The Delaware State University women’s basketball team earned their first MEAC conference win of the season on Monday as the team beat the NC Central Eagles 71-61 at Memorial Hall.
Senior forward NaJai Pollard led DSU in scoring in the game with 31 points and she also had 15 rebounds for a double-double.
Two other Hornets scored in double digits and they were senior guard Keke Barber (16) and junior guard Lanayjha Ashe (10).
DSU had an advantage in many categories in the win as the team out rebounded the Eagles 47-32 in the game.
The Hornets also did well with second chance points as the team scored 22 points compared to NC Central’s six.
DSU did very well at the foul line in the game as the team hit 20 out of their 23 shots at the line.
Pollard’s Eight Points Helps DSU Stay Even With Eagles
In the first quarter, It was NaJai Pollard who led DSU in scoring with eight points. Both teams struggled with shooting in the quarter as the Hornets went 5 for 16 (31.3%) and Eagles 5 for 17 (29.4%).
The quarter started off with NC Central going on a 6-2 run but the Hornets did not take much time to answer back to the Eagles run.
DSU went on a 4-0 run which tied the game up at six points with 2:39 left in the quarter. Pollard led the charge on the run with scoring all four points in that time span.
In the remaining minutes of the quarter, the game was a battle between the two teams with the lead going back and forth.
The first quarter would end with the score being tied at 13.
DSU and the Eagles Stay Even In the Second Quarter
In the second quarter, both teams improved in shooting the ball as DSU went 7 for 20 ( 35%) and NC Central went 6 for 14 ( 42.9%).
The second quarter started with the Hornets going on a 7-0 run which gave them a 20-13 lead with 6:47 left in the half.
The Eagles would outscore DSU 15-8 for the rest of the quarter to end the half with the game tied at 28.
First Half Stats:
DSU shot 12 for 36 (33.3 %) in the first half and NC Central shot 11 for 31(35.5 %).
DSU shot 2 for 2 (100%) at the free throw line and the Eagles shot 5 for 7 ( 71.4%).
The leading scorer in the first half for the Hornets was NaJai Pollard with 14 points.
The leading scorer in the first half for the Eagles was Rodneysha Martin with 10 points.
Pollard & Barber Led the Hornets In the Third Quarter
In the third quarter, it was two players that came up big for the Hornets and that was Pollard and Keke Barber. Pollard scored six points in the quarter and Barber scored eight points.
The third quarter started with the Hornets going on a 11-6 run which gave them a 40-34 lead with 6:10 left in the third quarter. Barber was the one in charge of this run by scoring six of the 11 points which includes two three pointers.
NC Central would out score the Hornets 9-8 for the rest of the quarter but DSU still took a 48-43 lead into the fourth quarter.
Hornets Improved Overall Shooting & Free Throws Helps Seal Win
In the fourth quarter, the Hornets saved the best shooting for the end as the team shot 4 for 7 ( 57.1%) in the quarter. DSU also shot 14 of 17 ( 82.4%) at the foul line in the quarter.
The fourth quarter started with DSU outscoring the Eagles 9-4 which increased their lead to 57-47 with 5:02 left in the game. Pollard led the run with scoring six of the nine points in the run.
Then with under a minute left, the Hornets would hit six foul shots to seal the 71-61 win.
The Hornets look to make it two straight wins as the team goes on the road to face Bethune Cookman on January 19th at 2:00pm ET.
Team Stats:
FG%: DSU 38.3 % & NCC 37.7 %
3P%: DSU 31.3 % & NCC 50.0 %
FT%: DSU 87.0 %& NCC 58.8 %
Rebs: DSU 47 &NCC 32
Ast: DSU 11 & NCC 11
Stl: DSU 9& NCC 10
TO: DSU 22 &NCC 17
Blks: DSU 2&NCC 2
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