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March 4, 2006
PRINCESS ANNE, MD - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) Lady Hawks won their regular season finale Saturday afternoon as they routed Howard in a decisive 97-78 contest at the Hytche Center. With the win, UMES clinches third place in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and becomes the first Lady Hawk basketball team in 14 years to finish in the top three in conference. "I'm proud of these girls and what we've accomplished," Head Coach Fred Batchelor said. "This was a great win, but we know we still have more work ahead of us in the MEAC Tournament." Toni Kennedy's (Baltimore, Md.) career high 29 points led four UMES players in double figures. Daynese Stowe (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Kristi Veltkmap (Hudsonville, Mich.) finished with 14 each while Jamila Griffith (Barbados, West Indies) and Tiffany Reid (Philadelphia, Pa.) chipped in with 13. Kennedy also had five steals on the defensive end. Veltkamp and Reid finished the night with double-doubles as they pulled down 13 and 11 rebounds, respectively. Rachael Goodwin (Memphis, Tenn.) tied her career high with 11 assists while Stowe's 14 points were also a career high. Goodwin, Stowe, Kennedy and Griffith were all playing in their final home game for UMES. Howard (13-14, 10-8 MEAC) got a game high 31 points from Shannon Carlisle. Christina Allen chipped in with 11. The maroon and gray held a 59-33 rebound advantage over HU and also dished the ball out 26 times compared to 11 by Howard. UMES (15-12, 12-6 MEAC) shot a blistering 63% in the first half and held the Lady Bison to just six treys the entire game.
"I'm glad that our drought against Howard ended." Batchelor said (Batchelor had been 0-4 against HU). Kennedy's 3-pointer at 13:59 in the first half spurred a 24-5 run by the Lady Hawks. Another Kennedy trey at 8:27 capped that UMES run and gave the maroon and gray a 23-point lead, their largest of the afternoon. The Lady Bison responded, however, with a 16-2 run of their own over the next four minutes. Carlisle's free-throws at 4:02 cut the Hawk advantage down to nine, but UMES outscored Howard 14-4 and went into the locker room with a 17-point lead, 57-40. The 57 points were a season high for the Lady Hawks. Griffith's free-throw at 15:56 capped an 8-0 run by UMES and gave the Lady Hawks another 23 point lead over the Lady Bison. The maroon and gray matched their 23-point lead with just over eight minutes left to play, but Howard cut the advantage down to 12 on two separate occasions, the last coming at 4:10 thanks to a Carlisle lay-up. UMES secures a first-round MEAC Tournament bye and will open play in the quarterfinals next Thursday, March 9 against the winner of the BCC/NCAT opening round match in Raleigh, North Carolina. |
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