DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Kendra Cooper scored 14 points, and
Ashanti Hunt posted a double-double of 12 points and 13 rebounds as Bethune-Cookman clinched its second straight Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference regular season championship with a 53-44 victory Monday evening on Coach Cy Court in Historic Moore Gymnasium.
Kailyn Williams posted a career-high 17 rebounds, and, with her six blocked shots, moved into eighth all-time on the NCAA Division women's career block as the Lady Wildcats (16-9 overall, 12-1 MEAC) become the first B-CU basketball team to repeat as regular season champions in the Division I era.
"For the program, this means a lot," said B-CU Head Coach Vanessa Blair Lewis. "It's a tremendous accomplishment and a credit to our seniors who have put this program on their backs."
After making just six of 37 shots in the first half, Norfolk State (14-12,9-5) made eight of its first ten in the third quarter to turn a 22-16 halftime deficit into leads of 26-22 and 32-28 midway through the period.
Two
Kanesha Battle free throws put the Lady Wildcats 34-32 with 1:32 remaining in the third. A Battle three-pointer and two
Taylor Houston gave B-CU a 39-34 lead entering the final period.
Houston's lay-up with 4:40 remaining gave B-CU its biggest at 48-36. The Spartans never got closer than seven points than the stretch.
Cooper, a senior, was 3-7 from three-point range while fellow senior Williams eclipsed her previous high of 15 rebounds set last year, also against Norfolk State. Williams now has 429 career blocks and passed Oregon State's Ruth Hamblin (425), Duke's Elizabeth Williams (426) and Cal State Fullerton's Gena Miller (428) in the blocks list
"This just shows the work we put in," said Cooper.
Hunt, a sophomore, posted her third double-double of the season, and her 13 boards were a career-high.
Battle,
Armani Walker,
Lyndsey Edwards and
Chasimmie Brown combined for 17 B-CU bench points.
Gabrielle Swinson led Norfolk State with 16 points.
The Lady Wildcats are assured of the No. 1 seed at the MEAC tournament March 6-11 in Norfolk, Va.
