Howard’s women’s basketball team defeated Siena College last Friday 72-62 to advance to the second round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT).
The victory on March 21 marked the Bison’s first WNIT win in school history. It was also the first time the team hosted a WNIT game.
As the game opened both teams missed layups and committed turnovers however, the Saints opened up a 20-17 lead to close out the first quarter which grew to a 36-30 lead at halftime.
The Saints captured the lead largely due to their guard Teresa Seppälä, who had 11 first-half points to go along with eight rebounds. The team’s dominance on offense elevated them in the first half as well, bringing down 13 offensive rebounds before the break.
The Bison struggled to find early range, missing 25 of 39 shots and hitting on only 2 of 13 shots outside the arc.
As the second half of the game began the Bison became more aggressive on defense which resulted in an 11-0 run close to the end of the third quarter.
Junior forward Zennia Thomas contributed to the drive with swift post moves and several mid range jumpers.
Graduate forward Kaiya Creek scored 11 points off the bench with six being scored during a run where she hit back-to-back 3-pointers, helping the Bison conclude the third quarter with a 54-47 lead.
The Saints were determined as they were able to shorten the lead to two points on three different occasions but Thomas, along with HBCU All-American Destiny Howell and Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Rookie of the Year Saniyah King were prepared.
The Saints were ultimately unable to withstand the Bison’s defensive pressure, rebounding and ability to score in the paint which led to their win of 72-62.
The Bison defense had significant plays including two steals by Thomas and two blocks by junior forward Nile Miller.
By the end of the night, Thomas snagged seven rebounds, King scored 16 points to go along with five assists and Howell had 11 points, five rebounds and three assists.
The Saints were led by Seppälä who had a double-double of 17 points and 13 rebounds, Ahniysha Jackson with 17 points and Anajah Brown who also had a double-double of 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Despite the loss to the Spartans a week prior, the Bison were able to go into the matchup against the Saints and execute. A combination of scouting Saints’ players, practicing and determination led the Bison to be victorious.
“I told [the team] that this is a great opportunity, either we’re going to take it and run with it or we’re going to fold,” Head Coach Ty Grace said. “But they didn’t fold., they came out on top.”
During their journey to the tournament, the Bison put together a winning season, coming into the game with an overall record of 21-11 and a conference record of 12-2.
The Bison were largely successful in their conference with their only defeats coming at the hands of a familiar opponent: Norfolk State University.
The team’s first matchup with the Norfolk Spartans was in mid-January where they fell 69-53. The next matchup was in early March, where the Bison were defeated again by the Spartans 68-56. The Bison progressed to the MEAC Tournament Championship after defeating Delaware State University 85-49 and University of Maryland Eastern Shore 67-59.
They played their third matchup of the season against the Spartans in the championship and fell 68-56. Despite their inability to overcome Norfolk, the Bison’s season-long efforts did not go unnoticed as they were presented with another chance to potentially bring home a banner from the postseason WNIT.
“I think that the MEAC tournament really proved that we are a team that’s going to come out and play hard,” Zennia Thomas, a junior health science major from Cleveland said. “So I’m just kind of glad that we are able to build on that and showcase our abilities.”
The Bison will travel to Charleston, South Carolina for their matchup against the College of Charleston Cougars for the second round of the WNIT on March 24.
Copy edited by Aniyah Genama
