VIDEO: Postgame Press Conference   

NORFOLK, Va. – North Carolina Central University jumped out to an early lead, but Maryland Eastern Shore took advantage of 28 Lady Eagles' turnovers to capture a 67-47 win over NCCU in the first round of the MEAC Women's Basketball Tournament on Tuesday afternoon inside the Norfolk (Va.) Scope Arena.
 
NCCU started strong, using a 13-1 run anchored by three straight 3-pointers from sophomore Morgan Jones to take a 13-4 lead at 13:30 of the first half. Back-to-back layups by senior Khyra Conerly made the score 17-9 at 11:54.
 
That's when the tide started turning. During the final 11:30 of the opening half, UMES out-scored the Lady Eagles 21-4 with NCCU committing 11 turnovers during that stretch.
 
By game's end, NCCU's 28 turnovers resulted in 32 points by UMES. "That's huge," said NCCU head coach Vanessa Taylor. "The difference in the game is 20 points and 32 of those points came off of turnovers."
 
Having proven their ability to come back from second-half deficits during the regular season, the Lady Eagles seemed poised to repeat the feat, narrowing the gap to 49-41 with 6:46 to go in the contest. But UMES pulled away at the end for a 20-point victory, ending NCCU's season in the opening round of the conference tournament for the fourth year in-a-row.
 
"We planned on attacking them early and we were doing a really good job of that, and we were finishing," said Conerly. "When we started turning the ball over, we stopped finishing and they started converting. We weren't doing the same and that put us in a hole."
 
Jones led NCCU in scoring with 12 points, all coming off of 3-pointers. Conerly had 10 points and Racquel Davis scored seven points and grabbed 10 rebounds, both playing their last game in the maroon and gray.
 
The Lady Eagles finish their season with an overall record of 7-22, while going 5-11 in conference play.