DOVER, Del.  - Freshman Keyanna Tate (Beltsville, Md.) collected a career-night with 13 points and two blocked shots, but the Delaware State University women's basketball struggled down the stretch as Howard University defeated the Lady Hornets, 67-52, in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play Saturday night at Memorial Hall.

Tate went 6-for-11 from the field, including one 3-pointer in addition to a team-high five rebounds in the loss.  The forward posted 11 points in the first half to tie her previous career-high.

Sophomore teammate Tasia Bristow (Baltimore, Md.) also contributed 13 points on the night while redshirt freshman Tierra Hawkins (Clinton, Md.) recorded 10 for the Lady Hornets.  Hawkins also pulled down two boards while junior Kianna D'Oliveira (Newport News, Va.) tied a career-best three blocked shots.

The two teams kept things close in the first half, with eight lead changes and four ties.

The Lady Bison went up by as much as five at the 12:47 mark in the first half to take a 14-9 lead. 

Jumpers from Hawkins and Tate gave DSU a three point lead at 21-18 with just over four minutes remaining in the half.

With less than a minute left, the Lady Hornets continued to hold a three-point lead before Howard's India Bradford knocked down a trey to tie things at 28-all to go into halftime.

DSU outshot the Lady Bison, 47.6 percent to 34.5 percent in the first half.

Howard took a brief lead to start the second half before freshman Alexis Thornton (El Paso, Texas) scored two consecutive three-pointers to go up, 36-32, with 13:35 left in the game. 

A free throw from freshman Coreenah Redden (Wilmington, Del.) gave the Lady Hornets their largest lead of the game at 37-32 with 12:38 on the clock.

The Lady Bison responded with a commanding 12-0 run to take the 44-37 advantage.  The three-plus minute time-span included five Delaware State turnovers.

DSU was unable to respond to the scoreless draught as Howard continued to go up by as much as 14 points with just under five minutes remaining.  With two free throws from Cheyenne Curley-Payne in the final seconds, the Lady Bison took their largest lead at 67-52.

In total, the Lady Hornets (5-22; 2-12 MEAC) committed 22 turnovers to just 11 for Howard.  The Lady Bison capitalized on the DSU miscues, scoring 28 points off of turnovers, including 18 in the second half.

Tamoria Holmes led all scorers with 23 points while Saadia Doyle posted a double double of 17 points and 11 rebounds for Howard (22-7; 14-2 MEAC).

The Lady Hornets host Morgan State on Monday at 5:30 p.m. for their annual "Play 4Kay" breast cancer research day.  The regular season will wrap up Thursday, March 1 with a 5:30 p.m. tip against South Carolina State.

About Play 4Kay

Founded in December 2007, the Kay Yow Cancer Fund is a 501 c (3) charitable organization committed to being a part of finding an answer in the fight against women's cancers through raising money for scientific research, assisting the underserved and unifying people for a common cause.

The late Kay Yow, the Fund's namesake and former North Carolina State University head women's basketball coach, was a past president and founding member of the WBCA, and a galvanizing voice for the Association.  Yow was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987, and passed away on January 24, 2009, after facing her third bout with the disease.

For 2012 and beyond, the WBCA Pink Zone has been rebranded as Play 4Kay.  The mission of the initiative, which was brought to life in 2007, will remain intact: a nation of coaches raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond.  The Kay Yow Cancer Fund will continue to be the official charity of the initiative. 

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