(Washington D.C.) – Thursday evening, the Delaware State women's basketball team (3-9, 0-2 MEAC) came up short on the road to the Howard Bison (5-8, 1-0 MEAC), 70-64, despite double-double performances by forward Tierra Hawkins and guard/forward Deanna Harmon.  

With this loss, the Lady Hornets extended their season-long losing streak to six games.

To begin the contest, DSU led 13-4 at the 15:20 mark with Hawkins scoring six points on all three attempts, while the defense forced four turnovers. 

However, HU answered later in the period with a 9-2 run, which forced a DSU timeout with 11:29 remaining in the opening half.  The Bison later took their first lead of the game, 18-17, after guard Shavonne Duckett connected down low at the 9:11 mark.

Nevertheless, DSU battled back to outscore the Bison, 10-7, the rest of the half to take a 27-26 lead into the locker room. 

At the midway point, the Lady Hornets scored 22 points in the paint and 11 points off turnovers, while Harmon scored 10 points on 4-for-5 shooting and pulled down eight rebounds.  Hawkins, meanwhile, chipped in with eight points (4-of-10) and seven rebounds, whereas forward Mi'Queara Lewis added six points (3-of-4) off the bench.

Leading the way for the Bison was forward Cheyenne Brown with 10 points on just 3-for-11 shooting.  As a team, HU was held to just 26 percent (9-of-35) shooting.

Coming out of the locker room, Hawkins scored 11 out of DSU's first 13 points to give the Lady Hornets a 40-38 lead with 13:33 remaining in regulation. 

As the half progressed, neither squad was able to break away, until Delaware State went on a 9-0 run, headlined by guard Raven Bankston scoring seven points to put her team up, 52-46, at the 9:15 mark.

Yet, the Bison answered with a 6-0 run of their own, headlined by a Regis Stinson three to tie the game at 52 with 7:43 remaining on the clock. 

Over the next four minutes, the Lady Hornets did not relinquish the lead, until forward Sydni Johnson drained two free throws to put HU up, 60-59, with 3:07 to play. Unfortunately for DSU, the Bison outscored the Lady Hornets the rest of the way, 10-5, to seal their first MEAC victory of the season.

When the final buzzer sounded, DSU shot 41 percent (25-of-60) from the floor, whereas HU finished the game at 35 percent (24-of-69).  On the glass, Delaware State out-rebound the Bison, 50-37, but the difference turned out to be the turnovers with the Lady Hornets committing 27, compared to Howard's 15.  

Individually, Hawkins led all scorers with 26 points (10-of-18) and totaled a career-high 16 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season, whereas Harmon (5-of-7) and Bankston (6-of-21) both poured in 15 points and dished out three assists. Harmon also pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds and collected a game-high five steals.

Howard, on the other hand, had three players score in double figures, led by guard Te'Shya Heslip's 22-point (8-of-13) and seven-assist performance.  Along with scoring 15 points (6-of-15), Duckett tallied 11 rebounds, while Brown finished with 10 points (3-of-12), six rebounds and a game-high two blocks.

Coming up, the Columbia Blue & Red will tipoff a three-game homestand next Tuesday (5:30 p.m.) against NJIT.