(Dover, Del.) – Saturday afternoon, the Delaware State women's basketball team (7-18, 2-11 MEAC) snapped a five-game losing streak with a 79-68 victory at home over the UMES Hawks (7-17, 3-9 MEAC), behind a career-high 36 points (12-of-24) from freshman sensation Raven Bankston.

"It was a total team effort with four people in double figures and everybody stepped up and this is going to be our motto going forward," said head coach Tamika Louis after the game.

With this win, the Hornets not only avoided their second six-game losing skid of the season, but it was their first victory since winning at Morgan State on Feb. 1.  For UMES, its brief two-game winning streak was snapped.

Throughout the opening half, neither squad led by more than five, until the Lady Hornets used a 12-2 run to take their first double digit lead of the afternoon (32-21), capped off by guard Jade Washington finding guard Diamond Williams for a three at the 4:56 mark.

As the stanza progressed, the Hawks failed to get within six before intermission as DSU closed the half on a 7-2 run to take a 43-31 lead into the locker room. 

For Bankston, she led all scorers with 19 points at the break on a staggering 54 percent (7-of-13) shooting, including a 2-of-3 (.667) output from long distance and a 3-for-4 (.750) effort from the charity stripe.  Collectively, the Lady Hornets shot 56 percent (15-of-27) from the field and 75 percent (9-of-12) from the free throw line.

After halftime, the Lady Hornets led by as many as 11 with 13:03 left in regulation, until UMES answered with a 10-2 run to make it a 52-51 ball game with just under nine minutes to play.

About a minute later, same score, UMES's Shawnee Sweeney drained a three to give her squad its first lead of the game.  However, on DSU's ensuing possession, Bankston found guard N'Kayah Kersey for a three, followed by a Bankston fast break layup to give DSU a three-point lead with 6:55 to play.

The Hawks, meanwhile, did not go away quietly as they cut Delaware State's lead to one twice with forward Ashleigh Claybrooks draining two free throws and a deuce in the paint. 

Nevertheless, the Lady Hornets opened the game back up by scoring eight unanswered points to take a 67-58 with 4:35 left in the game, headlined by back-to-back threes from Kersey and forward Tylinn Carter.

Delaware State continued its late second half surge when Bankston scored the next five points with a layup and a three to give her squad a 72-61 lead with just under three minutes to play.

The rest of the way, the Lady Hornets did just enough at the free throw line and on the defensive end to secure their second conference win of the season as UMES failed to get within seven.

At game's end, Kersey finished with 13 points (3-of-4), two assists and two steals off the bench.  Washington, who was battling a leg injury throughout the afternoon, tallied a season-high 11 points (5-of-6) and a team-high seven rebounds, whereas Carter totaled 10 points (4-of-8) and five rebounds.

As a team, the Lady Hornets turned in their best shooting performance of the season from the field at 53 percent (26-of-49), including a season-high eight three pointers.

But, Bankston was the story of the game as she went 9-of-10 (.900) from the free throw line and 3-of-5 (.600) from long distance to record her second straight game scoring 30 points or more.  In DSU's 95-79 loss at FAMU on Monday, she scored 33 points (13-of-27) and pulled down a career-high nine rebounds.

"I just stayed focus and my teammates kept encouraging me throughout the game to stay aggressive on the offensive end," said the freshman out of the Detroit, Mich.

In the case of UMES, Claybrooks recorded a double-double with a team-high 14 points (5-of-8) and a game-high 15 rebounds.  As a unit, the Hawks dominated the glass with 48 rebounds, compared to DSU's 28.

Up next, the Columbia Blue & Red will aim for a season sweep over the Morgan State Bears Monday evening (5:30 p.m.) at home.