane that would have tied the game with 14 seconds left helping the Lady Rattlers hold on. With the Lady Hawks (5-11, 2-7 MEAC) down 62-57, Laconia Hatcher nailed a three pointer with 35 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to two points. Erica Bennett then forced Tene Miller to turn the ball over on the ensuing inbounds pass, giving UMES the ball back with a chance to tie. After a time out, Gooden, who scored 11 points in the game, took a difficult shot with a defender hanging on her that did not hit any rim and was rebounded by FAMU's Clouttia Young. Young made the front end of a huge 1-and-1 to put the Lady Rattlers up by three, but then missed the second too strong. The ball bounced out to Candace Crawford however, who threw it back to the perimeter allowing FAMU to run out the clock. UMES fell behind 55-39 with 13:35 remaining after the Lady Rattlers took command with a 36-15 run dating back to the first half. Center Elana Greene, playing in the middle because the team's leading scorer Kim Watson was suspended for the game, led the charge by going 7-8 from the field in the opening half and scoring 17 points.
Hatcher, who shot only 7-23 from the field, led the Lady Hawks comeback by scoring 12 of her 18 points in the second half. Gooden and Erica Bennett added 11, while LaToshia Bailey had 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Tiffany Winkfield, the leading scorer on the season for UMES, was held to just four points and four rebounds in 10 minutes.
Greene finished with a game-high 24 points and eight rebounds to lead FAMU, while Yolanda Dixon added 15 on 5-17 shooting. The Lady Hawks return to action at home in another MEAC contest Monday night against Bethune-Cookman. The game tips off at 5:30 p.m. from the Hytche Center. |
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