Box Score COLLEGE PARK, MD --- A valiant comeback effort  by the Howard University women's basketball team fell short this evening, as the Lady Bison were defeated by the College of Charleston Cougars 79-68 on Saturday afternoon in the second game of the University of Maryland Terrapin Classic, held at UMD's Comcast Center.

Sophomore center Victoria Gonzalez led the charge for HU, pouring in a career-best and game-high 24 points. The Atlanta native used an array of strong post moves to shoot 10-of-18 from the floor. Gonzalez also went 4-of-5 from the free throw line and added eight rebounds, two blocks, two steals and an assist.

When asked about Gonzalez's stellar performance, Howard head coach Tennille Adams raved, "This was the best game Victoria has played in her career. She stepped up, put the team on her back and nearly willed us all the way to a win. We will be able to do some good things in conference if she continues to play like this."

Freshman forward Sydni Johnson also had a breakout game, scoring a season-high 13 points and pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds to record the first double double of her young career. Graduate student forward Shavonne Duckett (10 points, eight rebounds) and junior Cheyenne Brown forward (seven points, nine rebounds) nearly had double doubles of their own.

Trailing by 11 at halftime (39-28), Howard (3-8) outscored Charleston (7-4) 25-15 over the first 10 minutes of the second half and pulled to within one point on two occasions: with 10:04 (52-51) and 9:37 (54-53) remaining in the game. In fact, Howard and Charleston played an even second half, with both teams scoring 40 points – making their rough stretch in the first period the turning point of the game.

Howard used its defensive intensity to offensive aggression to score the game's first six points and take a 9-3 edge into the first media timeout at the 15:28 mark. However, foul trouble and a lack of scoring over the next 4:07 turned a six-point Howard lead into a one-point Charleston lead – one that the Cougars would never relinquish; Charleston would outscore Howard 36-19 during the rest of the half.

"Ultimately, we have to find a way to score," Adams said. "I loved the energy and effort we played with and the fact that we fought back in the second half. But we have to make sure we can attack and find our shots when we need to, no matter what teams throw at us."

The Lady Bison will return to the Comcast Center Sunday morning to take on the Wofford College Terriers in the consolation game of the Classic, while Charleston will take on the host Terrapins. Howard's game against Wofford is scheduled for an 11:00 am tipoff.