Howard Women Gear Up for MEAC Tournament
MEAC Women's Basketball Tournament Bracket
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The young Howard women's basketball team faces a crucial test on Thursday with a match-up against No. 5 Florida A&M. The No. 4 Lady Bison will enter the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) tournament with a first-round bye and tourney play pits HU against the Lady Rattlers this Thursday, March 11 at 2:30 pm. The first round begins on Tuesday, March 9 at the Lawrence Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C. The championship game is Saturday, March 13 at 11 am.
North Carolina A&T (14-2), the two-time defending regular season champion, has clinched the top spot in the tournament. No. 2 Hampton (12-4) follows after winning the tiebreaker over Morgan State. The Lady Bears earned the No. 3 seed while Howard and FAMU round out the top five.
In the first meeting between the two teams in January in Washington, D.C., the young Bison were able to prevail in overtime courtesy of two big plays by freshman guard Cheyenne Curley-Payne. Howard, which has only one senior on the roster and plays as many as four freshmen on the floor at any given time, won that game despite a 32-point effort by Tameka McKelton and the absence of leading scorer Zykia Brown (19 points per game), who did not play due to an injured ankle. The Bison edged the Rattlers, 49-48 in their second meeting on Feb. 20.
Both teams have challenges ahead. A victory on Thursday puts the winner in the semifinal round where they will face No. 8 South Carolina State, No. 9 Coppin State or No. 1 North Carolina A&T.