WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Howard University women's basketball team had three players in double figures to complete the season sweep of North Carolina Central on a 62-48 win in Burr Gymnasium on Monday afternoon.
With their second straight victory, the Bison improved to 13-12 overall and 9-4 in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) play. The Lady Eagles dropped to 6-19 overall and 5-8 in the conference.
Redshirt junior Erin Blaine poured in a team-high 19 points on an impressive 8-of-12 shooting and coupled it with eight rebounds. Redshirt senior Te'Shya Heslip also shot well (7-10) on her way to 14 points, six assists and five boards, while senior Sydni Johnson had 10 points.
Freshman Jayla Myles was a force on the glass as she pulled down 13 rebounds. She had 11 boards on the defensive end and seven blocks, both of which are career highs. Classmate Star Fitzgerald-Greer added six rebounds, five points and a career-best four rejections in 11 minutes of action.
Howard held NCCU to just 48 points, the fewest allowed by the Bison this season. The home team also finished the game with a season-high 12 blocks. The Lady Eagles were 24.6 percent (15-61) from the field, while the Bison shot 44.4 percent (24-54).
The Bison outscored the Lady Eagles in the paint by a 26-12 margin and posted 15 points off of NCCU's 16 turnovers. Howard was all over the glass for a 51-32 rebounding advantage.
NCCU went 1-for-12 from the floor as Howard built an 8-2 lead to start the game. The Lady Eagles righted the ship enough to chip into HU's edge, 8-7, with 1:03 left in the first quarter. Heslip once again had a buzzer beater to end the period with a 12-9 upper hand for Howard.
The Lady Eagles took their first lead during an 11-0 run that pushed the score to 20-14 at the 5:36 mark of the second quarter. Howard responded on a three-pointer from rookie Sarah Edmond and layup by Blaine to give HU back the advantage, 21-20. With 1:56 on the clock, NCCU went up 26-25 but a pair of free throws by Myles and jumper by Heslip handed Howard a 29-26 edge at the break. Blaine scored 10 of her points in the quarter.
With 5:56 to go in the third quarter, Johnson's three-pointer forced NCCU to call a timeout as the Bison lead stretched to 38-30. HU kept the pressure on as it used a 16-6 dash to take its largest lead, 45-32, on a steal and layup by Heslip. The Lady Eagles did not score a point for 3:08 as Howard had a 49-37 lead at the end of the period.
It took NCCU until the 9:09 mark of the fourth quarter to score from the field, capping off a 6:09 streak without a field goal. By the midpoint of the period, Howard had pushed the gap to 57-41. With 2.1 seconds left, rookie Ayonna Williams made her free throws for the final score, 62-48.
Jada Blow closed the afternoon with a game-high 24 points and six three-pointers for NCCU.
Howard is heading back out on the road to challenge Norfolk State on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 4 p.m.
