March 10, 2005
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The Game
The 5th-seeded UMES Lady Hawks begin their MEAC Tournament with a quarterfinal match-up against #4-seed Howard Thursday at the Richmond Coliseum. The Lady Hawks, who finished the regular season with a winning MEAC record (10-8) for the first time since '97-'98, went 12-15 overall following a 2-8 start to the season.
The Lady Bison, led by All-MEAC first-team pick Daisha Hicks and head coach Cathy Parson, finished the season by winning six of their last eight starting with a Feb. 7th home victory over UMES. Howard began the season 9-4 (4-0 MEAC), then went 1-5 midway through before getting hot at the finish. The Lady Bison have won 10 of the 25 MEAC Women's Tournament titles all-time.
News and Notes
The Lady Hawks finished 10-8 in conference, giving them the team's first winning MEAC season was since 1997-'98 (12-6)...Kristi Veltkamp was named to the All-MEAC Rookie Team. The freshman is averaging 10.5 ppg (200 pts) the past 19 games after averaging 4.3 ppg her first eight games...G Qiana Cheatham has started the past five games for UMES and has averaged 12.4 ppg (62). Before that, she started only one of the team's first 22 games, and averaged 4.2 ppg (2 DNP)...PG Erica Bennett missed 11 games this season for various reasons. Without her, the Lady Hawks averaged 25 TO's/game, and with her 22 TO's/gm (16 gms, 345)...G Ashley Chase is averaging 6.6 TO's/gm (72) the past 11 games. She is shooting only 6-35 FG's (17%) the past 4 games (4.8 ppg)...Walk-on Toni Kennedy leads the Lady Hawks in scoring (10.2 ppg) but has struggled from the field, shooting only 32% this season (only 29% the past 15 games, 43-151 FG's)...Octavia Thompson, the Lady Hawks leading returning scorer from `03-'04, left the team due to personal reasons Dec. 6th. The senior was averaging 8.3 ppg in four games played.
Earlier Meetings
Howard dominated two meetings against UMES this season, winning by 16 in Princess Anne and by 26 at home. All-MEAC first-team selection Daisha Hicks averaged 18.5 ppg against the Lady Hawks, as the Lady Bison were hardly threatened in either contest.
In Washington February 7th, the dynamic backcourt duo of Hicks and Brittany James combined for 32 points as Howard rolled to a 67-41 win. The Bison dominated the first half, stymieing the Lady Hawks offense in building a 33-12 halftime advantage. The Lady Bison finished the final 16:30 of the half on a 30-6 run, as UMES went the final 11:43 without a field goal, shot 4-24 from the field and turned the ball over 16 times. UMES opened the second half on a remarkable 15-2 run to pull within eight points, 35-27, but Howard responded quickly, putting the game away with a 20-3 run giving them a 55-30 advantage. Hicks and James combined for 17 of the 20 points during that spurt.
On December 6th, the Lady Hawks fell 86-70 in another game Howard led virtually start to finish. Howard began the game on a 13-2 run, and led by eight at halftime, 46-38. The Lady Bison put the game out of reach early in the second half, outscoring the UMES 22-3 over a seven-minute stretch and taking a 25-point lead at 70-45.
UMES Lady Hawks (12-15, 10-8 MEAC)
2004-'05 Schedule:
Previous Games
Date Game Result
11/10 Wilm. Coll. (Ex) W 90-44
11/19 vs. Lafayette# L 44-60
11/20 at Eastern Michigan# L 52-80
11/23 Towson L 68-73
11/26 at LIU^ L 49-56
11/27 vs. Miami^ L 64-88
11/30 at Winthrop W 62-55
12/4 Delaware State* W 58-56
12/6 Howard* L 70-86
12/20 at Bucknell L 48-60
12/30 at Temple L 53-77
1/8 at Florida A&M* W 71-68 (OT)
1/10 at Beth-Cook.* W 67-55
1/17 at Hampton* L 46-51
1/19 at Norfolk St.* L 46-63
1/24 Morgan State* W 65-51
1/26 Coppin State* L 51-77
1/29 at N.C. A&T* W 85-75 (OT)
1/31 vs. S. Car. St.* W 63-53
2/2 at American W 62-59 (OT)
2/5 at Delaware St.* L 46-60
2/7 at Howard* L 41-67
2/12 Florida A&M* W 60-54
2/14 Beth-Cookman* W 54-49
2/19 Norfolk State* L 57-59
2/21 Hampton* W 62-57
2/26 at Coppin State* L 56-61
3/1 at Morgan State* W 61-56
Upcoming Games:
Date Game Time
3/10 #4 Howard- MEAC Quarters 12:00
3/11 #1 Coppin St- MEAC Semis 12:00
#=Eastern Michigan Eagle Classic
^=LIU Turkey Classic
*denotes MEAC conference game
Fred Batchelor- Head Coach
Fred Batchelor is in his first year as head coach of the Lady Hawks (12-15 record). He comes to Princess Anne after two seasons as head women's basketball coach at Elizabeth City State University (Elizabeth City, North Carolina), where he took his team as high as third place in the CIAA. Batchelor has a career head coaching record of 62-45 over four seasons.
Before moving to the CIAA, Batchelor spent two seasons as head women's basketball coach at Buffalo State College. There, he guided the Bengals to a regular season championship of the SUNY Athletic Conference in his final season (2001-`02.) That season he led his team to a Division III NCAA Tournament appearance and was named SUNYAC Coach of the Year. In 2000-'01, Batchelor led Buffalo State to a fourth place conference finish.
Batchelor has also served as an assistant coach for both the men's and women's basketball teams at Buffalo State, a men's assistant coach at the University of Buffalo, men's head coach and Athletic Director at Villa Maria Junior College and men's head coach at his alma mater Valley Forge Christian College.
Batchelor graduated from Valley Forge Christian College in 1988.
Assistant Coaches
Revonda Whitley- Assistant Coach
Revonda Whitley, a first-year assistant at UMES, serves as the recruiting coordinator in charge of player development, budgeting, and scheduling for the Lady Hawks. Whitley comes to UMES from Elizabeth City State University, where she served in the same capacity under then-head coach Fred Batchelor.
Prior to her post at Elizabeth City, Whitley coached high school girls and AAU boys basketball in Columbia, SC. She has a Bachelors degree from Winthrop University and a Masters in Human Performance and Sport Studies from the University of Tennessee.
Chris Massey- Assistant Coach
Chris Massey, another first-year assistant at UMES, comes to Princess Anne from New York state where he made several coaching stops in the high school and collegiate ranks. Massey was most recently head women's coach at Mt. Mercy Academy, where he complied a 49-6 overall record in two seasons.
Massey worked in the college ranks at Buffalo State College under then-head coach, Fred Batchelor in 2001-`02. That season the Bengals won the SUNYAC Championship with a 25-4 record.
Destiney Avent- Assistant Coach
Destiney Avent is in her second season as an assistant coach at UMES. She returned to her alma mater (`02) after spending one season as the head women's basketball coach at Montgomery Community College.
Avent played for two seasons at UMES, earning team MVP honors in 2002. Before her time in Princess Anne, Avent played two seasons at Tallahassee Community College. Avent holds a B.S. degree from UMES in Hotel and Restaurant Management.
MEAC 2004-`05 Final Standings
Rk School Record
1. Coppin State 15-3
2. Hampton 14-4
3. Delaware State 12-6
4. Howard 11-7
5. MD-East. Shore 10-8
6. Florida A&M* 9-9
7. N.C. A&T* 9-9
8. Norfolk State* 9-9
9. Bethune-Cook.# 4-14
10. S. Carolina St.# 4-14
11. Morgan State 2-16
*Based on overall record tiebreak
#Based on head-to-head tiebreak
All-MEAC First Team
G Shareka Glover, N.C. A&T
G Daisha Hicks, Howard
F Sherrie Tucker, Coppin St.
F Ariel Towns, FAMU
F Evena Morency, S. Car. St
.
All-MEAC Second Team
G Katie Clark, Bethune-Cook.
G Rachel Butler, Hampton
G Sharema Dean, Hampton
C Tiffany Williams, Hampton
C Leisel Harry, Coppin St.
2004-'05 MEAC Player of the Year:
Sherrie Tucker, Coppin St.
-Selected in a vote by MEAC coaches and Sports Information Directors
