by Keith Henry
WINSTON-SALEM, NC- Meetings between UMES and Delaware State seem to be destined for classics that come down to the last few minutes. It wasn't different in the first round of the MEAC Women's Basketball Tournament as UMES' offensive rebounding and big defense from Adobi Agabasi keyed the Lady Hawks' 52-44 victory over the Lady Hornets at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum this afternoon.
The difference for UMES was definitely on the boards. Delaware State head coach Ed Davis warned his kids about that very same stat before the game today saying, “Key stat for us that we were leary of is the rebounding stats. We knew from the previous game that we had beat them (that) we had the rebounding edge. That was the key in which I told the kids we had to have today in order to win. I felt in the first half that we did a great job. The second half, we kind of broke down and they had a lot of second chance shots. As a result of that, it put pressure on us to score in half court sets.”
UMES (12-18) out-rebounded the Lady Hornets 44-35 and outscored them 15-5 when it came to second chance points. Coach Batchelor said, “I thought our depth was what allowed us to do that. Because we were able to stick some kids in that didn't have to play a whole lot of minutes as freshmen. I thought our depth and determination down the stretch was huge. I thought our post players played tough and physical. They held their ground.”
Adobi Agbasi was a nightmare for DSU on the day. She recorded six of the team's seven blocks, making things tough for Delaware State (9-20) inside the paint. Coach Davis said about Agbasi, “You can't take away what she did well. We tried to double her. She's got long arms, plays with intensity. I think our kids were trying to draw contact and she did a good job of avoiding it. In a lot of cases, she got her hands on some blocked shots. Hats off to her, she did a great job.”
Agbasi said, “Communication was the key to our defense.”
Difference for the #7 seed Lady Hawks came with 7:01 left and the score tied at 42 after a free throw from DSU's Brittany Washington, who had a double-double with 12 points and 16 rebounds. UMES missed a couple of shots inside and Agbasi kept with the ball, drawing the foul on their third shot attempt inside the paint. Agabasi converted one of two free throws to give the Lady Hawks a 43-42 lead with 5:26 left
UMES' defense kept Delaware State without a field goal the last 10:12 of the game, only limiting them to five free throws during that stretch.
The Lady Hawks take on #2 seed Morgan State today at 10 am in the MEAC Quarterfinals.
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