W. Basketball Ranked No. 2 in Boxtorow Division-I Women's HBCU Poll
The Howard University women's basketball team was recently ranked No. 2 in the nation in the Boxtorow Division-I Top 5 Women's HBCU Basketball Poll. The Lady Bison, who finished the 2011-12 campaign tied for the most wins in women's basketball history (24-9), placed two members on the Boxtorow Division I Women's HBCU All-America Team.
Saadia Doyle earned a spot on the first team, as she finished the season with 15 double-doubles, averaging 17 points and 8.6 boards. The Atlanta, Ga. native ranks second in the HU women's basketball all-time scoring list.
Tamoria Holmes earned second team accolades, finishing the season averaging 18.3 points per contest. The junior guard scored her 1,000th point at Delaware State on Feb. 5.
Both Doyle and Holmes were all-MEAC selections and MEAC All-Tournament picks.
The Lady Bison squad earned its first post-season bid since 2001. The team, which tied the school record for wins in a season at 24, played perhaps the most challenging schedule in the storied history of the program. The Lady Bison began the season in the Preseason WNIT and faced Number 1 ranked Baylor. The Lady Bears won by a lopsided margin, but it proved to be beneficial to the Howard team as the season would progress.
The Lady Bison went on to play St. John's from the Big East and Ohio State from the Big 10, both of whom were ranked in the preseason poll. Howard would go on play five teams which are playing in the NCAA tournament.
Despite the losses, the exposure to that level of competition helped when Howard later went on to post road victories over Wake Forest of the ACC and Seton Hall from the Big East. The Lady Bison were able to parlay those wins into both a nine-game, and a 11-game win streak.
Much of the success had to do with the team's defense, which is ranked among the tops in the nation in scoring defense and in three-point shooting defense. Moreover, the Lady Bison were able to take care of the ball, finishing the season averaging only 13 turnovers per game to rank in the Top 10 in the country in that statistical category.
