WASHINGTON, D.C. — Junior guard Shontai Totten led the North Carolina Central University women's basketball team with 15 points, five assists and two steals in an 80-70 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) road loss at Howard University Monday evening.
 
The Bison, who trailed after each of the first three quarters, outscored the Eagles 24-9 in the fourth quarter to secure the comeback victory. Howard improved to 14-11 overall and 7-5 in the league.
 
Totten matched junior Paulina Afriyie with 15 points to pace the maroon and gray. Sophomore Zaria Atkins followed with 14 points. Totten and Atkins each made three 3-pointers. Afriyie also contributed eight rebounds.
 
NCCU swished of its eight 3-point attempts in the first half (75%) to construct a 10-point lead at halftime (45-35). Totten paced the hot-shooting Eagles with a trio of made treys without a miss, while Atkins cashed in a pair of shots from beyond the arc. Totten and Atkins went into the halftime locker room leading all players with 11 points apiece.
 
A trifecta by sophomore Kieche White at the end of the third quarter kept NCCU ahead 61-56 after 30 minutes of play. White finished with nine points.
 
However, the Eagles did not make a field goal for the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter. The Bison went on a 16-2 run until Afriyie ended the drought with a layup with a little over two minutes left in regulation. NCCU shot just 14.3-percent in the final quarter to fall by 10.
 
Junior Sarah Edmond led the victors with 20 points and classmate Ayonna Williams made 8 of 10 free throws, including several down the stretch, to finish with 19 points. Sophomore Jayla Thornton and freshman Krislyn Marsh followed with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Marsh just missed a double-double with a team-high nine rebounds.
 
White finished with nine points. Freshman Kiyana Brown added eight points and pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds as NCCU outrebounded Howard by three (41-38).
 
NC Central (7-19, 4-9) returns home for Senior Day on Saturday against MEAC foe Savannah State University. The two Eagles will before the 2 p.m. tipoff.