Women's Basketball

Carlisle, Smiley Lead Howard To Win Over Morgan State

Washington, DC-January 29--Shannon Carlisle scored a game-high 19 points and Courtney Smiley recorded a double-double to lead Howard University to a 74-67 win over Morgan State University in a women's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game at Burr Gymnasium.

            Carlisle, who returned to the starting lineup after being forced to come off the bench in the previous game, got the Lady Bison off to their best start of the season, scoring 8 of her team's first 17 points en route to 17-6 lead.

            "I wanted to play well because we needed a win," said Carlisle.  "I got off to a good start and it proved to be positive for us."

            The Lady Bears (10-8 overall, 5-4 in the MEAC) aided Howard's cause by committing 22 first half turnovers.  The Lady Bison gladly accepted the gifts and cruised to a 45-29 halftime advantage.

            Howard (2-17 overall, 2-7 in the MEAC) appeared to have the game in hand until it lost two starters-Chris Aden and Melloni Benson-to injuries early in the second half.  Morgan State reeled off a 14-0 run that cut the deficit to seven at 64-57 with over four minutes still remaining.

            Then Smiley, who was coming off a sub-par performance, converted a three-point play to stop the bleeding and stem the tide as the Lady Bison closed out the game.

            "It goes back to what I have been saying all along," said Howard coach Cathy Parson.  "She's a blue-collared player and the glue to our team.  She holds this team together.  That was a key play for us."

            Carlisle finished with her best all-around game of the season.  In addition to her 19 points, she grabbed 6 rebounds, handed out four assists and created havoc for Morgan State all night.

            Smiley registered her third double-double (15 points, 10 rebounds) in five games while Ashee Santee picked up the slack for Aden with a season-high 13 points.

            "This win shows that we can compete with the better teams in this conference," said Coach Parson.  "This should give us some confidence."

            The Lady Bears were led by Corin Adams with 17 and Brittney Griffin with 10 points.  Morgan State did win the battle of the boards with a 51-41 advantage.  Phylicia Jones and Latricia Jones (no relation) grabbed 12 and 11, respectively.

NEXT UP: The Lady Bison will try to extend their win streak when they host South Carolina State on Saturday at 2 pm.

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