WASHINGTON (February 21, 2025) – Howard University women's basketball team begins a four-game road swing at rival Morgan State (MSU) Saturday (Feb. 22). Tipoff is set for 2 p.m., inside the Hill Fieldhouse in Baltimore.
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GAME 25
EVENT: Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC)
PARTICIPANTS: Howard (Bison) at Morgan State (Bears)
DATE: February 22, 2025
PLACE: Hill Fieldhouse in Baltimore
TIME: 2 p.m.
LAST TIMEOUT
HOWARD
Monday (Feb. 24), freshman standout
Saniyah King (Washington) scored a game-high 24 points and forwards
Zennia Thomas (Cleveland) and
Kaiya Creek (Seat Pleasant, Md.) came off the bench to combine for 26 points to help the Bison pull away to a 72-59 win over Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) at Burr Gymnasium.
MORGAN STATE
Morgan State (11-13, 4-5 MEAC) is coming off a 71-53 road loss at North Carolina Central Monday (Feb. 17). The Bears, who have dropped five-of-their-last-seven, were led Nia Green (15 points) and Naya Ojukwu (13 points & four assists).
WHEN THEY LAST MET
On Jan. 11, King scored a game-high 23 points to lead four Bison in double figures as HU won, 75-58, at Burr Gymnasium.
Ojukwu tallied 16 points and six rebounds and Laila Fair finished with 11 points and eight rebounds in the loss.
SERIES RECORD
This is the 28
th meeting between the two Beltway rivals since the 2005-06 season with Howard holding a slight 14-13 advantage during that period. The Bison have won five-in-a-row, including this year's 75-58 win at Burr Gymnasium. The Bears last won, 71-49, in D.C. (January 21, 2023).
THE COACHES
Howard is coached by
Ty Grace (New Haven, '99), who is in her ninth season. The Bears are coached by the venerable Ed Davis, Jr. (West Virginia State, '70), who is in his eighth season at the helm.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
HOWARD PROBABLE STARTERS
No. Name 2024-25 Stats
1
Destiny Howell 14.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, team-leading 53 3FGM & 85-percent FT%
23
Tyana Walker 5.0 ppg & 2.1 rpg
25
Nile Miller 5.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg, team-leading 26 blocks & 41 steals
0
Saniyah King 11.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg, team-leading 120 assists & 39 steals
24
Zennia Thomas 10.6 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 51-percent FG% & 67 offensive rebounds
HOWARD KEY RESERVES
No. Name 2024-25 Stats
22
Kaiya Creek 5.7 ppg & 3.1 rpg
14
Vanessa Blake 4.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg & team-leading 58-percent FG%
11
Sa'lah Hemingway 2.4 ppg, 2.3 rpg & 13 blocks
MORGAN STATE PROBABLE STARTERS
No. Name 2024-25 Stats
10 Emily Jones 1.3 ppg & 2.0 rpg
2 Gabrielle Johnson 8.7 ppg
5 Nia Green 4.6 ppg & 4.0 rpg
22 Jael Butler 8.8 ppg & 4.6 rpg
13 Naya Ojukwu 16.3 ppg, 9.1 rpg & 49-percent FG% (played in 10 games)
MORGAN STATE KEY RESERVES
No. Name 2024-25 Stats
14 Laila Fair 9.6 ppg, 7.5 rpg & team-leading 27 blocks
4 Ja'la Bannerman 8.9 ppg & 1.5 rpg
20 Michael Bogans 5.9 ppg & 2.4 rpg
0 Tamara Rumph 6.6 ppg & 62 assists
GAME NOTES
BISON HOOVES
Destiny Howell (Queens, N.Y.), the sharpshooting graduate guard, is now 13
th on the all-time Howard scoring list with 1,258 points and needs 59 points to move up to 10
th all-time in school history…Howell has made 33-of-her-last-36 from the charity stripe while recording at least one three-pointer in all but two games this season...Howell is the only Howard player to start all 24 games this season…Howell is on schedule to have a career season in assists...Howell has scored 20 points or more six times this season...Howell has recorded 25 assists in the past 10 games and eight steals in the past four contests…King, the favorite for MEAC Rookie of the Year, has been named Rookie of the Week nine times this season...Howell leads the MEAC in assists (120), dealing out 52 assists in the past nine games…King has reached double figures in scoring in 12-of-the-past-13 games, including a career-best 24 points versus UMES (Feb. 17)…During the team's recent surge, Creek has provided a huge boost with 31 points off the bench the past two games, connecting on 10-of-15 from the floor, including a sizzling 8-for-9 from downtown…junior forward
Nile Miller (Haddonfield, N.J.) has also provided defense for the team with 17 rebounds and five blocks during the past three games…sophomore forward
Sa'lah Hemingway (San Bernardino, Calif.) has produced 20 points, 16 rebounds and two blocks in the past three games as a reserve…Senior forward
Vanessa Blake (Summerville, S.C.) has also made her presence felt with 14 rebounds, 13 points and six blocks the past four games.
BEAR NOTES
Morgan State has had 15 different players start at least one game this season.
MEAC STATS
HOWARD
Howard is second in turnover margin, scoring defense (61.3 ppg) and field goal defense (37-percent).
Individually, Howell leads the conference in three-pointers made per game (2.2), second in free throw shooting (85-percent), fifth in scoring (14.5 ppg), 10
th in minutes (30.2), 11
th in three-point shooting (30-percent) and 12
th in assists (2.2)…King leads the conference in assists (5.0), fifth in free throw shooting (71-percent), sixth in minutes (32.1), ninth in three-point shooting (34-percent) and 11
th in scoring (11.7)…Thomas leads the conference in field goal shooting (51-percent) and fourth in rebounding (6.8)…Miller is fifth in blocked shots, ninth in rebounding and 10
th in steals…Hemingway is 13
th in blocked shots.
MORGAN STATE
Morgan State leads the MEAC in team offensive rebounding (16.2).
Individually, Tamara Rumph is seventh in steals and ninth in assists…Ja'la Bannerman is eighth in three-point shooting (33-percent)…Jael Butler is third in field goal shooting (46-percent) and sixth in blocked shots.
NCAA STATS
HOWARD
King ranks second behind Liv McGill (Florida) in assists among all freshmen…King is one of five freshmen who average at least 10 points and four assists per game.
NEXT UP
Howard continues its current four-game road trip when it comes back to Baltimore to take on the Eagles of Coppin State Monday (Feb. 24) at 5:30 p.m.
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at
www.HUBison.com.
