WASHINGTON, DC --- Led by senior guard Cheyenne Brown, sophomore forward Sydni Johnson and redshirt sophomore guard Te'Shya Heslip, the Howard women's basketball team won its first game of the season, defeating North Carolina Central, 70-65, Monday evening in Burr Gymnasium.

The win put an end to the Lady Bison's season-opening eight-game losing streak and evened Howard's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) record to 1-1.

Brown bounced back from a scoreless effort against North Carolina A&T on Saturday to lead Howard (1-8, 1-1 MEAC) with 20 points - three shy of her career high - on 8-of-14 (4-of-6 3FG) shooting. Johnson played all 40 minutes and added 18 points to surpass the career best of 17 she set against A&T. Heslip netted 14 points - scoring in double digits for the fifth consecutive game and sixth overall - to go along with five assists and four steals.

Unlike other games this season where Howard started off strong and faded down the stretch, the Lady Bison struggled to find a rhythm in the early portion of the game. Howard found itself trailing NCCU (2-6, 0-2 MEAC) 25-15 with 6:13 left in the first half due to stagnant offense and major foul trouble - Howard had twice as many fouls as NC Central (10 to five) and didn't shoot its first free throws until three minutes prior.

At this point, HU simplified their offense by extending its defense. Head Coach Tennille Adams extended her half court pressure to full court and easier opportunities began to present themselves. The full court defense was the catalyst for a three-minute, 15-4 run that gave the Lady Bison a 30-29 lead with 2:35 to go in the period. Howard would extend the advantage to seven by halftime (40-33) by adding another 10-4 surge. Brown scored 13 of her 20 points - including three triples - in the pivotal five-and-a-half minute stretch.

The Lady Eagles, led by senior post Racquel Davis, responded immediately as the second half began. Davis scored eight of her game-high 24 points in NCCU's nine-minute, 19-9 run to open the period, giving the visitors a 52-49 lead with 10:34 left in the contest.

For eight games, Howard could not find a way to bounce back after such adversity. In game nine, the lessons learned finally paid dividends.

A free throw and jumper from Heslip tied the game at 52-52 at the 9:09 mark and the Lady Bison withstood NCCU's rally attempts by outscoring the Lady Eagles 18-13 over the final nine minutes of the game. 

"Our ladies were very resilient tonight, and have been for most of the season so far," Adams said after the victory. "We could have easily tanked this game after an emotional loss to A&T last time out but everyone stepped up tonight and I'm very proud of our team."

While both teams scored the same number of field goals (23) and free throws (18), Howard was able to capitalize on certain areas to earn their hard-fought win:

- HU made five more three pointers than NCCU (six to one);
- Howard posted a positive assist/turnover ratio (14 A/10 T; 1.4) for the first time this season;
- The Lady Bison had twice as many steals as NCCU (eight to four) and dominated in points off turnovers (24 to nine).

NEXT UP: Howard resumes its non-conference schedule with a road game against LIU-Brooklyn on Sunday, December 14 at 1 p.m.