Written by Ariel V. Germain, Assistant Sports Information Director

Howard vs. Loyola (Md.)                       

WASHINGTON, D.C. (www.howard-bison.com) – November 28 – It was a fight to the finish, as the Howard University women's basketball extended their three-game home-winning streak to three with a Wednesday, Nov. 28 nail-biting victory over Loyola (Md.), 40-37 in Washington, D.C., at Burr Gymnasium.

In the three-point win, redshirt junior Jerrelle Gorham tallied a season-best 12 points, as senior Nicole Deterville pulled down a season-high 11 rebounds.  Senior leading scorer Saadia Doyle scored a team-high 14 points and nine rebounds, while seniors Cheyenne Curley-Payne distributed seven assists, N. Deterville notched two blocks and Kara Smith stole two Loyola possessions.

After the first 20-points of play, it appeared that Howard would cruise to its third victory, as the Lady Bison clutched the lead at the 16:09 mark and concluded the half with a six-point lead. 

Following the halftime intermission, HU held onto an 11-point lead until the 11:22 mark. 

Loyola then outscored the mighty blue and white 6-5 five to bringing the deficit to single digits.

As LU continued to find offensive success, Howard went scoreless for four minutes, which allowed Loyola to pace to a 9-0 run and gridlock the contest 37-37 at the 1:05 mark.

Doyle broke the HU scoring silence with a jumper for 39-37 lead, nonetheless the pressure was still on as Loyola took possession.

LU's Kara Marshall, who scored her only three of the night at the 1:26 mark to tie the contest, released two three pointers.  After missing both attempts, Marshall fouled Doyle sending her to the charity stripe, where she 1-of-1 for a one-point 40-37 lead with 23 seconds remaining.

Marshall made one more unsuccessful attempt to seal the contest 40-37 in Howard's favor.

HU returns to the road to close out the calendar year.  On Monday, Dec. 3 the Lady Bison takes on Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference foe Delaware State, followed by taking on cross-city opponent George Washington on Saturday, Dec. 15 and concluding with out-of-state adversaries Pepperdine on Friday, Dec. 21 and Ohio State Sunday, Dec. 30.

Howard advances to 3-4 on the season to close-out the opening month of play.

For more information on Howard women's basketball visit the official HU athletics website at www.howard-bison.com.

-HU-