DURHAM, N.C. — Junior forward
Paulina Afriyie scored a game-high 22 points for host North Carolina Central University in a 69-61 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) women's basketball loss to University of Maryland Eastern Shore Saturday afternoon in McDougald-McLendon Arena.
NCCU led 54-53 with under three minutes left in the contest when the Hawks went on a decisive 7-0 run to jump ahead. That rally started a 16-7 closing run for the Hawks. Eastern Shore (14-10 Overall, 10-1 MEAC) won its seventh straight game to remain in sole possession of second place in the league standings.
Afriyie scored her 22 points on 8-of-15 precision from the field and 6-of-8 accuracy from the free throw line. The Bronx, New York, product also had a team-high seven rebounds to go along with one assist, one steal and one block.
Senior guard
Rodneysha Martin and sophomore guard
Kieche White were NCCU's next leading scorers at nine and eight points, respectively. White also contributed six rebounds and three assists. Freshman
Kiyana Brown totaled four blocks.
Senior point guard Ciani Byrom sparked Eastern Shore's decisive run with a driving layup down the left lane at the 2:44 mark to put the Hawks ahead for good. Within seven seconds, senior Ra'Jean Martin made a steal and assisted a transition layup for classmate Keyera Eaton. A fourth senior in Dominique Walker capped the 7-0 outburst with a 3-point play at the 1:46.
Afriyie added her own old-fashion 3-point play to pull NCCU back within one possession with 43 seconds to go, but the Hawks made 7-of-8 free throws from that point to survive with the eight-point victory.
Martin and Walker paced the victors with 16 points apiece. Sophomore Bairesha Gill-Miles pulled down 12 rebounds as Eastern Shore outrebounded the Eagles, 53-40.
Both teams largest lead was just five points in the first half with the score leveled at 14-14 after one quarter and 30-30 at the midway point. The third-quarter was a one possession game and the teams battled tightly all the way to the final minute as the contest concluded with 11 ties and 14 lead changes.
NC Central (6-17, 3-7) will next host Delaware State University on Monday at 5:30 p.m.
