The Game

The Delaware State women's basketball team (6-16, 1-9 MEAC) will to snap a three-game slide Saturday afternoon (2 p.m.) on the road when it takes on the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (8-16 5-7 MEAC).

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The Opponent

» Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (8-16, 5-7 MEAC)

The Wildcats head into Saturday's contest at 2-3 in their last five games, coming off a 66-35 loss at North Carolina A&T earlier in the week.  Offensively, the backcourt tandem of Chastity Rene Taylor (16.5 ppg) and Shakeyia Colyer (11.8 ppg) are the only players averaging double figures in the scoring column. Center Kailyn Williams, meanwhile, leads the team in rebounding (6.7 rpg) and has earned MEAC Rookie of the Week twice this season.

» The Head Coach: Vanessa Blair-Lewis is in her sixth season with the Lady Wildcats.  Throughout her tenure, Blair-Lewis holds a 72-100 (37-55 MEAC) record, which includes winning MEAC Coach of the Year in 2009-10.

» The Series: The Lady Hornets are 35-24 all-time against the Wildcats.  Last season, Delaware State took down Bethune-Cookman on the road with a 62-57 overtime win, followed by a 55-44 win in the MEAC Tournament.

A Win Would Mean…

» DSU's third road victory of the season, its second in MEAC play.

» The Hornets' third straight victory over B-CU.

» Delaware State's first win since beating Morgan State on Feb. 1.

Last Time Out…

The Hornets fell 77-71 at home to the Savannah State Tigers this past Monday.  At game's end, SSU had three players score in double figures, led by Jasmine Kirkland' s 24-point (9-of-17) and six-rebound performance. As a unit, the Tigers were tough to handle around the rim as they shot a staggering 49 percent (29-of-59) from the field with 44 points coming in the paint.  In addition, Savannah State out-rebounded DSU (37-25) and totaled 18 second chance points.  For Delaware State, guard/forward Deanna Harmon finished with a career-high 24 points (3-of-5), including an 18-for-19 (.947) effort from the charity stripe, which resulted in a modern-day school record.  Harmon also pulled down five rebounds, while her four assists tied Mitzi Copes (1984-88) for third all-time on DSU's career assist list. 

Bankston Records Fifth MEAC Rookie of the Week

On Monday, guard Raven Bankston was named MEAC Rookie of the Week for the fifth time this season after scoring a game-high 26 points (11-of-28), to go along with five rebounds, three assists and two blocks in DSU's 64-60 loss at home to South Carolina State last Saturday.  With this honor, not only has Bankston received MEAC Rookie of the Week honors five times, but it marks the sixth time this season she's earned a conference weekly award.  On. Feb. 6, she was named MEAC Player of the Week. 

Familiar Face

On Saturday, a familiar face in former DSU women's basketball assistant coach Andre Botlon (2005-12) will be in attendance as an assistant coach with Bethune-Cookman.  During his time with DSU, Bolton helped lead Delaware State to a MEAC Tournament championship and NCAA Tournament berth (2007).

MEAC Struggles

Currently, Delaware State sits 12th in the MEAC standings with its 1-9 mark.  In these 10 games, the Lady Hornets are being outscored 70-61 and shooting 38 percent from the field, including 24 percent from long distance. On the glass, teams are out-rebounding DSU, 435-374, whereas the Hornets have struggled to take care of the ball with 172 turnovers, compared to 123 assists.  

Road Woes

In 12 road games this season, DSU is 2-10 and being outscored, 78-61.  Offensively, the Lady Hornets are shooting 39 percent from field, including 23 percent from beyond the arc, while also dishing out 145 assists, compared to 205 by their oppositions.  Additionally, opposing squads are shooting 44 percent, along with owning the rebounding advantage (518-434).  Dating back to last season, the Lady Hornets have dropped 14 out of their last 16 road games.

Hawkins Done for the Season

The Hornets took another hit on the injury front with leading scorer (20.7 ppg) and rebounder Tierra Hawkins (10.2 rpg) officially ruled out for the rest of the season due to a shoulder injury.  Hawkins wraps up her junior campaign as one of eight players in the country averaging 20+ points and 10+ rebounds per game.  In DSU's 86-73 win at home over Wilmington (Nov. 20), she tallied 30 points to eclipse 1,000 career points to become the 15th player in Hornets history to reach this milestone.  Also, Hawkins was named MEAC Player of the Week twice this season (Nov. 25 and Jan. 6).   

Moving Up the Career List, Milestone Watch

Senior Deanna Harmon's career night against Savannah State pushed herself into third (261) all-time on DSU's assist list and also ninth (193) on the team's all-time steals list.  Harmon also needs four assists to move into second all-time on Delaware State's assists list.

At This Point Last Season…

The Lady Hornets were 8-14 overall and 5-4 in MEAC play, coming off a 75-56 loss at Hampton.

Coming Up Next…

Delaware State will face Florida A&M Monday night (6 p.m.) on the road.