TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Howard University women's basketball team will spend the next four days on the road for a pair of Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) matchups. The Bison will meet Florida A&M for the second time this season on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 4 p.m. before making the trip to play Bethune-Cookman on Monday, Feb. 6 at 5:30 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT
Redshirt senior Te'Shya Heslip recorded her second straight double-double (24 points, 11 rebounds) and paired it with five assists and five steals in Howard's 75-57 win over South Carolina State on Monday night.
The Bison (10-9) had three more players in double figures, starting with senior Sydni Johnson, who had 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Rookie Sarah Edmond tallied 13 points in her 24 minutes on the court and redshirt junior Erin Blaine added 10 points.
Howard made 10 of its 19 three-point field goal attempts, just one shy of its season-high (11). The Bison also earned 18 assists on 27 baskets and scored 27 points off SCSU turnovers.
LOOKING AT THE RATTLERS
Florida A&M is currently riding a three-game win streak after taking down Morgan State, 61-26, earlier this week. Shalunda Burney-Robinson led all scorers with 14 points, followed by junior Alicia McCray with 11 points and six boards. Shakerrya Morrison pulled down a career high 15 rebounds.
The Rattlers rank seventh in the MEAC with a 6-15 overall record and 4-4 in conference action. As a team, FAMU has the best rebounding offense (43.6) and Morrison is fourth in the league with 8.8 rebounds per game.
When Howard and FAMU first met on Jan. 4 in Burr Gymnasium, the Bison claimed a 72-58 win. Heslip paced the team with the second triple-double of her career on 12 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists. Blaine chipped in a career-high 21 points.
SCOUTING THE LADY WILDCATS
Ashanti Hunt scored a career-high 21 points for Bethune-Cookman in a 68-58 victory over Norfolk State last Saturday. Kailyn Williams poured in 13 points, followed by Kendra Cooper and Taylor Houston with 11 and 10, respectively. The win brought B-CU's record to 10-9 (6-1 MEAC), putting the team a half game behind top-ranked Hampton.
The Lady Wildcats are eighth in the nation in field goal percentage defense as opponents are shooting 34.1 percent from the field against them. The squad is also 25th in scoring defense (56.6) and leads the MEAC in that category.
Williams leads the league in blocked shots (3.9) and has the second-best field goal percentage (46.5), while Houston ranks third with a 37.5 three-point field goal percentage.
NATIONAL RECOGNITION
Heslip has been Howard's leader on both sides of the ball this season. She is averaging 4.16 steals, which puts her third among the NCAA Division I statistical leaders. Her 79 total thefts ranks sixth and 5.2 assists is 43rd. She leads the MEAC in steals, assists, and free throw percentage (82.0) and fourth in scoring with a team-high 16.3 points per game.
SHOWING IMPROVEMENT
Midway through the conference schedule, the Bison are sitting in third place in the MEAC standings behind Hampton and Bethune-Cookman. Howard has a 6-1 mark in conference play, which is the best record through seven league games since the 2013-14 season when HU was 5-2 at this time of the year.
CHARITY STRIPE LIVING
The Bison have done a good job of making trips to the free throw line count. Howard is converting free throws at a 69.0 percent rate, making 260 of 377 attempts. The mark currently leads the conference.
JOINING THE RANKS
In her final season, Johnson cemented her place in Howard's record books. She crossed the 500-rebound plateau on Dec. 16 against NJIT and tallied her 1,000th point against Savannah State on Jan. 28.
HOWARD IN THE MEAC
As a team, the Bison have the best scoring offense in the league, averaging 63.9 points per game. Howard also checks in at No. 1 in free throw percentage (69.1), second in assists (12.4), third in field goal percentage (37.2) and fourth in steals (9.7).
