RIVERDALE, New York
– Looking to avoid losing back-to-back games for the second time this season, the Delaware State women’s basketball (
2-3) defeated the Manhattan Jaspers (1-4) on the road,
80-69, behind a career-high 34 points (14-of-22) by the reigning MEAC Player of the Week,
Tierra Hawkins.
With this output, it was the second time in the last three games Hawkins has scored at least 30 points.
In the first half, with the score tied at six, the Lady Hornets went on a 12-0 run, spearheaded by four fast break points and two steals. During that span, Hawkins
tallied six points.
As the period progressed, the Lady Hornets built their lead to 20-8 at the 10:38 mark, until Manhattan’s offense managed to make it a 24-19 ball game after four consecutive free throws.
Later, Manhattan cut the deficit down to three by way of a 9-2 run, headlined by back-to-back threes by guard
Nicole Isaacs and forward
Ashley Stec, cutting DSU’s lead to 30-28 with 2:51 left before intermission.
However, DSU closed the period on a furious 12-4 run to go into the locker room up, 42-32, matching its highest point total in a first half this season.
Leading all scorers at the midway point was Hawkins with 16 points on 8-of-9 (.888) shooting, while guard
Raven Bankston added 10 points (4-of-8), five rebounds and two steals.
As a team, the Lady Hornets shot 58 percent (19-of-33) and owned the rebounding margin, 23-13.
In the case of Manhattan, Stec tallied a team-high 13 points (6-of-8), while Isaacs had 10 points (4-of-7) off the bench.
To begin the second stanza, the Jaspers came out firing, opening on a 7-0 run, which forced head coach
Tamika Louis to call a 30-second timeout.
With the score now 46-43 in favor of DSU, guard
Allison Skrec drained a three to tie the game, followed by a bucket from Hawkins to put the Lady Hornets up two. Nevertheless, on its next trip down, Manhattan took its first lead of the game when Isaacs drained a three.
Later in the half, after Manhattan’s
Kayla Grimme hit two free throws to put her squad up 56-55 at the 10:28 mark, Hawkins connected in the paint for a bucket and was fouled in the process. After Hawkins completed the three-point play, DSU scored seven straight points to go up nine, which forced the Jaspers to call a 30-second timeout with 6:15 left in regulation.
The rest of the way, the Lady Hornets outscored 14-11 to seal the double-digit victory, snapping an eight-game road losing streak dating all the way back to last season.
When the final buzzer sounded, not only did Hawkins finish with a career-high 34 points in 40 minutes of action, but connected on a career-high 14 field goals. Additionally, she added seven rebounds, two steals and a block to her stat line.
Forward
Deanna Harmon, meanwhile, turned in her best performance of the season with 18 points while going 6-of-7 (.857) from the floor and charity stripe. The Owings Mills, Md. native, also dished out a game-high six assists, to go along with a team-high eight rebounds and two steals.
Also, scoring in double figures for DSU was Bankston
with 14 points (5-of-12), as she added seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.
For the game, Delaware State shot a season-high 48 percent (31-of-64), including 54 points in the paint and 23 points off turnovers. On the glass, the Lady Hornets pulled down 41 rebounds, compared to Manhattan’s 34.
Four Manhattan players finished the game in double figures, led by Stec pouring in 17 points (8-of-12), whereas Grimme turned in a double-double performance with 10 points (3-of-10) and 10 rebounds. Skrec, on the other hand, chipped in with 13 points (5-of-13) and Isaacs scored 16 (6-of-14).
Coming up, after the Thanksgiving Holiday, the Red & Columbia Blue will tip off a two-game home stand, beginning with George Mason on Dec. 4 (5:30 p.m.).
COURTESY DELAWARE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
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