Lady Rattlers Defeat Lady Bison
By Julee' O'Neal, W. Basketball, Broadcast Journalism Major '13
Tallahassee FL- Howard University dropped an 80-75 decision to Florida A&M in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference match at the Lawson Center. The 75 points marks the most HU has scored this season. With the loss, The Lady Bison drop to 5-14 on the season and (2-4) in conference.
Saadia Doyle recorded her 10th double-double of the year with 26 points and 13 rebounds in 40 minutes of play. The red-shirt sophomore did not record a turnover in the entire game. Cheyenne Curley-Payne finished with 17 points, five rebounds, dished out seven assists, and recorded just one turnover in 34 minutes. Portia Deterville tallied a season-high 10 points and five rebounds.
For the game, Howard finished 46 percent from the field, while FAMU recorded a 44 percent clip. HU also held a 32-26 advantage on the boards over the Lady Rattlers. The Lady Bison bench also outscored the Florida A&M bench 17-13.
The Rattlers (8-9, 4-2 MEAC) started the game with a lay-up by Tameka Mc Kelton. From there the Lady Rattlers went on a 6-1 run. The Lady Bison ended the run with a lay-up by Kara Smith, which was the first basket of the game. FAMU pushed the advantage to 19-to-7 midway in the first period.
HU went into the half with a 36-to-27 deficit.
Howard came out of the locker room with intensity and went on a 12-4 run - highlighted by a traditional three-point play by Tamoria Holmes - to take its first lead of the game (40-41) at the 16:21 mark.
The two teams traded baskets over a six-plus span until a basket by the Lady Rattlers' Tameka Mc Kelton tied it at 59-59 with just over nine minutes remaining in regulation. FAMU proceeded to score seven-straight unanswered points until Adelle Walton's triple at 4:31 ended the run. The Lady Rattlers answered with five more points, however. FAMU sustained the lead for the rest of the game.
The Rattlers went 25-for-34 from behind the charity stripe. Antonia Bennett finished with a game-high 27 points – including 21 points in the second-half. Tameka McKelton tallied 17 points behind a 10-for-12 mark at the stripe.
The Lady Bison are back in action on Mon. Jan. 24 at Bethune-Cookman University beginning at 6 p.m.