Women's Basketball | 2/26/2017 4:44:00 PM
GAME NOTES | LIVE VIDEO
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The 2016-17 Howard University women's basketball team will take the court in Burr Gymnasium for the final time on Monday, Feb. 27. The Bison will face Maryland Eastern Shore for the second matchup of the regular season at 6 p.m.
Monday's outing will also serve as Senior Night. Prior to the tip, Howard will recognize the contributions of its four seniors by honoring Erin Blaine, Jasmine Hill, Te'Shya Heslip and Sydni Johnson. The Senior Night presentations will begin at 5:45 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT
A season-high 30 points from Te'Shya Heslip helped Howard to a 68-60 win at Norfolk State on Saturday. She was 11-of-18 from the floor and chipped in six rebounds, six assists and three steals.
Erin Blaine added nine points and a team-best 11 boards, while Sydni Johnson finished with eight points and eight rebounds. In nine minutes on the floor, Ayonna Williams tallied seven points. Danielle Griffin had a career night with seven rebounds and four blocks.
As a team, the Bison (14-12, 10-4 MEAC) pulled down 51 rebounds, which ties the second-best total of the season.
LOOKING AT EASTERN SHORE
The Hawks (12-13, 6-8 MEAC) are coming off their third straight victory after defeating Delaware State, 79-72, on Saturday afternoon. Shauntesha Bryant scored a career-high 16 points, while Moengaroa Subritzky recorded a double-double with 16 points and 11 boards.
Eastern Shore has the third-best scoring offense in the MEAC with 61.7 points per contest. The squad leads the conference in three-point field goal shooting at 33.1 percent. Individually, Mariah McCoy has a 40.7 percent clip from downtown to top the MEAC, followed by Subritzky in third (37.0).
SERIES HISTORY
Monday's showdown will be the 75th meeting between Howard and Eastern Shore with the Bison leading the all-time series, 56-17. When the two teams faced off on Jan. 14 in Princess Anne, Md., HU outlasted MDES for a 72-71 win. Heslip led five players in double figures with 16 points and Sarah Edmond sank a career-high four triples on her way to 14 points.
NATIONAL RECOGNITION
Heslip has been Howard's leader on both sides of the ball this season. She is averaging 3.6 steals, which puts her fifth among the nation's leaders. Her 94 total thefts ranks ninth and 5.2 assists is 39th. She leads the MEAC in steals and assists, while checking in at third in scoring with a team-high 15.5 points and fourth in free throw percentage (77.9).
IT'S COLD IN THE BURR
Howard has been giving its opponent a tough time when they come to Burr Gymnasium. The Bison are 8-2 in its on-campus facility. Howard had won five straight games on its court before suffering its only conference loss at home this season.
HOWARD IN THE MEAC
As a team, the Bison have the best scoring offense in the league, averaging 63.8 points per game. Howard also checks in at No. 2 in assists (12.6), third in free throw percentage (66.9), field goal percentage (37.6), fourth in blocks (4.5) and fifth in steals (9.2).
BISON IN CONFERENCE PLAY
Through 14 MEAC contests, Heslip, Johnson and Blaine are averaging double figures for Howard. In conference action, Heslip is putting up 14.7 ppg, followed by Johnson (13.9) and Blaine (11.3). Johnson is shooting a team-best 46 percent from the field and Heslip is connecting on 77.3 percent (51-66) of her free throws. Blaine paces the team in rebounding (7.5).
