Doyle Leads Howard To Win Over Norfolk State

Winston-Salem, NC -- Saadia Doyle scored a game-high 23 points to lead four players in double figures and help Howard University defeat Norfolk State, 68-56 in the first round of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference women's tournament at the Lawrence V. Joel Coliseum.

The 2011 MEAC Player of the Year, Doyle got the Lady Bison (14-17) off to a fast start, scoring 13 of her points in the first half as Howard jumped out to an early lead and hold a 40-24 advantage at the half. A 5-11 sophomore forward from Atlanta, GA, Doyle connected on 5 of 7 from the field.

"When you have the MEAC Player of the Year, a lot of teams gear their defense towards her her," said Howard Coach Niki Reid Geckeler. "She's had to come out and play against double and triple teams all season. So her fast start was huge. It set the tone for us and opened up things for the other players."

The Lady Bison, the Number 6 seed, got a nice boost from sophomore guard Adele Walton, who provided some perimeter shooting with 10 points on 3 of 4 shooting from the field and sophomore forward Kara Smith.

"Adele is a shooter and in the first half, she loosened up things for us offensively with her outside shooting," said Coach Geckeler. "Kara gave us something also with her scoring and her rebounding. We are hopeful that they can continue to play like this the rest of the tournament."

The Lady Spartans (9-19), the Number 11 seed, were not able to stay with Howard, mostly due to their mistakes which the Lady Bison converted into scored 16 points.

Riding the scoring of sophomore guard Tamoria Holmes, the Lady Bison increased their lead to 20 in the first minute of the second half and appeared to have the game in hand.

But the Lady Spartans rallied on the scoring freshman of Rachel Gordon, junior Whitney Long and freshman Rae Corbo to reduce the lead to eight at the four-minute mark. Norfolk State's comeback attempt was fueled by the absence of Lady Bison sophomore point guard Cheyenne Curley Payne, who was forced to the bench when she picked up her fourth foul.

"We had to go man-to-man because we got a little too deep," explained Norfolk State Coach Debra Clark. "When we started making the run, we picked them up fullcourt and that generated offense for us."

But Doyle converted four free throws, Curley Payne got inside the lane for a tough basket and Holmes made an acrobatic shot with the shot clock winding down to help Howard advance to Thursday's quarterfinal round against North Carolina A&T on Thursday at 12 noon.

Doyle just missed a double double with 23 points and nine rebounds while Holmes and Curley Payne each tallied 13 and Walton contributed 10, all coming in the first half. Curley Payne also tied her career-high of eight assists.

Norfolk State was led by Corbo, who finished with a team-high 14, Gordon with 12 and Whitney Long with 10 off the bench, all coming in the second half.

Howard and North Carolina A&T split during the regular season, each winning at home.

"I think that any game this time of the season is competitive," said Geckeler. "We talk about March and it's one and done. We are coming into this game to play Howard basketball and see what happens."

By Howard University Media Relations

Visit: howard-bison.com

Linwood Ferguson among top contenders to become EKU head football coach

Photo: Coach Linwood Ferguson, former MEAC coach at HU, NCA&T, NCCU and WSSU is a top contender to become head football coach at Eastern Kentucky.

RICHMOND, KY — Speculation continues to build about who will be selected as Danny Hope’s successor at Eastern Kentucky University, but school officials aren’t saying much, if anything, about the situation.

Still, it would appear that five candidates have emerged as top contenders to become EKU’s new head football coach — current defensive coordinator Donn Landholm, current offensive coordinator Linwood Ferguson, Georgetown College head coach Bill Cronin, Bowling Green University wide receivers coach Steve Bird and Wake Forest defensive coordinator Dean Hood.

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Ferguson, who has more than 31 years of coaching experience, spent the 2006 season as Howard University offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. The Bison finished 4-4 in MEAC action in 2006 while ranking third in the conference in rushing yards per game (184.8). Ferguson has also been the offensive coordinator at North Carolina Central University (2003), North Carolina A&T State University (2002) and defensive back coach at Winston Salem State University (2004-05).

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2007-08 Hampton Basketball Preview

Photo: Hampton Head Baskeball Coach Kevin Nickelberry

by Joel Welser, Collegehoops.net

Hampton Pirates: Overall Rank: #128

Conference Rank: #1 MEAC

2006-07: 15-16, 10-8, 3rd (t)

2006-07 postseason: none

Over the last two years Coach Kevin Nickelberry has done an amazing job recruiting stellar talent into the Hampton program. Last season was supposed to be a major transition year with the new coach and the loss of four key players, but the Pirates still put together a solid season. Hampton started four freshman most of the year and expect improvement from each of them, but senior Rashad West is what makes the team tick. The 6-1 point guard led the team with 17.8 points and 2.6 assists per game and will have to once again be the steadying force on a young team.

Who’s Out:

The depth in the backcourt has taken a hit with the transfer of Demario Mattox and the graduation of Junior Pehoua. Mattox averaged 6.0 points and Pehoua added 3.9 per contest. The depth chart for the guards will be full of new players, but they are talented enough to be quality reserves. Forward Kevin Clark, who averaged 2.6 points and 2.1 rebounds and earned seven starts, is not returning to the program.

Who’s In:

Hampton fans hope this recruiting class can perform as well as last year’s. The backcourt is where some help is needed immediately and guards Chris Tolson and Brandon Tunnell will answer the call. The duo will likely spend the season being groomed to take over the starting point guard duties in 2008-2009. Milade Lola-Charles and redshirt freshman Oluwaseyi Oseni have the size, at 6-11 and 6-10, to develop into a dominating duo up front, but it is junior college transfer Donte Harrison who will make an impact on the Hampton frontline right away. Harrison averaged 11.6 points and 11.3 rebounds at Sullivan County Community College in New York. He is a good defender and his long arms will be an asset in the shot blocking department.

Who to Watch:

The development of Vincent Simpson, Theo Smalling, Matthew Pilgrim and Mike Freeman will be the key to the campaign. The foursome did a great job as freshmen, but they need to continue to improve if Hampton wants to reach the NCAA Tournament. Simpson has to become a more consistent shooter for a shooting guard and Smalling could develop a better game on the offensive end, although he may be relegated to being a specialist off the bench with the talent coming in. Pilgrim and Freeman are harder to find faults with and as long as they continue to develop, the duo will be tough to stop. Pilgrim and Freeman combined for 25.2 points and 11.8 rebounds per game.

Final Projection:

With West running the show and the four freshmen now sophomores, nobody should be able to stop the Pirates. Adrian Woodard will provide some experienced depth and that should help the team stay fresher down the stretch. Considering the last two recruiting classes have been among the best the MEAC has ever seen, the future is even brighter than the present. If Hampton can dominate the conference this year, they will own the conference for at least the next few years. The Achilles heel for the Pirates is their poor shooting. The team ranked 234th in the nation in field-goal percentage, 286th in three point field-goal percentage and 249th in free-throw percentage. If it gets worse, the door will be open for teams like Morgan State, Coppin State and North Carolina A&T to capture an NCAA bid.

Projected Post-season Tournament: NCAA

Projected Starting Five:

Rashad West, Senior, Guard, 17.8 points per game

Vincent Simpson, Sophomore, Guard, 5.9 points per game

Matthew Pilgrim, Sophomore, Forward, 11.0 points per game

Theo Smalling, Sophomore, Forward, 2.7 points per game

Mike Freeman, Sophomore, Forward, 14.2 points per game