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March 9, 2006 Raleigh, N.C. - The University of Maryland (UMES) Lady Hawks have never played in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Championship game. They hadn't even secured a place in the semi-finals for nine seasons. Check for the last one. UMES will play Delaware State tomorrow at 2:30 for a chance to advance to the finals. They did it with defense. UMES didn't allow a Bethune-Cookman College (BCC) field goal for the last five minutes of the game as they ended the game on a thirteen to three run over the last eleven minutes and thirty second with the final five minutes being a 9-0 UMES run. "[BCC] is a well coached team," said Head Coach Fred Batchelor. Our defense was great, but I have to give some credit to the act their shots wouldn't fall. I thought they got a lot of open looks but the difference came when we didn't allow them another look. We did a great job on the defensive glass," he added. UMES won the battle of the boards 46-41 and allowed just nine BCC offensive rebounds. The game was not a pretty offensive show. UMES shot just 35 percent and limited BCC to 29%. Before the game fans looked forward to a three-point shootout as the game pitted the top two three-point shooters in the country head-to-head. Toni Kennedy came into the game ranked second in the country while BCC's Keturah Newkirk was first. They combined for a dreary 1-12 from behind the arc. Kennedy had the lone three-pointer of the day. Newkirk only managed three attempts all game. That was due mostly to the incredible defense of MEAC All-Rookie Team member Tiffany Reid. She held her to just six points. "I new I had to limit her looks," Reid said. "Coach told me, if you don't allow her to touch the ball you don't have to worry about whether she misses or makes shots; that's what I concentrated on doing, stopping her from catching the ball."
BCC wasn't without its share of offensive prowess. Katie Clark, who missed many games this season due to injury, led all scorers with 20. Perhaps the biggest player of the day was one of the Hawk's biggest players. Center Daynese Stowe, with her Lady Hawks leading by just three points with 2:45 to play hit a deep jumper that was nothing but net. It may not have been the play, or even advised, but no one couldn't argue with the result. "I had confidence within myself," Stowe said. "I knew I had the look and I knew it would put us ahead even more." Stowe kept it going, hitting a lay-up with 1:27 for the next basket of the game. Clark knocked her down on the play but she calmly got up and sank the free throw to give her Hawks the 49-41 lead. Rachael Goodwin knocked down a pair of free throws with under a minute on the clock to make the final score 51-41. "Rachael ran her team tonight," said Coach Batchelor. "I will go to war with her any day." While Kennedy was the only UMES player in double figures, she finished with 11, defensively the rest of the team had the biggest impact. Reid and senior Jamila Griffith had 12 rebounds each while Kennedy had five steals. Natalia Benton came up big with three blocked shots. With the exception of Clark, no player for the Lady Wildcats was in double figures. Their next highest was Newkirk with six. Tristan McCray pulled down 10 rebounds. UMES survives to play in the semi-finals tomorrow at 2:30 against Delaware State. "We are looking forward to the opportunity to play them," said Batchelor. "Were ready to play them, they are a tough team that is very well coached but we feel we haven't played well in both games this season so it is a good challenge for us. We have to come out and play well." |
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