WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Howard University women's basketball team started Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) action with an impressive 72-58 victory over Florida A&M on Wednesday evening in Burr Gymnasium.
The Bison move up to 5-8 overall (1-0 MEAC) while the Lady Rattlers drop to 2-12 (0-1 MEAC).
Redshirt senior Te'Shya Heslip recorded a triple-double on 12 points, 11 boards and 14 assists, the second of her career. Her first came on Feb. 8, 2016 when she tallied 26 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists in an 83-77 win over Hampton in Burr Gym.
Howard had three players in double figures, led by redshirt junior Erin Blaine's career-best and game-high 21 points. She just missed out on a double-double after pulling down nine rebounds, eight of which were on the defensive end.
Senior Sydni Johnson notched 12 points and five rebounds, bringing her career total to 929 points. Classmate Jasmine Hill had eight points, while freshman Imani Bryant earned six points and six rebounds.
The Bison were dominate inside for the second straight game, outscoring the Lady Rattlers, 44-28, in the paint. Howard came up with 19 points off of FAMU's 28 turnovers and had 16 points on fast breaks.
The opening period was a back and forth battle that put FAMU up 14-9 early on. The Bison responded with a 7-3 run to cut the deficit to one, 17-16, at the end of the first quarter.
Howard began the second with a 13-2 surge over 5:41 to pull ahead of the Lady Rattlers, 29-19. Rookie Sarah Edmond came off the bench and put up six straight points. The Bison kept up the pressure as they took the largest lead of the night, 43-28, into halftime.
HU came out of the break swinging as it pushed its advantage to 51-38 at the 4:23 mark on a jumper by Blaine. The two teams exchanged three pointers before Heslip's jumper closed the third quarter with the home team ahead, 58-45.
FAMU managed to pull within nine on four different occasions in the final 10 minutes. The Bison came back with six consecutive points on baskets by Myles, Johnson and Blaine to open the gap to 70-55 with 1:48 remaining. A Heslip lay-in marked the final tally as the Bison claimed their first conference triumph, 72-58.
Blaine scored 13 points and grabbed six boards in the second half alone. Heslip was also impressive in the last 20 minutes where she added six points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
The Lady Rattlers were paced by Shakerrya Morrison and Ecenur Yurdakul with 13 points apiece. Cedricka Sweeting was the third player in double digits for the visitors thanks to 10 points.
Howard returns to the hardwood on Saturday, Jan. 14 when it travels to Maryland Eastern Shore. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
