GAME DAY INFORMATION
Howard (8-7, 2-1 MEAC) at North Carolina Central (2-12, 1-4 MEAC)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022
Site: Durham, N.C. (McDougald-McClendon Arena)
Tip-off: 2:00 p.m.
Series Record: Howard leads, 11-2
T/V: N/A
Audio: N/A
Live Stream: Here
Live Stats: Here
Websites: NCCUEagles.com | HUBison.com
WASHINGTON, D.C.-- The Howard University women's basketball team continues their Mid-Eastern Conference [MEAC] road swing in Durham, N.C against the Eagles of North Carolina Central for a 2 p.m. schedule tipoff.
The Bison are coming off a 70-64 victory at Coppin State to split their road contest versus the Eagles and Morgan State.
Brooklynn Fort-Davis cemented a strong weekend, leading the Bison offense recording a career-high 23 points;
Anzhane' Hutton [15] and
Iyanna Warren [16]. In addition,
Krislyn Marsh recorded a game-high ten rebounds. Fort-Davis shot a combine 79 percent [15-of-19] from the floor and 77 percent from the charity stripe [7-of-9] this past weekend.
NCCU is coming off a split of two games during a MEAC road trip last week, defeating Delaware State University (W, 75-54) on Saturday and losing to University of Maryland Eastern Shore (L, 81-59) on Monday.
The Series:
The Eagles and the Bison will play for the first time in two season. Howard leads the all-times series 11-2, NC Central defeated the Bison, 89-71 in the last meeting on Feb. 24, 2020, inside McDouglad-McClendon Arena.
About Howard
- Destiny Howell and Anzhane' Hutton are Howard's two double-digit scorers with averages of 11.4 and 11.0 points per game. Hutton leads the MEAC with 7.5 rebounds per game and fourth in the league with 1.2 blocks per game.
- Head Coach Ty Grace won her 155th game as a head coach versus Frostburg St. and is eight games from reaching the 100 win game mark as a Bison.
- The 2020-21 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Northern Division Champions fell in the finals of the 2021 conference tournament. However, the Bison took the league by storm last season. Despite the pandemic, Howard went 10-2 in conference play and 15-4, with non-conference wins versus LaSalle, George Washington, Mount Saint Mary's, and Richmond.
- The Bison were selected No. 1 in the MEAC Preseason Poll by the league's coaches and media relations personnel.
- Three Bison was named the Preseason All-MEAC Team, Anzhane' Hutton, Kaiya Creek, and Iyanna Warren.
- Howard head coach Ty Grace enters her seventh season at the helm, named 2020-21 MEAC Coach of the Year.
- The Bison only lost one starter from last season's team.
- Last season, Howard posted the best regular-season winning percentage (.823) in school history. In addition, the Bison's defense ranked sixth nationally in field-goal percentage defense (33.9) and three-point field goal defense (25.6). Howard's 28.9 defensive rebounds ranked 30th in the NCAA led by 2020-21 Rookie of the Year Anzhane' Hutton. Hutton was also named to the All-MEAC second team, All-Rookie, and All-Defensive team.
About North Carolina Central
NCCU (2-12 Overall, 1-4 MEAC) will be playing just its fourth home game of the season and the Eagles are 1-2 inside McDougald-McLendon Arena.
Freshman Diamond Thomas has scored in double digits in five straight games, including all four MEAC games she has played in to increase her scoring average to 11.1 points per game (ranks eighth best in the league). Thomas, who swished a season-best 5 3-pointers in her last game on her way to a season-high 21 points against the Hawks, ranks third in the MEAC with an average 2.0 made 3-pointers per game.
Thomas is averaging 15.5 points per game against conference competition while two other Eagles are also averaging double-figure scoring against league opposition. Junior Kira Lowery is netting 11.0 points per game in the MEAC to increase her season average to 5.9 points per game. Sophomore Tianna Carter follows with 10.0 points per game versus MEAC foes to up her season average to 9.0 points per game.
Carter, who is coming off her first collegiate double-double in her last game against the Hornets, leads NCCU and ranks third in the MEAC with 7.3 rebounds per game. However, Carter missed NCCU's last game due to injury. The Eagles have also been without senior leading scorer Necole Hope for the past five contests.
Senior forward Ashlyn Lockard has started the most games for NCCU and is chipping in averages of 8.7 points and 5.7 points per game. Sophomore Paris McBride is scoring 4.9 points per game and leads the Eagles with 2.4 assists and 2.1 steals per game.
Next Up:
Howard will conclude the month of January in Orangeburg, S.C. on Monday, Jan. 31, for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.
The Bison returns to Burr Gymnasium on Feb. 4 for a 2:00 p.m. tipoff against Maryland Eastern Shore. The game was initially scheduled for Jan. 10 and was postponed due to Covid-19 protocol.
Fans are encouraged to visit hubison.com for updated schedule changes and covid-19 policy information. Additionally, fans can purchase tickets at bisontickets.com.
--#BleedBlue--
