WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Howard Women's basketball team (18-7 overall, 10-2 in MEAC play) snapped Florida A&M's 14 game winning-streak by defeating the Rattlers 68-61 in Burr Gymnasium, on Feb. 11. The Rattlers have not beaten HU at home since 2007.
HU finished with four players in double figures. Tamoria Holmes had an explosive game tallying a team-best 21 points off of 8-for-19 shooting, and collecting three steals. Saadia Doyle finished with 13 points and six boards, while Kara Smith added 13 points of her own along with five boards. Zykia Brown had a solid night with 12 points, six assists, and four rebounds in 35 minutes of action.
To start the game, the Rattlers scored two back to back baskets to quickly gain a 4-0 advantage. At the 16:49 mark, HU's Holmes connected on two shots from the stripe to give the Bison their first point of the afternoon (4-2). At 16:49, Howard tied the score 4-4 with a basket by Deterville.
From there, both teams battled and exchanged buckets after changing up their defensive scheme and putting on their full court presses.
By the 9:34 mark, the Rattlers had a 17-12 lead over HU.
FAMU went on a 9-3 run to spread the lead to the largest of the half, 26-17 with just under seven minutes left in the half. To break the Rattler's momentum, Holmes came down in transition and hit a jumper four feet behind the arc, to make it 26-20 at 6:42.
Almost two minutes went by without a basket from either team, however. At the 4:44 mark, FAMU's Antonia Bennett broke the silence with two points inside the paint.
Both teams went toe-to-toe until the last minute of the period. With just two seconds on the clock, Holmes hit a bucket in transition to knot the score 35-35 heading into the lockerroom.
To jump into the last 20 minutes of regulation, Jamie Foreman made a trey advancing the Rattlers 38-35. Smith answered with a jumper from the short corner.
As the Rattlers held on to its lead, at 13:58 Holmes made a layup to give HU its first advantage of the half.
The score remained close as both teams picked up their energy and fought to run away with the lead. In the last five minutes of the game, Howard had a 55-53 lead over the Rattlers.
From there, HU held on to its lead as Smith, Holmes and Brown each held their ground in addition to the defensive efforts of the Deterville twins, to help Howard pull away with a 68-61 victory over FAMU. With the win, Howard snapped Florida A&M's (17-6 overall, 10-1 in MEAC play) 14-game win streak and ended their undefeated conference record.
Bennett tallied a double-double finishing with a game-high 25 points – shooting 10-for-15 from the field – and pulling down 11 off the glass. Tameka McKelton added 12 points and five rebounds, while Qiana Donald pitched in with 11 points and six boards.
HU will look to expand its streak to five as it hosts Bethune-Cookman on Mon, Feb 13. Tipoff is slated for 5:30 pm in The Burr.
Follow Coach G's fan page on facebook to get a behind the scenes look at the team as they make their push toward the Big Dance: www.facebook.com/NikiGeckeler.
BOX SCORE
Written by Julee O'Neal, W. Basketball, Broadcast Journalism '13
Jamilah Corbett, Assistant Sports Information Director
VISIT: HOWARD UNIVERSITY
VISIT: HOWARD-BISON.COM
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