DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Lady Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman faced MEAC opponent Hampton University, Saturday afternoon at Moore Gymnasium, in pivotal conference matchup. The Lady Wildcats also sought to get one back from earlier this season, when the Lady Pirates dominated B-CU in a 36-point loss in Virginia. Today's matchup was for position in the MEAC. After battling it out in a tight game the first half, the Lady Wildcats were able to separate themselves during a seven-minute Hampton scoring drought and carry that to the win, 62-53.
Today's game was a very special and busy one for the Lady Wildcats. While celebrating B-CU's official Homecoming for the basketball season, the Lady Wildcats were also holding their annual PinkZone Game for breast cancer awareness, in addition to honoring three player seniors, Keturah Newkirk (not in action in 2009-10), Corinne Owens, and Euneshia Proctor. The team also recognized Manager/Video Coordinator Roderick Carter as part of the celebration.
The game was also special for the Lady Wildcats, in earning redemption for their worst conference loss of the season, losing 81-44 on January 23, when they faced Hampton on the road. Additionally, this game was crucial in jockeying for position in the final MEAC standings, heading into tournament seeding.
“I'm very proud of the lady 'Cats today,” said Head Coach Vanessa Inge. “As I told the ladies in the locker room, do it for the seniors, you always remember the last game in your gym; so hopefully we could show some pride and come out here and win. We got blown out, to say the least, at their place, so it was a big revenge game for us as well. There were a lot of factors going into this game, and I think our ladies responded and stayed tough.”
With several Wildcat alumni on hand to cheer the Lady Wildcats on, they faced a first half that was nothing short of a defensive shootout. B-CU got on the board first, earning free throws as they attacked the basket only three seconds into the game, but Hampton was quick to answer, setting off a tight half which featured five ties and six lead changes. Neither team was able to separate themselves, with both teams only able to tally four-point advantages in the opening period. With only six seconds remaining, the Lady Wildcats were able to get a wide-open backdoor cut on a fast break to carry a lead into the locker room, up 25-23.
Coming out in the second half, the Lady Wildcats showed determination to keep the Lady Pirates off the board. After scoring twice in the first two minutes of the half, Hampton went cold for more than seven minutes, while the Lady Wildcats capitalized and went on an eleven-point run to grab a commanding lead. B-CU took its largest lead, of thirteen, near the midpoint of the half, but worked to keep HU down as the half started to tick away. The Lady Pirates were only able to narrow the gap to seven, as the Lady Wildcats got the job done on the free throw line, making 16-of-20 in the final five minutes of the game. B-CU held on to win, 62-53.
B-CU attacked the basket inside, only shooting and making one perimeter shot in the game. Meanwhile, the Lady Wildcats were able to contain HU's outside shooting attack, which had pushed them near the top of the MEAC in the new year. While the Lady Pirates made 11 three-pointers in the first go-around, B-CU held them to only five in today's game, while also forcing a great amount of turnovers (21 total) with 14 team steals.
Utilized heavily in B-CU's inside attack, Sarah Bolden led B-CU in scoring against Hampton, with 19 points. Bolden grabbed 6 rebounds, in addition to making her mark on the defensive end with 4 steals and a block. Also scoring in double figures, Demetria Frank earned her fourth double-double of the year with 17 points and a team-high 12 rebounds, along with 5 steals. Gaining more playing time out of her reserve role, freshman forward Sharnese Neal put in 12 minutes and collected 9 points including the backdoor-cut layup that put B-CU on top for halftime.
“It's great playing at Moore [Gymnasium],” noted Inge. “This month of February has been tough, because we've been away from our home crowd for a long time, especially being in a blizzard. It was a great feeling to come home where we're very comfortable; where we're 8-1 here this season. It was great to be embraced by the crowd, especially the alumni, and going into Howard is going to be a tough game. That's going to be a revenge game [for them] because there was a last second shot that was taken by Sarah Bolden. I know the ladies will come charged and ready to step up to that challenge.”
As the season begins to wind down, every game becomes crucial for the Lady Wildcats (14-11, 9-4 MEAC). In the midst of their best in the last seven seasons, today's win places B-CU in a three-way tie (with Hampton and Morgan State) for second place in the MEAC. Next up for B-CU, Howard travels to Daytona Beach to rematch with the Lady Wildcats at the Ocean Center on Monday (Feb. 22), at 5:30 p.m.
“Every game down the stretch is important and you can't take anyone lightly,” concluded Inge. “It doesn't matter what their record is, everyone is jockeying for position in seeding purposes for the tournament. For us, we have to keep taking one game at a time and taking each game as important as the last.”
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