Howard's Brown Hits Game Winner

Lifts Team Over Hampton

Zykia Brown’s 3-pointer with two seconds left lifted Howard to a 48-47 victory over Hampton Saturday afternoon in the conference opener for both teams at Burr Gymnasium.

The Lady Bison led by 10 in the first half before Hampton rallied for a double-digit lead after the break. Howard (3-4, 1-0 MEAC) started chipping away at the lead with just over seven minutes remaining and cut an 11-point deficit down to four with 3:50 left. Tamoria Holmes hit a pair of free-throws with 1:24 remaining to close Bison within two points of the lead at 47-45 before Brown connected on a 3-pointer as time expired to give Howard the victory.

"I'm so proud of our team tonight," Howard coach Niki Reid Geckeler said. "We started off strong and I was pleased with the way we competed. We could have closed it out by hitting a few more free throws earlier in the game, but we played tough down to the final possession."

Brown finished with a game-high 16 points for the Bison and Saadia Doyle added 10 points and 11 rebounds, her sixth double-double of the year. Kara Smith added 10 points.

Bernadette Fortune’s 14 points led Hampton and Breanna Jones chipped in 13 for the Pirates. The loss dropped Hampton to 2-4 and 0-1 in conference play.

Howard had a six-point lead at the half but Hampton took an 8-0 run midway thru the second stanza for a 35-28 lead with 11:13 left. The Pirates extended its lead to 41-30 but Howard responded by outscoring Hampton 8-2 over the next few minutes. Doyle’s free-throws and a basket by Smith brought Howard within four points of the lead.

The teams traded free-throws and turnovers with neither gaining more than a four-point advantage before the Pirates held a 47-45 lead with 1:24 left.

Howard is off for one week and returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 12 with a matchup against cross-town rival George Mason. Game time at the Patriot Center is slated for 2 p.m.
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Freshman forward Saadia Doyle (Atlanta, Ga./Columbia H.S.) was named the MEAC Rookie of the Week.

Doyle averaged a double-double of 13.5 points and 11 rebounds to aid the Lady Bison to a 2-0 mark last week. She totaled 27 points and 22 rebounds in the outings and posted her sixth double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds in a conference win against Hampton.

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