By Brittany Webb, Sports Editor
Posted 01:05 AM EST, Wed., March 15, 2017
It was a season of victories with few losses for the Howard University Women’s Basketball team.
Having finished their regular season last Thursday with a 93-76 victory against the Delaware State Hornets, the Lady Bison finished their regular season 16-12 overall, standing 12-4 in the MEAC.
To finish their regular season, redshirt senior Te’Shya Heslip was named 2017 MEAC Player of the year on Friday, March 3. She also made All-MEAC First Team honors. Heslip led her team offensively and defensively through their season, ranking third in the MEAC’s scoring, with a 15.1 points-per-game average. She also placed fourth in free throw percentage, having made 76.6 percent of her free throws.
Nationally, Heslip ranked fifth, having 3.6 steals per game. She also finished the season with 144 assists and 102 steals to add on to her 423 points for the season. On Dec. 22, she scored her 1,000th point of her MEAC career.
Senior Syndi Johnson was selected for the All-MEAC Third Team. She finished her season with a 41.4 field goal percentage, ranking fifth in the conference. On Dec. 16, she pulled her 500th rebound, and on Jan. 28, she hit her 1,000th point in a game against Savannah State.
Sarah Edmond and Jayla Myles secured spots on the All-MEAC Rookie Team.
Edmond was named MEAC Rookie of the Week twice during the season. She finished with a 33.9 percent field-goal percentage.
Myles finished the season with a team-high 38 blocks, averaging 1.7 blocks per game. Her blocking stats put her at seventh in the league. She also finished with 5.5 rebounds per game.
The Lady Bison are the top scoring offensive team in the MEAC, averaging 65.1 points. They finished second in assists (12.6) and field goal percentage (38.1). They came third in free throw shooting, having shot 66.7 percent of their shots from the free throw line.
With a season as great as theirs and players ranking within their conference and nationally, the Lady Bison snagged the No. 2 seed in the MEAC Tournament. During the regular season, both teams defeated the other when they had home court advantage. However, Wednesday’s game on a foreign court proved which team was the true winner.
Playing the Aggies on a court that wasn’t home to them proved to be a downfall for the Lady Bison, losing 68-58 on Wednesday, March 8.
The Aggies only had a two point lead at half-time with a score of 33-31. However, the Lady Bison found themselves in foul trouble during the second half.
The Aggies took advantage of the free throw line, having scored 24 of 34 attempts. The Lady Bison only had 11 attempts behind the line, making it 63.6 percentage for them.
Heslip finished with a game-high 25 points, having been the only player to score in the double digits.
Senior Jasmine Hill finished with nine points, while junior Tajzhane Dopson and freshman Star Fitzgerald-Greer finished with five points each.
The Lady Bison finished their season 16-13 overall.
