 
|
Feb. 21, 2005 PRINCESS ANNE, MD - On senior night at the William P. Hytche Center, which honored seniors Erica Bennett (Panama City, FL/Jacksonville CC) and Chikwue Okaro (Newark, NJ/Columbia HS), the University of Maryland Eastern Shore Lady Hawks defeated the two-time defending conference champion Hampton Lady Pirates 62-57. The victory was the Lady Hawks first over Hampton since January of 2000. In the opening minutes, the Lady Hawks jumped out to an early 7-4 lead as they scored on all of their first three possessions, capped by an Okaro offensive rebound and put-back. Okaro, who tied a season-high with six points, played her most minutes since very early in the season. However, Hampton answered with a 11-4 run, which was highlighted by a NBA-range three-pointer as the shot clock neared zero, to take a 15-11 lead. Sophomore Qiana Cheatham (Baltimore, MD/Milford Mill Academy), who scored ten of her career-high 24 points in the first half, guided the Lady Hawks on a 7-0 run to regain the lead at 18-15 as she buried a three-pointer and added a baseline drive and hoop. With just under two minutes the Lady Pirates were able to regain a slim advantage at 23-22, but a three-pointer by Ashley Chase (Baltimore, MD/Dunbar HS) with under 20 seconds remaining and a buzzer beating bank shot three-pointer by Bennett gave the Lady Hawks a 30-27 halftime lead. In the second half, the two teams battled even over the first five minutes before Hampton rattled off a quick 6-0 run behind solid defense which caused 20 turnovers on the evening. Chase, however, put a stop to the run and tied the game at 39-39 as she beat the shot clock with her second three-pointer of the game. Cheatham then put the Lady Hawks back on top with her second three-pointer of the game. UMES held the lead for the remainder of the game.
Of course there were plenty of scares in the final 13 minutes as with just over five minutes remaining the game a quick 6-2 run by Hampton on back-to-back three-pointers pulled the Lady Pirates to within one point at 52-51, but a baseline drive by Brittany Adkins (Millsboro, DE/Sussex Technical HS) resulted in a hoop and a foul and a 55-51 lead for the Lady Hawks. Hampton's pressure defense then caused three straight UMES turnovers and helped them close the gap to one point for the fifth time in the half at 55-54, but Cheatham's final three-pointer of the game extended the lead back to four at 58-54 with under a minute to play. Who else better than, senior Erica Bennett to close out the game from the free throw line as she hit four of her final five free throws securing the Lady Hawks 62-57 victory. Cheatham had a career high 24 points in the victory, while Chase and Bennett added nine each. Monica Rogers scored 16 to lead the Lady Pirates. UMES will travel to Baltimore, MD for their next contest, facing off against the Coppin State Lady Eagles on February 26. Tip off is slated for 5:30pm. |
|||||||||
| ||||||||||
