Dover, DE. -- The Howard University Bison swarmed the Hornets all night, defeating Delaware State University 83-49 in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference [MEAC] action in Memorial Hall Monday night.
Howard improves to 11-8 and 5-3 in the MEAC.
It took the Bison a few minutes to find their groove, Howard scored their first basket at the 8:19 mark, on a
Destiny Howell fastbreak layup to spark a 10-0 run cemented by a
Brooklynn Fort-Davis free throw with 5:04 left in the opening quarter. Delaware State finished the quarter on an 8-5 run to cut the Bison lead, 15-8.
The second half was all Howard as the Bison held the Hornets to 3-of-14 shooting from the floor. HU outscored DSU 27-11 in the second quarter. Howard slowly built a 24-point lead cemented by a
Kaniyah Harris layup to take a 39-15 lead with 3:26 left in the second quarter. Howard ended the half up, 42-19.
The Bison opened the third quarter on a 10-2 run to take a 52-21 lead on a pair of Howell free-throw.
Howard head coach
Ty Grace took the foot of the gas the rest of the way. Nine of ten players that saw action played 15 plus minutes for the first time this season. Howard bench outscored Delaware St., 31-2. Every plater that saw action scored two points or more.
The Bison cruised through the fourth quarter onto their 11th win of the season, defeating the Hornets 83-49.
Howell paced the Bison scoring a career-high 23 points.
Vanessa Udoji scored a season-high [14pts], and
Nyla Cooper chipped in 11 points.
Marissa Steel saw her most action of the season and took advantage, recording a team-high seven rebounds while putting up five points and three steals. Fort-Davis also brought down seven rebounds and was a point shy of a double-double.
The Bison defense held the Hornets to a season-low 47 shots, recorded 12 steals, and forced 20 turnovers.
Howard's offense dished out a season-high 20 assists.
Nyla Cooper [5] and
Kaniyah Harris [6] dished out career-highs. In addition, the Bison was on fire from beyond the arc connecting on 11 shots from downtown for a season-best .379 3FG shooting percentage. The last time the Bison knocked down double-digit three-pointers was when they defeated the Hornets 71-60 in Burr Gymnasium [1/30/21]. Former Bison standout
Jayla Thornton went 7-of-12 from long range.
The Bison will host a rare Thursday night MEAC game versus MEAC Conference leading Norfolk State. The Thursday night tilt is a make-up game for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff. The game was originally slated for Jan. 15 was postponed due to Covid-19 protocol in the Spartans program.
