Maryland Eastern Shore surprise ODU on road, 63-59

Coach Fred Batchelor

UMES Lady Hawks breaks ODU 10-0 streak against MEAC teams

NORFOLK, Virginia - Junior forward Chelsea Sanders (Rochester, N.Y.) tied a career-high with 22 points and four assists as the University of Maryland Eastern Shore took down Old Dominion University with a 63-59 victory on Wednesday afternoon at Ted Constant Convention Center, one of the toughest places to play in women's basketball.

The game proved to be a career-high effort for several Lady Hawks, who used a resilient 2-3 defense to limit the Monarchs to a 3-for-22 performance from three-point range in the first ever meeting between the two programs.

The Lady Hawks defeated the Lady Monarchs in Norfolk, where Old Dominion has nearly an 84% winning percentage in its history. 

A crowd of 4,749 was ODU’s largest home gathering this season. Just fewer than 2,000 students from the Norfolk public-school system attended the game.

"Our kids stepped up and took control of the challenge," said coach Fred Batchelor. "This win is huge for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. This win is probably bigger than we even imagine."

The women trailed in the early stages of the contest as three jumpers by Old Dominion in the first three minutes of the game provided them with a 6-2 lead. A layup by sophomore forward Shanyce Stewart (Mt. Vernon, N.Y.) gave UMES its first lead, 14-13, at the 8:38 mark before the squads traded baskets over the next few minutes.

Adobi Agbasi (Columbus, Ga.) found a hot hand as she registered the next five points to give the Maroon and Gray a three point lead, 21-18, with just under six minutes to go in the first. A three-pointer by Mercer upped the lead to six, but ODU used six consecutive points to tie the score. It did not last long as Agbasi went down the court and tallied a layup to send UMES into halftime with a two point lead, 26-24.

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