DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Bethune-Cookman Lady Wildcats (6-14, 3-5 MEAC) faced a tough defensive struggle in Monday night's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) action at Richard V. Moore Gymnasium against the Howard Lady Bison (8-11, 4-2 MEAC). Although B-CU led the majority of the contest, turnovers proved costly in the closing moments, surrendering the lead with just 15 seconds remaining in the 47-45 loss.
The first half featured three lead changes and four ties, as the game remained within two possessions the entirety of the first half, and the largest advantage going to B-CU with 16 seconds remaining in the period, going up six on a Kendra Cooper three pointer. However, a Jasmine Hill buzzer-beater on the other end sent the teams to the locker room locked in a 24-20 tug-of-war.
Although both teams came out firing in the second half, B-CU's defense quickly cooled Howard's offense and the Lady Wildcats grew their lead to as many as nine points with 13:20 to go. However, over the next nine minutes, Howard chipped away at the deficit, narrowing the B-CU lead to only two with 4:25 remaining. Four Bethune-Cookman possessions with turnovers allowed the Lady Bison to twice tie the game and take the lead as Victoria Gonzalez bounced back from a Kailyn Williams block with a putback to grant HU the 47-42 advantage with 15 seconds on the clock.
The Lady Wildcats got one more opportunity, as Shakeyia Colyer's pull-up jumper took a bad bounce, falling to a defensive team rebound, allowing HU to run out the clock on the inbound and secure the MEAC victory.
Although the Lady Wildcats had won three of the previous four games, B-CU took the floor without top scorer Chastity René Taylor for the first time in 48 games. In her absence, Colyer topped the Lady Wildcats with 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals.
In addition to Taylor, the Lady Wildcats were also taking the court without Head Coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis, who delivered her first son with husband, Eric, earlier this afternoon. Coach Blair-Lewis was tuned into the contest on B-CU's CatEye Network, sending a message of support during the first half.
"What an amazing day God has blessed my husband, Eric, and I with...Giving birth to Blair Eric Lewis and watching my team compete against Howard on Cateye Network!”
For the fifth game this season, Associate Coach James Howard served as the team's standing coach in her place.
“I saw a team that got a little rattled,” Howard said. “We had our leading scorer out, and it kind of threw us out of sync. The chemistry was a little off and we made some poor decisions.”
“Not executing on offense,” Howard identified as the key component in the loss. “Not having that second scorer on the floor. We kept the lead about seven for a while, and when we had the opportunity to extend that lead, we had turnovers.”
Center Kailyn Williams put up eight points with eight rebounds. Her four blocks forced the Lady Bison to alter game plans, which allowed B-CU to gain leads. Howard shot just 28.4 percent from the field.
The Lady Wildcats turned the ball over 20 times against the Lady Bison, with HU tallying 16 points off turnovers, including 13 in the second half.
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-B-CUathletics.com-
