RICHMOND, VA - New York native Destiny Howell put on one of the most impressive shooting performances seen in recent history. The 6-0 junior guard poured in a career-high 35 points to lead Howard to a 79-67 win over Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) at the Siegel Center Wednesday evening. The win snapped a four-game skid for the Bison as they closed out the non-conference schedule.

"Losing obviously takes a toll on a team, so this win showed that we are resilient and will persevere in adversity," said Howard Head Coach Ty Grace in the postgame. "We are still without two starters (Iyanna Warren and Krislyn Marsh); however when you stay positive, play as team and execute the game plan, you will always give yourself a chance to win. Now it's time for Conference play; the preparation continues." 

Howell got Howard going early as she single-handedly carried her team, scoring 19 of their 26 points en route to a 26-24 advantage at the end of the first 10 minutes. The sharpshooting guard, a first team preseason All-MEAC selection continued to lead her team, adding six more to her growing total as Howard (4-9) held onto a 34-32 lead at the half.

"When Destiny is locked in and focused, she is very tough to guard," said Coach Ty Grace in her assessment of Howell's performance. "She was efficient and took every shot with tremendous confidence. When she gets in rhythm, it's a challenge to slow her down. I'm proud to see her having these career highlights." 

Then, with Howell continuing her assault along with some help from Aziah Hudson and Brooklynn Fort-Davis, the Bison went on a 10-0 run that all but sealed the deal with a 56-42 advantage at the end of three.

"We've been struggling to put together consistent scoring in each quarter, and I challenged them to win each quarter and take advantage of possessions," explained Coach Grace "We were able to be patient, run our offense and get some very good shots which led to a nice run in that important third period.".


The struggling Rams (3-9), who have now dropped five in a row, tried desperately to get back in it with a 7-0 mini run of their own to cut the deficit to 56-48 at the eight-minute mark. But this was Howell's night as she dampened any VCU comeback hopes with a long bomb. With the shot clock winding down, that took the lead back up to double digits and all but sealed the deal.  Howell connected on 13 of 20 overall, including a sizzling 9 of 13 from beyond the arc. Her 35 points came in 37 minutes of play. Her previous high was 34 against American University back in November.

The Bison played without their floor general and second-leading scorer (11.5 ppg), Iyanna Warren, who sat out with an injury.  But Harris, a 5-9 junior responded and more than picked up the slack, dealing out a career- and season-high 13 assists while adding nine points and six rebounds.

"Kaniyah has been one of the most reliable and consistent players in the program," stated Coach Grace. "She stepped up big tonight. She found Destiny and made plays all over the floor, whether it was breaking  pressure, knocking down free throws, or holding VCU leading scorer to seven points."

Hudson, a graduate guard and transfer from Old Dominion, continued her consistent play, chipping in with 13 points and four rebounds while senior forward Fort Davis added 11 points.

"They all stepped up tonight, and definitely gave us that boost from a scoring perspective," said Coach Grace. "When we have balance, we are a better team. We will need them to continue that trend going into MEAC play." 

GAME NOTES: After struggling to score (52 point average during the slide) and shoot ball well (25 percent overall, and 12 percent from three), the Bison shots a season-best 48 percent and a season best 60 percent (12 of 2) from beyond the arc...playing 35 minutes and handling the ball for Howard, had only two turnovers...Harris was just shy of her first career double double...the Howard defense turned VCU turnovers into 28 points.

"I have to give my staff (Coach Donnie) a lot of credit, they did a tremendous job scouting VCU, and defensively the team really locked in and stuck to the game plan. We kept the, off balance and had great activity on and off the ball, got stops to force those turnovers," shared Grace.

NEXT UP: Howard opens MEAC play January 7th when it hosts Delaware State at 2 pm. The Bison will honor senior Fort-Davis on reaching her achievement of 500 career rebounds. Graduate Aziah Hudson is also on the horizon of reaching a career milestone. With tonight's 13 points, Hudson needs only eight more points before joining the 1000-point club.