Lady Hawks use strong second half to down rival DSU, head to MEAC quarterfinals

The Maryland Eastern Shore women's basketball team overcame a slow start, and used the second half to pull away, defeating rival Delaware State 77-60 in the first round of the MEAC tournament.

"I thought Delaware State played a really good first five minutes, I think their energy was higher than ours, thought they made shots, and they came ready to play- and it put us on our heels," said UMES head coach Fred Batchelor. The Hawks fell behind 7-0 to the Hornets to start the game.

After a back and forth second quarter, the Hawks went into the locker room trailing 33-27. "What we were talking about in the locker room was even when things don't go well, we still have to play with a spirit of determination," said Batchelor. His Hawks used that spirit to outscore the Hornets 26-15 in the third quarter. With a 5-point lead headed to the 4th quarter, the Hawks once again seperated themselves, doubling up DSU in points 24-12.

Alexus Hicks hit 4-3 pointers in the crucial third quarter, and led the Hawks with 18 points. Backcourt mate Cyani Byrom finished with 17, with forwards Keyera Eaton (12 points) and reserve Martha Thompson (11 points) also finished in double-figures. For DSU, Najai Pollard finished with a game-high 22 points.

The Lady Hawks move on to play 2-seed Bethune Cookman on Wednesday at 2 PM for a chance to advance to the conference semifinal.