Six HU Bison Score in 17-7 Win over Wilmington

WASHINGTON, D.C. – After splitting four games at Greene Stadium over the course of the season, the Howard lacrosse team looked to sack their third consecutive win at home against Wilmington (Del.) on March 9. The match marked Wilmington’s (1-2) third match of their regular season and they too were hoping to capitalize on another consecutive win, however, Howard (3-3) would be the team to come out on top, stretching their winning streak to three games, as they defeated Wilmington, 17-7.

The Bison found a fluid rhythm, racking in seven goals in the first half. Six members of the Bison tallied goals in the win, while senior Desiree Cox finished with seven goals and a game-leading two assists. Behind Cox in scoring was Cynithia Smalls with three goals, Cheryse Cox and Tynes Taylor with two, and Ashley Lawrence with one.

Cox exploded in the early minutes of the game with three quick scores after charging down the field and dodging multiple defenders with ease. Cox added two more goals before the close of the half.

Following halftime Wilmington picked up momentum after Howard gave their opponent a goal where a Howard defender mistakenly flipped the ball into the net with the intention of passing it to goalie Amber Meeks on a scramble in the box. Wilmington’s Danielle Niccoli shortly after scored their fourth goal on a free position shot.

Howard quickly regained control of the game with three goals of their own, extending their lead, 11-4.

Defensively, Howard kept Wilmington off balance, limiting their opponents to a mere 24.1 shooting percentage (7-29). Meanwhile Howard boasted a 65.4 shooting percentage, scoring 17 goals on 26 shots. Meeks recorded an astounding 15 saves and allowed only four shots to get into the net, marking the fewest points scored by an opponent thus far into the season.

Up next the Lady Bison will travel to meet St. Francis (Pa.) on March 13 in hopes of claiming their first win on the road and fourth consecutive win. Visit Howard-Bison.com for more updates on the Howard lacrosse team.

Tiffany White, Sports Information Assistant
Howard University
Visit: howard-bison.com

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

FAMU knocked out of tourney with 2OT defeat

The Florida A&M men's basketball team came up short in double-overtime, losing 87-85 to Maryland-Eastern Shore in the first round of the MEAC Tournament in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Tuesday.

Eugene Harris' ballclub finishes the season 12-20. UMES (9-21) will play Hampton in the MEAC quarterfinals tonight at 9:30 p.m.

The Rattlers trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half, but closed the gap and went into halftime down by just three points at 30-27.

Maryland-Eastern wins in double overtime

Maryland-Eastern Shore worked through a little fatigue and found the energy to outlast Florida A&M 87-85 in double overtime Tuesday night in a first-round game of the MEAC men's tournament. Playing in front of about 800 at Joel Coliseum, the 10th-seeded Hawks made the right plays and made more free throws when they mattered most.

Point guard Kevin White finished with 22 points and seven assists, and UMES (9-21) advanced to play second-seeded Hampton in a quarterfinal scheduled for 9:30 tonight. White also made three key free throws in the second overtime, and Hillary Haley added 17 points and 10 rebounds. At the end of the game, with most of his post players fouled out, coach Frankie Allen of the Hawks had to improvise.

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Videographer: Mysterious910; FAMU's Cheerleaders --First Place MEAC Co-Ed Division Champions

John Wall does the Dougie at Howard-Hampton game (last week)

Say this for John Wall: he's throwing himself right into the D.C. community. I mean, he went to last week's Howard-Hampton game at Burr Gymnasium, for crying out loud. Not too many No. 1 overall picks are looking out for MEAC basketball.

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Videographer: HUReaction

MEAC Women's Tournament Opening Round: S.C. State 62, Bethune-Cookman 52

Coach Doug Robertson

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Whitney Wiley scored 19 points, including 10-11 from the free-throw line, and Trinese Fox and Paris Alston each added 10 as the Lady Bulldogs advanced to the quarterfinals of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference women's tournament for the second straight year.

S.C. State (12-16) rallied from an eight-point deficit with 9:27 left in the first half to take a 26-23 halftime lead. The Lady Bulldogs would maintain the advantage by holding the Lady Wildcats (13-17) to 2-11 shooting from three-point range and outrebounding them 38-29.

Sarah Bolden led all scorers with 16 points for Bethune-Cookman, followed by three players with 10 points each in defeat.

Hampton Pirates Releases 2011 Football Schedule

HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University football team, under the direction of head coach Donovan Rose, has released its 2011 schedule – a slate that includes seven home games.

The Pirates (6-5, 5-3 MEAC in 2010) will open the season on Sept. 3 at Armstrong Stadium against Alabama A&M at 6 p.m., before playing host to Florida A&M in the first conference game of the season on Sept. 10 at 6 p.m.

Hampton’s first road game will be on Sept. 17, when the Pirates head to Foreman Field to take on Old Dominion at 6 p.m., before they head to Daytona Beach, Fla. on Sept. 24 to face defending MEAC champion Bethune-Cookman.

The Pirates’ bye week will be on Oct. 1.

Hampton will play host to Princeton on Oct. 8 at 1 p.m., before heading to Dick Price Stadium on Oct. 15 for the annual Battle of the Bay against Norfolk State. North Carolina Central will come to Armstrong Stadium on Oct. 22 for a 2 p.m. kickoff, and the Pirates will close out the month on Oct. 29 at Savannah State.

All three of Hampton’s games in November will be at home: Nov. 5 against Howard at 1 p.m., against Delaware State on Nov. 12 at 1 p.m. in the annual Hall of Fame Game and against Morgan State on Nov. 19 at 1 p.m.



Pirates 2011 Football Schedule

DATE OPPONENT LOCATION GAME TAG TIME
9/3/2011 Alabama A&M Hampton, Va. Alumni Day 6 pm 
9/10/2011 Florida A&M Hampton, Va. Take-A-Kid-to-the-Game Day/Greek Day 6 pm 
9/17/2011 Old Dominion Norfolk, Va. 6 pm
9/24/2011 Bethune-Cookman Daytona Beach, Fla. TBA
10/8/2011 Princeton Hampton, Va. Military Appreciation Day, Parents’ Weekend 1 pm 
10/15/2011 Norfolk State Norfolk, Va. Battle of the bay 1 pm
10/22/2011 North Carolina Central Hampton, Va. Homecoming 2 pm 
10/29/2011 Savannah State Savannah, Ga. 2 pm
11/5/2011 Howard Hampton, Va. Battle of the “Real” HU 1 pm 
11/12/2011 Delaware State Hampton, Va. Athletics Hall of Fame Game, Take-A-Kid-to-the-Game Day 1 pm 
11/19/2011 Morgan State Hampton, Va. Community Appreciation Day 1 pm

Home Games are in bold
* denotes a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference contest

By Hampton University Media Relations

Florida A&M's Moore making big impact

Florida A&M freshman guard Avery Moore scored a 3-point transition field goal from near midcourt, while the Bethune-Cookman defense was crashing down around the basket.

On the ensuing Wildcats' possession, C.J. Reed hit a trey of his own. Immediately afterward, Moore and Reed briefly exchanged words. Moore flashed a smile. "He was telling me you're not scoring anymore," said Moore. "I'm the player of the year and this is my gym."

Moore didn't back down. Not on offense or on defense. Down to the final seconds in the Rattlers' overtime loss to B-CU, he made plays on both ends of the floor.

Dynamic duo leads FAMU into postseason

When coach LeDawn Gibson was recruiting Antonia Bennett and Tameka McKelton, she saw two players who had very different roles on their high school basketball teams.

McKelton was the star at West Palm Beach High, while Bennett played in the shadow of two featured players at Lakeland High. But Gibson, who is in her third season as head coach at Florida A&M, figured the diverse roles that they played could be meshed to form a nucleus for her program.


Videographer: FAMUSPORTS

FAMU looks to Bennett once again

DAYTONA — Coach LeDawn Gibson can begin preparing her Florida A&M women's basketball team with a little bit more emphasis on the role that forward Antonia Bennett will play during next week's MEAC tournament.

The cards played out in such a fashion during Thursday's final regular season games that the Rattlers won't play until the third day after competition begins in Winston-Salem, N.C. When they step on the court against Coppin State, it would be exactly a week after their 68-59 victory over Bethune-Cookman on Thursday at Moore Gymnasium.

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