(Nashville, Tenn.) – Taking on one of the top programs in the nation, the Delaware State women's basketball team (0-2) more than held its own on the road against Southeastern Conference (SEC) foe No. 25 Vanderbilt (3-0), but the Lady Commodores erased an 11-point halftime deficit to come away with a 73-67 victory.

To begin the game, the Lady Hornets jumped out to an 8-2 lead after a jumper made by guard Raine Bankston, which forced a Vandy 30-second timeout at the 16:26 mark.

As the half progressed, DSU opened the game up by way of an 11-0 run to make it a 21-13 contest with 9:01 left before halftime, headlined by forward Deanna Harmon scoring five points during this span.

Despite cutting the Lady Hornets' lead down to two with under seven minutes to play, DSU continued its strong play and closed the half on a furious 12-2 run, capped off by guard Diamond Williams draining a three to put her squad up 34-23 heading into the locker room.   

At the midway point, Harmon led all scorers with 13 points while shooting a blistering 6-for-8 (.750) from the field, to go along with four rebounds and two steals.  On the glass, forward Tierra Hawkins pulled down eight rebounds, whereas guard Jade Washington dished out three assists.

On the defensive end, the Lady Hornets held Vandy to 25 percent shooting (8-of-32) and forced 18 turnovers.

In the second stanza, with the DSU leading 48-38 after two free throws made by Hawkins, Harmon picked up her fourth foul at the 13:43 mark, which forced head coach Tamika Louis to make a substiution.  

At that point, Vanderbilt began to chip to away at DSU's lead by converting on two fast break layups, whereas guard Christina Foggie hit two free throws to make it a 48-44 ball game with 11:43 left in regulation.

With the score now 52-46, VU's Kylee Smith nailed a three, followed by a jumper to give the Lady Commodores a one point lead. 

Sensing the game slipping away, Louis reinserted Harmon at the 9:15 mark, but the lone senior for DSU picked up her fifth and final foul a minute later, finishing the night with 15 points (7-of-9), six rebounds and four steals.

Despite losing Harmon, the Lady Hornets regained the lead, 57-55, after Williams' second three and two Rai. Bankston free throws.

Nevertheless, DSU would never be ahead again, as VU went on a 16-3 run to go up 71-60 with under two minutes play. 

Delaware State eventually cut the deficit down to four with a N'Kayah Kersey three with 36 seconds remaining, but Foggie scored with 10 seconds to play to seal the 73-67 win for VU.

After the game, Louis stated the game plan for her squad was simple and wanted her squad to just go out and play.

 “We wanted to make it more about us and play our style, versus trying to adjust to bigger team like we did that against Old Dominion (last game),” said the second-year head coach. 

“So this game, we're going to make them play the way we play.”

At game's end, guard Raven Bankston finished with a team-high 17 points (6-of-18), along with four assists, whereas Hawkins finished with her first double double of the season by pouring in 12 points (5-of-13) and pulling down a game-high 14 rebounds.

With this performance, Hawkins is two points shy of 1,000 career points.

In the case of VU, Foggie led her squad in points (16), rebounds (10) and assists (8).

Coming up next, the Lady Hornets will look to bounce back next Wednesday (5:30 p.m.) in their home opener against Wilmington.