LADY HORNETS (4-18; 2-9 MEAC) vs.
Maryland-Eastern Shore “Lady Hawks” (15 – 11; 11-2 MEAC)
Sat., Feb. 23, 2019 - 2:00 p.m.
Dover, Del. (Memorial Hall – 1,800)
Live TV: n/a
Live Audio: DSUHornets.com (HSRN broadcast)
Live Video: DSUHornets
Live Stats: DSUHornets.com
Twitter updates: @DSUwbb
DeIaware State Head Coach David Caputo (Montclair State, '05): 4-18 at DSU; 140-77 career (9th yr.); 2-9 MEAC regular season; 0-0 vs. MDES
The Game
Delaware State (4-18; 2-9 MEAC) takes on Route 13 rival Maryland-Eastern Shore in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference contest. The Lady Hornets have dropped their last three games, including a 65-64 loss to North Carolina Central in the most recent outing on Feb. 11. NaJai Pollard (sr.) led DSU with 27 points and 10 rebounds, including a second quarter basket to become the school's all-time scoring leader. Pollard, the MEAC's top scorer at 23.3 points per game this season, has 1,861 career points to sit atop the team's all-time list. In addition, she's sixth among all NCAA Div. I players in scoring, second in the MEAC in rebounding (10.6 pg) and tops in the league in field goal percentage (.495) and free throw shooting (.724) this season. Pollard is a five-time MEAC Player-of-the-Week and has earned one Defensive Player-of-the-Week award this season. DSU's Lanayjha Ashe (jr.) is second on the Lady Hornets and 14th in the MEAC in scoring at 12.2 points per game.
Maryland-Eastern Shore (15-11; 11-2 MEAC) is the surprise team in the MEAC 2018-19 women's basketball race. Picked to finish fifth in the league's preseason poll, the Hawks are currently second in the standings at 11-2, one-and-a-half games behind league leader North Carolina A&T and two games ahead of third place Bethune-Cookman. Their two league losses have come at the hands of NCA&T. MDES is coming off a 74-54 victory over Coppin State in its last outing on Feb. 16. Ra'Jean Martin led four double-figure scorers for the Hawks with 16 points, while Dominique Walker came off the bench to add 13 points and a team-high 10 rebounds in their last outing. Ciani Byrom is tops on the team and seventh in the MEAC in scoring at 15.6 points per game.
The Series (DSU leads 49-40)
This is the first of two scheduled meetings between the teams this season. Maryland-Eastern Shore has won the last seven contests, although Delaware State holds a 49-40 lead in the series. The Hawks won the last meeting 76-56 during the 2017-18 season. Lanayjha Ashe was DSU's high scorer in the last year's MDES contest. NaJai Pollard was held to a season-low five points on two-of-14 shooting from the field, although she led all players with 13 rebounds in the last meeting. The Lady Hornets have not defeated MDES since a 79-68 victory on Feb. 22, 2014 in Memorial Hall. The Hornets and Hawks are scheduled to meet again on Mar. 7 in Princess Anne, Md., in the regular season finale for both teams.
