DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Howard University women's basketball team suffered its third loss in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) action when it dropped a 75-54 decision to top-ranked Bethune-Cookman on Monday in Moore Gymnasium.
The Bison fell to 10-11 overall and 6-3 in conference play, while the Lady Wildcats improved to 12-9 (8-1 MEAC).
Senior Sydni Johnson and freshman Jayla Myles tallied 11 points apiece and pulled down eight and six rebounds, respectively. Redshirt junior Erin Blaine had eight points and nine boards, seven of which were on the defensive end. Rookie Sarah Edmond finished with six points, all from long range.
As a team, the Bison earned 11 assists on 18 baskets but only shot 25.7 percent from the field (18-70). On the flip side, the Lady Wildcats were 60.5 percent (26-43) from the floor and 53.3 percent (8-15) from beyond the arc.
B-CU had a slight advantage in the paint, 26-24, but Howard posted 20 points off of the Lady Wildcats' 22 turnovers. The Bison also had 17 second-chance points.
With 4:59 off the clock, the Bison trailed the Lady Wildcats, 9-5. As both teams showed their tenacity, Johnson converted a three-point play and a layup by Heslip put HU in the lead, 10-9. Howard closed the period on a 9-0 run over the last 5:43 for a 14-9 advantage.
It was nothing but net for Edmond, who cashed in from downtown to open the score to 17-11 at the 8:31 mark in the second quarter. B-CU responded with nine unanswered points to regain lead, 20-17. Edmond put the Bison back up but the Lady Wildcats hit a three-pointer to stay ahead, 23-21. After stealing the ball, Heslip sprinted to the opposite hoop and laid the ball in to tie the game at 23 with 3:04 left in the half. With multiple fouls on both sides of the ball, the Bison went into halftime down, 30-27.
B-CU opened the third quarter on a 10-2 sprint, which had Howard behind, 40-29, at the 6:46 mark. Blaine made a layup to pull the team within nine, 42-33, but the Bison would go the final 6:09 of the quarter without a field goal and only four points at the free throw line to trail, 57-37, going into the closing 10 minutes.
Back-to-back baskets from Myles brought the score to 68-47 with 6:01 left in the game. Neither team made a field goal in the last five minutes and spotty shooting at the charity stripe kept the game out of reach for the Bison as they fell, 75-54.
Kendra Cooper put up a game-high 22 points to lead four double figure scorers for B-CU. Ashanti Hunt (14), Kailyn Williams (13) and Alea Godfrey (12) completed the quartet.
Howard will make the trip to Hampton on Saturday, Feb. 11 for a 4 p.m. matchup.
