Howard Lady Bison Tame New Hampshire For First Road Win

DURHAM, New Hampshire -- In a game that featured six ties, 14 lead changes and no lead larger than six points, the Howard women's basketball team found a way to fend off the University of New Hampshire Wildcats, 45-40, on Wednesday evening in Lundholm Gymnasium.

Junior forward Cheyenne Brown and redshirt freshman Te'Shya Heslip combined for 20 points and 13 rebounds to help Howard (3-6) snap a five-game winless streak. The road victory over UNH (3-4) was the first of the season and first under first-year head coach Tennille Adams.

"I was really proud of our girls and their effort in coming to New Hampshire and pulling out a win," Adams said after the contest.

Both teams struggled to put the ball in the basket in the first half, going a combined 30 percent (15-of-50) in the period. Howard took its largest lead of the game, 14-9, halfway through the first but were outscored 11-6 to finish the half and go into the break knotted at 20-20. Brown, who scored 10 points in the game, had six at halftime to lead all scorers.

HU would lead 26-22 with 15:39 left in the second half before UNH put forth its strongest push of the contest, a 14-5 surge to turn the Lady Bison's four point edge into a six point deficit (36-30) with eight and a half minutes to go.

Unlike previous close calls this season, Howard would finish on a strong note and put the game away. The Lady Bison used a 15-4 run over the final 7:04 to claim the win, holding the Wildcats to 1-of-7 shooting during that span and keeping them without a field goal over the final 3:07 of the game.

In a game that was so close throughout, the highlight of the night for Howard was its season-best performance from the line. As a team, HU shot 83.3 percent (15-of-18) from the free throw stripe and improved their record to 3-1 in games in which the team shoots over 70 percent. Four of the six Howard players that shot free throws were perfect from the line.

When asked about the team's free throw performance, Adams said, "we shot really well from the line tonight, and that was the key tonight because neither team shot particularly well from the floor. We were able to consistently get to the line and, more importantly, knock shots down."

Brown added six rebounds to her double digit scoring effort, her first 10+ point game since going for 12 points at Saint Francis on November 26. Heslip bounced back from a two-point game against Delaware on December 1 with 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting along with a team high tying seven rebounds. Sophomore Victoria Gonzalez had a solid game with nine points and a season high seven rebounds.

HU will have two weeks off before its next game, a December 19 meeting with Temple University. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 7:00 pm.

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