DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - -If Viola Davis can make a hit TV show about "How To Get Away With Murder," what could Vanessa Blair Lewis do with a project titled "How To Get Away With 35 Turnovers"
It probably wouldn't be appointment viewing, but Saturday's 66-56 escape from Hampton brought the Lady Wildcats to a second straight Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference regular season championship.
Bethune-Cookman (15-9 overall, 11-1 MEAC) was up 21 points in the third quarter before Hampton's press got the Lady Pirates back in the contest.
Taylor Houston (11 points) was able to get some lay-ups when the Lady Wildcats did beat the press, but Hampton got it down to 59-56 on Monnaz Finney Smith's lay-up with 1:22 remaining.
Needing a big shot, the Lady Wildcats got one from senior
Kendra Cooper, who hit a three-pointer with 1:02 left to put B-CU 62-56, then
Emily Williams and Cooper each made two free throws in the final minute as a six-game losing streak to the Pirates came to an end.
"I hadn't hit a 3 all game," Cooper said. "It felt good when I let it go."
A season-high turnover count … and 58 free throw percentage. That's what Hampton does to a team, Blair Lewis said.
"They make you play sloppy," Blair Lewis said of Hampton. "But this game shows a lot of the resiliency of our team. This was the kind of game we would lose during non-conference."
B-CU did what it does best – holding a team under 30 percent shooting as it led from start to finish after jumping out to leads of 7-0 and 12-4. The Lady Wildcats got good bench support with eight points from
Armani Walker.
Ahead 25-16 at halftime, the Lady Wildcats made seven of their first ten shots in the third quarter to pull away to their 23 point lead. Cooper (13 points) and Hunt (12 points, five steals) and
Chasimmie Brown combined for 15 of B-CU's third quarter points.
With Norfolk State and North Carolina A&T losing Saturday, Bethune-Cookman can clinch the regular season title Monday against Norfolk State.
"All I know is that the schedule says we have a game Monday at 5:30 p.m." Blair Lewis said. "We're taking it one game at a time."
