DOVER, Del. - The Delaware State University women's basketball team recorded too many mental mistakes Saturday evening as they dropped their sixth straight game in a 69-56 loss to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in front of a raucous 875 at Memorial Hall.

"I'm very disappointed that we gave up 39 points in the second half," commented DSU head coach Ed Davis.  "Despite this total, with six to seven minutes left, it was still a six point game.  Mentally we hung in there as long as we could.  We have to play through their mistakes, but we also have to understand the responsibility of protecting the basketball."

The Lady Hornets (3-13, 0-3 MEAC) started the game with great ball movement and posted an 8-3 lead five minutes into play.  The Lady Hawks (4-10, 2-1 MEAC) rallied to cut the lead to one at 8-7 over the next two minutes.

A layup from redshirt freshman Tierra Hawkins (Clinton, Md.) gave Del State their largest lead of the game of eight points at the 10:17 mark.

Over the final minutes of the half, the two teams exchanged points before UMES took a 30-29 lead going into halftime with a jumper from Karona Roach.

The Lady Hornets outshot the Lady Hawks, 41.7 percent to 39.1 percent from the field in addition to outrebounding them, 18-12, in the first half.

Over the first six minutes of the second half, DSU and UMES exchanged the lead seven times.  A jumper from Roach at 14:15 gave the Lady Hawks a 40-39 lead that they would never surrender.

After two free throws from junior Kianna D'Oliveira (Newport News, Va.) brought Del State within six at 47-53, UMES went on a 10-2 run to go up, 49-65, with two minutes remaining in the game.

The Lady Hornets would never recover en route to the 69-56 loss.

"We showed up ready to play, but our second half focus was off," stated D'Oliveira.  "We'll be alright, we just have to put two complete halves together."

Sophomore Tasia Bristow (Baltimore, Md.) led DSU in scoring with 15 points while D'Oliveira contributed 10 points in addition to a team-high eight rebounds and three blocked shots.

UMES was guided by a career performance by senior guard Amber Cook, who posted 21 points, six rebounds, three steals and an 11-for-11 effort from the free throw line.

The Lady Hornets take nearly a week off before hosting Bethune-Cookman next Saturday at 5 p.m. at Memorial Hall.