WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Jordan Jefferson had 10 kills and 13 digs, and J'nai Higgins posted 23 assists and 12 digs as Bethune-Cookman  fell 3-0 (25-16,25-17,27-25) to three-time defending champion Howard 19-10 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference semifinals Saturday night.

Howard (19-10) will face North Carolina A&T, a 3-1 upset winner over Florida A&M, in Sunday's championship match.

Bethune-Cookman finishes 16-16, its first .500 season since the 2004 team went 14-12.

Sterling Williamson added six kills, and Skyla Whittaker five kills and seven blocks.

Senior Meraiah Hill, who set the single-season blocks records this year, had four blocks along with Faith Landreneaux, while Tynesha Adams added three.

The Lady Wildcats had leads of 15-10 and 19-14 in the third set, but Howard came back to tie the match at 22.  BCU had set points at 24-22 and 25-24 before the Bison sealed the match with three straight points.

Higgins, playing in her final BCU game, posted her tenth double-double of the season and finished her career with 1,415 assists, fifth on the all-time list.