Women's Basketball

Howard’s Depth and Pressure Defense Too Much For Norfolk State

Boxscore

Washington, DC—February 4—Brittney James scored a team-high 18 points to lead six players in double figures as Howard University ran past Norfolk State, 103-74 in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference women’s game at Burr Gymnasium.

            The Lady Bison (9-10 overall, 6-4 in the MEAC) bolted out to a 50-41 halftime advantage and never looked back in posting their largest point total in four years.  Howard used a combination of its deep bench and relentless full-court pressure to overwhelm the Spartans (6-13 overall, 3-7 in the MEAC).

            “We have been working on our rotation throughout the season,” explained Howard Coach Cathy Parson.  “We are now in the second half of the conference schedule and I think the players have finally settled into their roles.  We had a good practice this week and it showed.  I thought we played very well.”  Howard held on defeat Norfolk State, 75-72 on January 7 in Norfolk, VA.

            “They came at us with their full-court press and we did not handle it well,” added Norfolk State Coach James Sweat.  “Howard played for 40 minutes and we did not.  It’s as simple as that.”

            James, who is nursing an injured shoulder, hit on 7 of 13 shots in only 25 minutes.  Junior forward Melloni Benson contributed 15 in 17 minutes and junior forward Sequoya Moore garned a career-best 12 to go along with 6 rebounds.

            But the story was the play of the Lady Bison reserves, who combined to out-score their counterparts, 41-19.  Junior guard Christina Aden and junior forward Courtney Smiley each tallied 12 while sophomore guard Asha Santee scored 10 on 4 of 5 shooting in 13 minutes.

            “Asha has gotten more playing time the past three games because of Brittney’s injury,” said Coach Parson.  “She is becoming more and more comfortable and is showing what she is capable of.”

            Norfolk State shot the ball fairly well (45 percent), but the 35 turnovers they committed were too much to overcome.

            The Spartans were led by sophomore guard Ashley Green, who led all scorers with 22 and junior guard Ashley Bowman, who finished with 10 points and 7 assists.

NEXT UP: Norfolk State travels to Princess Anne, MD to take Maryland Eastern Shore on Monday at 5:30 p.m. while Howard looks to extend its win streak to three when it hosts rival Hampton University at 6 p.m. in Burr Gymnasium.

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