Box Score PRINCESS ANNE, MD --- A trio of double digit scorers, led by a season-best performance by freshman guard Jasmine Hill, could not propel the Howard women's basketball team past Maryland Eastern Shore as the Lady Bison suffered a 66-57 defeat to the Lady Hawks on Saturday afternoon at W.P. Hytche Athletic Center.

The setback gives Howard (10-14, 6-5 MEAC) a .500 record over the last 14 games (7-7).

Hill, a native of Clinton, MD, had her best scoring output of the year, scoring 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting, pulling down six rebounds, grabbing two steals and blocking one shot. Graduate student forward Shavonne Duckett reached double figures for the fourth straight game by hitting for 15 points while snagging a team-best seven boards and adding three assists and a pair of steals. Redshirt freshman Te'Shya Heslip scored 12 of her 14 points in the second half while shooting 60 percent (6-of-10) from the floor, logged three assists and made two steals.

Despite the efforts of Hill, Duckett and Heslip, the Lady Bison struggled to score with the Lady Hawks throughout the game. Howard (10-14, 6-5 MEAC) scored the game's first basket on a Heslip layup 17 seconds into the half, but would never regain the lead. A 22-8 run by UMES (6-16, 2-8 MEAC) pushed their lead into double figures (22-10) at the 9:06 mark and led by as much as 17 (33-16) near the end of the first half before taking a 35-20 lead into the break.

Howard's first half shooting percentage in the opening 20 minutes (6-of-30, 20 percent) was the second worst percentage the team produced this season.

The Lady Bison would not go down without a fight, as the team opened the second half with a 16-6 run over the first 6:52 to trim UMES' advantage to five, 41-36 with 12:44 to go.

However, the Lady Hawks would match Howard's run in less time (5:23) to extend their lead back to 15 (57-42) with 6:56 remaining and outscored HU 15-9 the rest of the way to hold the Lady Bison off.

HU will begin a two-game home stand on Saturday, February 22 when the Lady Bison host Hampton University in a rematch of their "Battle of HU" rivalry. The Lady Bison will begin the doubleheader at 5:00 pm.