(Princess Anne, Md.) –The Delaware State women's basketball team (8-20, 3-13 MEAC) led by as many as 14 points on two separate occasions in the second half, but the UMES Hawks (8-20, 4-12 MEAC) crawled all the way back Thursday night to pull out a 74-71 overtime victory, in what was the final regular season game for both squads.  

Leading 33-25 at the half, DSU opened the second stanza on a 10-2 run, with guard/forward Deanna Harmon scoring eight points during this stretch after picking three fouls in the first half.  Also during this run, guard Raven Bankston nailed a pull jumper in transition at the 18:58 mark to give her six points, which set a new DSU single-season scoring record.  

As the half progressed, the Hawks crept back in the game with a 12-2 run of their own to make it a 49-46 ball game with 8:10 left after a Mariah McCoy trey.  However, Delaware State pushed its lead back to seven twice with the last occurring after Bankston drained a deuce to give her squad a 55-48 advantage with a little under five minutes to play.

Nevertheless, the Hawks answered Bankston's jumper with a Shawnee Sweeney three, followed by guard Jessica Long converting down low to make it a 55-53 contest with 3:27 left in regulation.

With the Lady Hornets now clinging to a four-point lead after Harmon drained two free throws, UMES answered yet again with Long finishing at the rim with 1:10 remaining.  After a timeout by the Hawks, DSU suffered a huge blow when Harmon picked up her fifth foul in an attempt to get the basket. 

For the rest of regulation, Delaware State maintained its 57-55 lead and had a chance to make it a two-possession game with guard N'Kayah Kersey at the charity stripe for a one-and-one opportunity with 17 seconds left.  Unfortunately, Kersey missed the first attempt as McCoy pulled down the rebound.

On the other end, forward Ashleigh Claybrooks drew forward Mi'Queara Lewis' fifth foul in the act of shooting after grabbing an offensive board with eight seconds left.  As a result, Claybrooks nailed both free throws to knot the game, followed by a DSU 30-second timeout.

Taking the ball out from under its own rim, guard Jade Washington drove the length of the floor and finished at the basket to give the Lady Hornets a 59-57 lead with three seconds remaining.

After a timeout by the Hawks, Long's full court pass was tipped by forward Tylinn Carter as the ball landed out of bounds with .3 seconds left on the clock.  With UMES still in bounding on its end of the court, Long somehow found guard TeAmber Burke on the left elbow as she fired up a shot that rattled in off the glass at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.

Coming into tonight's game, the Lady Hornets were 3-0 in overtime games this season, including a 64-61 win at home on Saturday over Howard.

Unfortunately, Delaware State was on the opposite end this time as it never led again with the Hawks going 11-for-12 (.917) from the charity stripe in the extra period.  The Lady Hornets actually had a chance to send the game into double overtime with a Bankston desperation three, but she did not get it off in time as her attempt fell short.

At game's end, the Hornets shot 47 percent (28-of-60) from the floor, compared to UMES's 35 percent (25-of-72).  Bankston, who was bothered by a lingering shoulder injury most of the night, led three Hornet players in double figures with a team-high 20 points (9-of-22), but struggled to take care of the ball by committing a game-high nine turnovers.     

For the Hawks, McCoy led four players in double figures with a game-high 21 points (9-of-14).  Claybrooks, meanwhile, recorded a double-double with 12 points and a team-high 15 rebounds off the bench. 

In addition to Claybrooks' effort on the glass, UMES out-rebounded the Lady Hornets, 53-38, with forward Shanyce Stewart pulling down 10 rebounds.  The lone bright spot for DSU on the boards was Carter with a career-high 18 rebounds, which is the most by any Hornet this season.