WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senior Sydni Johnson surpassed the 1,000-point plateau as the Howard University women's basketball team defeated Savannah State, 55-49, on Saturday afternoon in Burr Gymnasium.
The Bison move to 9-9 overall and 5-1 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). The Lady Tigers fall to 6-14 (4-4 MEAC).
For second-year head coach Ty Grace, this is the best overall record and MEAC mark since taking over the reins last season. The Bison are now 5-1 on their home court and have won the last four games at Burr Gym.
Johnson finished the day with 14 points and scored her 1,000th point on a layup in the fourth quarter. Redshirt senior Te'Shya Heslip tallied her second double-double of the season with a game-high 23 points and 10 rebounds. She also had five assists and four steals.
Redshirt junior Erin Blaine posted 10 points and pulled down seven boards, while freshman Jayla Myles earned a career-high six blocks to go along with seven rebounds.
Savannah State and Howard were just about evenly matched in the paint with the home team having a 28-26 edge. The Bison shot 70 percent (14-20) from the free throw line and notched 12 points off fast breaks.
It took some time for both teams to their offenses going as the Bison trailed 8-5 at the 4:28 mark of the first quarter. HU was able to get out to a 12-8 advantage on a three-pointer and layup from Johnson with less than three minutes on the clock. Over the final 4:38, the Bison scored 10 unanswered points to close the quarter up 15-8.
Midway through the second period, Howard was holding onto a slight 19-17 edge. With 2:32 to go, a three-point play brought the Lady Tigers within one, 21-20, but Heslip responded from downtown to push the gap to 24-20. Heslip followed it up by beating the buzzer to send the Bison into the locker room with a 28-22 lead.
SSU had to call a timeout just two minutes into the third quarter as HU pushed the score to 32-26. The Bison went on a 10-3 run over 3:49 to pad its lead, 42-29, with six points coming at the charity stripe. The Lady Tigers battled back to end the quarter on an 8-4 streak with Howard ahead, 44-37.
The first basket of the final period didn't come until the 6:49 mark on a layup by Blaine. SSU had momentum on its side as it strung together seven consecutive points to pull within one, 50-49, with just 1:34 remaining in the game. Heslip quickly got the lead back to three, 52-49, on a jumper. After forcing a turnover, Heslip sank a three-pointer with 15 seconds left for the final tally, 55-49.
Tiyonda Davis had 17 points and 17 rebounds for the Lady Tigers, followed by Jeremica Edwards with 14 points and 10 boards.
The Bison are set to host South Carolina State on Monday, Jan. 30 at 4 p.m. in Burr Gym.
