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Jan. 22, 2007
Princess Anne, Md. - A furious second-half rally fell short on Monday night as the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore held off Bethune-Cookman College in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference women's basketball contest by a 44-36 score at the William P. Hytche Center in Princess Anne, Md. Leading just 19-16 at the break, UMES (8-11, 4-3 MEAC) opened up the second half of play with an impressive 14-5 run that extended the lead for the Lady Hawks out to 35-23 with 7:01 remaining in the game. The low-scoring affair was contributed to both teams' lack of shooting on the night. The shooting touch of UMES' April McBride and Danielle Cooper added to the lead for the Lady Hawks. UMES shot 28 percent (12x43) while their counterparts from Daytona Beach shot just 24 percent (13x55) from the field. The Lady Hawks did, however, shoot 16-of-26 at the foul line, while Bethune-Cookman went just 6-of-12. "We can't keep missing so many open opportunities and lay-ups, and keep thinking we are going to win," expressed B-CC third-year head coach Francis Simmons following the game. "We have to capitalize on our opportunities, and we haven't done that since the UNF game." B-CC (4-13, 1-7 MEAC) made a run late in the game when Traci Fountain started things off with a three-pointer to cut the lead to 35-26 in favor of UMES. The Wildcats would then use Tristan McCray to cut the lead to seven (35-28) with 5:02 left, but that's as close as the `Cats would get. A free throw and a lay-up from the combination of McBride and Kristi Veltkamp of the Lady Hawks moved the UMES lead back out to double-digits at 39-28 moments later. B-CC clawed back as Cassandra Calcagno and freshman sensation Sierra McKnight refused to let it slip away, pulling the lead back down to 40-33 with 54 ticks remaining.
But in the end, it was Veltkamp and Cooper that iced the game away at the line, spoiling any chances for a B-CC upset on this night. Both teams shot 25% from behind the arc (4-for-16). BCC held an 18-11 advantage in points off turnovers while UMES topped the Wildcats 11-7 in bench points. UMES was led on the night by Cooper with 10 points, and McBride pitched in nine points and hauled in 10 rebounds for the Lady Hawks. Meanwhile, the maroon and gold of B-CC was led in scoring from McCray with 11 points, while Natasha Ferguson went to work on the boards with a season-high 10 rebounds. Ferguson also scored seven points in her efforts for the `Cats. The Wildcats will look to snap their current four-game losing skid on Saturday when they step out of conference and travel to Savannah State for a 2 p.m. tip-off in Savannah, Ga. |
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