PRINCESS ANNE, Md. — Senior forward Paulina Afriyie led all players with 16 points and 16 rebounds for the visiting North Carolina Central University women's basketball team in a narrow 65-63 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) loss at University of Maryland Eastern Shore Monday evening.
 
Afriyie tallied her fourth double-double of the season after scoring in double digits for a fourth straight game with 16 points and grabbing a season-high 16 rebounds. Freshman Anissa Rivera notched her second straight double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Redshirt freshman Faith Williams sank three 3-pointers on the way to a season-high 11 points as NCCU's third double-digit scorer.
 
After an Afriyie layup had NCCU up 49-46, Eastern Shore went on a decisive 11-0 run in the fourth quarter. Freshman Mya Thomas, who scored 10 points for the victors, started the rally with a game-tying 3-pointer and capped the run with a fast break layup.
 
The Eagles inched to within one possession a couple times in the final minute on a 3-pointer by Williams and a layup by sophomore Ashlyn Lockard, but the Hawks made free throws on each ensuing possession to stay in front until the end.
 
The Shore (4-12 Overall, 1-2 MEAC) made over half of its shots in the final frame and only committed one turnover in the last period compared to six turnovers by NCCU to barely earn its first league win.
 
Eastern Shore shot 58.8-percent in the first quarter to construct a 26-20 edge after 10 minutes of play. However, the Eagles caught fire in the second quarter to pull ahead, 40-35, at halftime. NCCU outscored the Hawks 20-9 in the period by swishing 71.4-percent (10-14) of its field goal attempts.
 
Afriyie nearly completed her double-double by halftime, leading all players into the locker room with 12 points and nine rebounds.
 
The Eagles only committed three fouls and four turnovers in the first half. Those numbers grew to 13 fouls and 18 turnovers by the end of the game as the Shore packed in its defense. NCCU scored 26 points in the paint in the first half, but only managed eight more points down low in the second half as the Hawks started double-teaming NCCU's bigs and making entry passes hard.
 
Sophomore Brooklyn Bailey kept the Hawks in striking distance at the midway point by drilling a trio of 3-pointers on the way to scoring 11 of her 14 points in the first half.
 
After a low scoring third period where both teams combined for just five made field goals, Afriyie scored her final four points on a pair of layups early in the fourth to keep NCCU ahead 49-46 with just under eight minutes left. But Eastern Shore then scored 11 unanswered points that changed the completion of the whole game.
 
Junior Bairesha Gill-Miles led the Hawks with 15 points, swishing seven of her eight shot attempts from the floor.
 
Other scorers for the Eagles included sophomore Kiyana Brown netting eight points, junior Kieche White bucketing seven and freshman Khadija Demry sinking six points. Sophomore Zaria Atkins supplied eight NCCU assists.
 
NC Central (4-12, 1-2) will continue its four-game MEAC road swing at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida, on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 2 p.m.