Lady Bison Roll Past Spartans; Win Second-Straight Conference Game
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Howard University women's basketball team cruised to a 65-43 win over Norfolk State (6-8, 0-5 MEAC) on Mon. Jan. 17 at Burr Gymnasium. This is HU's second-straight win by a double-digit margin. With the victory, the Lady Bison improve to 2-3 in conference play and 5-13 overall.
"Tamoria played great tonight," said head coach Niki Geckeler. "She made good decisions all around, and she was able to get others involved with her efforts."
Tamoria Holmes netted a career-high 22 points behind 8-of-13 shooting from the floor. Saadia Doyle tallied 17 points and pulled down a team-best eight rebounds with three steals. Cheyenne Curley-Payne had a solid performance with 13 points and eight assists.
"Cheyenne has done a great job as a leader," said Geckeler of her starting sophomore point-guard. "Everyone is able to feed off of her."
In the first half, HU struck first with a layup by Holmes within the opening minute of play. The Lady Bison went on a 13-3 run – highlighted by a Curley-Payne three-pointer – to take a comfortable 19-9 advantage at the 8:21 mark. HU took a 31-21 lead at the break.
The second stint was dominated by HU. The Lady Bison pushed the margin to as many as 23 (59-36) with just under six minutes remaining in regulation. NSU did not have an answer and Howard rolled to its second-straight win.
For the game, the Lady Bison held a 24-20 advantage in the paint. However, Norfolk State won the battle of the boards, 42-33. The Spartan bench also outscored the Lady Bison bench 20-6.
Howard shot just under 50 percent from the field (23-for-27) while holding Norfolk State to a 21.7 clip (13-for-60).
HU converted 19 Norfolk State turnovers into 21 points. "When we play good defense, it's a confidence booster," commented Geckeler.
Norfolk State's Batavia Owens finished with 15 points and a game-best 13 rebounds.