BOX SCORE

PHOTO GALLERY (Courtesy of Yusuf Abdullah)

(BOWIE, Md.)  DeVaughn Hailey and Lillian McGill knocked down a pair of free throws in the final 10.6 seconds to help the University of the District of Columbia Firebirds defeat Bowie State's Lady Bulldogs 55-52.  The win improves UDC's Lady Firebirds to 13-2 overall but evens the BSU Lady Bulldogs record at 6-6. 

Much of the University of the District of Columbia's success came inside as the Lady Firebirds outrebounded Bowie State 37 to 25 and scored 26 points in the paint. The Lady Firebirds doubled Bowie State's first half rebound total, tallying 20 in the first 20 minutes. McGill and Stacey Griffith (Fredericksburg, Va.) pulled down four each in the first period to lead the visitors. Of Bowie State's 10 first half rebounds, senior Denisha Kenion (Ft. Washington, MD, Oxon Hill) was responsible for four.

Bowie State took a 24-23 advantage into halftime thanks to three straight free throws by junior Bianca Lee (Temple Hills, MD, Archbishop Carroll).  Lee led both teams in first half scoring, putting 10 points in the book. As a team, the BSU Lady Bulldogs hit eight-of-25 from the field (32 percent) and six-of-seven (86 percent) from the free throw line. The UDC Firebirds made nine-of-22 field goal attempts (41 percent), which included two-of-five (40 percent) behind the arc and three-of-four (75 percent) from the free throw line.

The University of the District of Columbia and Bowie State University each experienced a six-point cushion in the second half of play. A three-point bucket by Deyshia Williams (Camden, N.J.) at the 12:01 mark gave the Lady Firebirds a 37-31 lead and a pair of free throws by BSU sophomore Teaunsha Robinson (Baltimore, MD, Baltimore Polytechnic) put the home team in front at 49-43 with 3:59 remaining in the game. Turnovers played a role in both swings with UDC committing seven and BSU committing three.

Nicole Cooper (Ft. Washington, Md.) hit a 3-pointer to trim the University of D.C. deficit to three (49-46) and Hailey followed that up with a three of her own at the 2:18 mark to tie the game at 49. Bowie State's Lee made two-of-three free throws to give the home team a three-point cushion with 1:34 left in regulation. A layup by UDC's McGill closed the margin to one and free throw by Hailey knotted the contest up for the fourth time with 11 ticks left on the A.C. Jordan Arena clock. Following a foul by Bowie State freshman Juliette Turner (Silver Spring, MD, John F. Kennedy), Hailey added one more free throw and McGill sealed the deal with a pair of free throws.

Williams and Hailey paced the University of the District of Columbia with 15 and 12 points respectively. McGill and Griffith ripped down a game-high seven rebounds each for the victors.

Lee wrapped up the evening with a game-high 21 points and a team-high six rebounds to lead Bowie State. Other double figure scorers for BSU's Lady Bulldogs include Robinson with 13 and sophomore Brittney Jackson (Laurel, MD, Laurel) with 11 points. Kenion dished out a game-high seven assists in the loss.

Bowie State hits the road for the next two games, playing twin bills with the BSU men at Johnson C. Smith (1/15) and Livingstone (1/17) before returning home to play a key CIAA Eastern Division game against Virginia Union on January 22nd at 5:30 p.m.