WASHINGTON (March 6, 2025) - Junior forward Zennia Thomas (Cleveland) recorded her fifth double-double of the season (15 points & 11 rebounds) and graduate guard Destiny Howell (Queens, N.Y.) added 15 points but a fourth-quarter run proved to be the difference as the Howard University women's basketball team fell, 68-56, to Norfolk State (NSU) in the MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) regular season finale at Burr Gymnasium.
 
The loss snapped a nine-game win streak for the Bison, who finished 19-10 (12-2 MEAC).
 
Playing without their floor general freshman guard Saniyah King (Washington) for the second straight game due to an undisclosed injury, the Bison took the early lead and controlled the tempo with Howell doing all her damage from the outside and Thomas providing effectiveness in the post area.
 
Howard led, 15-12, at the end of the first quarter.
 
The two rivals battled to a 13-13 tie in the second quarter; thus, Howard holding onto a 28-25 lead at the half.
 
The two teams took turns scoring until the Spartans made a late push to take a 43-39 lead into the final stanza.
 
Then, Howell picked up her fourth foul and the Bison went without a field goal for over five minutes. Howard trailed, 52-50, with seven minutes remaining.
 
Then, NSU's Diamond Johnson took over, scoring 15 of her game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter. During one stretch, the graduate guard converted three, three-point plays that helped open a 14-point lead at the 1:19 mark.
 
In addition to her floor leadership, King is the team's second leading scorer at 12.0 per game. Without her contributions, the Bison failed to get any rhythm and turned the ball over 26 times. The opportunistic Spartans accepted the gifts and turned them into 24 of their points.
 
Statistically, Howard was able to record 15 assists on 21 field goals. But in the end, the turnovers, Johnson's dominance and the loss of its floor general was too much to overcome.
 
Howell finished with six assists to go along with 15 points.
 
Sophomore guard Janyah Bohanon (Cleveland) came off the bench to give Howard a spark with nine points in 24 minutes of playing time.
 
For Norfolk State (27-4, 14-0 MEAC), Johnson added eight rebounds, six assists and five steals to her stat sheet. Kierra Wheeler chipped in with double-double (15 points & 10 rebounds) and Anjanae Richardson tallied 12 points in the win.
 
NEXT UP: Norfolk State will be the top seed, followed by Howard, the second seed, for the MEAC Tournament, which runs March 12-15 in Norfolk, Va.
 
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at www.HUBison.com.