DURHAM, N.C. – The Howard University women's basketball team cruised past Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) rival North Carolina Central, 73-50, on Monday night in McDougald-McLendon Arena.
With the win, the Bison improve to 8-9 overall (4-1 MEAC) and 8-0 all-time against the Lady Eagles. NCCU falls to 3-14 (2-3 MEAC).
Senior Sydni Johnson was on fire as she tied her season-best 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting to go along with seven rebounds. She now has 987 points for her career. Classmate Jasmine Hill posted 12 points and redshirt junior Erin Blaine tallied 10 points and six boards.
Rookie Star Fitzgerald-Greer pulled down a career-high eight rebounds and chipped in six points, while redshirt senior Te'Shya Heslip added seven points, five assists and four rebounds.
Howard held NCCU to just 25 percent (16-64) shooting from the field and only 14 points in the paint. On the other hand, the Bison shot 46.6 percent (27-58) and scored 44 of their points down low. Howard also had 16 assists on its 27 baskets.
Over the first 4:28 of the game, Howard took off on a 13-4 run that included eight points by Hill. The Bison kept their foot on the gas as a layup by Johnson pushed the advantage to 19-8. At the end of the first period, HU had a 22-12 lead.
Both teams had trouble scoring in the opening minutes of the second quarter. It took 1:59 for the Lady Eagles to end the drought and post five straight points to pull the score to 22-17. Dopson delivered back-to-back sharp passes to Hill for a pair of baskets to extend the lead to 33-19, which forced NCCU to call a timeout at the 2:45 mark. Heading into the locker room, Howard had 11 assists on 15 baskets and a 37-23 advantage.
Johnson tallied the first six points of the third quarter for the Bison to take a 43-27 lead. Howard spent a good chunk of the period at the free throw line, including five consecutive trips that led to seven points. Freshman Jayla Myles notched her first points of the game on a jumper and HU went into the final period ahead, 55-35.
Blaine made the three-point play count and gave Howard its largest lead, 60-35, with 7:18 left in the matchup. The Lady Eagles managed to cut the deficit to 18 on free throws, 62-44, but the Bison put together six unanswered points to stretch the score, 68-44. The two teams traded daggers from downtown but it was too late for NCCU as Howard claimed a 73-50 victory.
The Bison are back in the nation's capital on Saturday, Jan. 28 when it welcomes Savannah State to Burr Gymnasium for a 2 p.m. outing.
