Basketball: Women's
No. 17 Lady Lions improve to 8-2 with a 76-51 smacking of UMES
Maggie Lucas scored a team-high 20 points, Nikki Greene added 13, and the No. 17 Lady Lions trounced Maryland-Eastern Shore on Sunday in the Bryce Jordan Center, 76-51.
It was a surprise to many that UMES managed to have the score at 40-30 when the first half ended. As the Lady Lions have done many times this year, they started the game a bit slowly and stepped up in the second half to make the game a blowout.
For instance, the Lady Lions were trailing Washington State 38-35 at the half, but ended up winning 72-60. They were losing to Middle Tennessee State 32-26 at the half of that game, but won it 65-49.
After the game, coach Coquese Washington joked about how the Lady Lions have been able to bounce back in the second halves of games.
“I’m just such a really smart coach,” she said. “At halftime I sprinkle magic pixie dust on them.”
On a more serious note, she added, “It’s all about the effort. We played smarter on defense, gambled less, and have done a better job of being in tune to what we need to do as a team.”
Point guard Alex Bentley was an assist away from her second career double-double after she recorded her first ever in the Lady Lions’ last game, a win against Virginia Tech. For the second straight game, every Lady Lion that played scored.
Although the Lady Lions (8-2) had much more height than UMES (2-5), they ended up tied in rebounds with 46 apiece.
The game took place on guard Gizelle Studevent’s birthday, and she recorded a season-high eight points.