Washington, D.C. (Feb. 9, 2009) --- The Delaware State women's basketball team forced Howard into 10-for-41 shooting from the field and 26 turnovers in a 45-32 win over the Bison at Burr Gymnasium Monday evening.

The Lady Hornets won for the fifth time in the last six games to improve to 12-11 overall and 8-2 in the MEAC. Howard dropped its second straight to fall 4-18 and 3-7.

Delaware State has won six straight and 12 of the last 13 vs. the Bison, including three in a row at Burr Gym.

Keyhana Wakefield was high scorer for Delaware State with 11 points. Wakefield, who surpassed the 500-point mark with the Lady Hornets, also led all players with four assists and six steals. She now has 501 points in less than two seasons at DSU. 

Jameka Smith had eight points and tied for team-high honors with six rebounds.

Zykia Brown topped the score sheet for Howard with 10 points.

The score was 11-11 when Delaware State began to take control. The Lady Hornets scored the last six points of the first half to take a 17-11 lead at the break.

Delaware State held Howard without a field goal for the final 5:32 of the first half. The Bison hit just 4-of-20 first half shots (20%), while DSU was slightly better at 30.4% (7-for-23).

The Lady Hornets scored nine of the first 10 points in the second half, and opened up a 26-12 lead on two free throws by Sonia Johnson with 14:40 left to play. Johnson and Smith scored three points each during the DSU run.

Howard answered with a 10-3 run, and pulled to within 29-22 on a three-pointer by Brown with 9:56 remaining.

Delaware State responded by scoring the next eight points, including three-pointers by Smith and Wakefield, to open up a 37-22 lead with 6:50 left to play.

Howard could get no closer than nine points the rest of the way.

The Bison's point was the second-lowest by a Delaware State opponent this season. Only Florida A&M scored less in a 62-31 loss to the Lady Hornets on Jan. 26.

The Lady Hornets entered the contest as the MEAC's top defensive team, allowing 53.7 points-per-game. The effort also marked the 81^st time that the Lady Hornets have held an opponent to fewer than 50 points since the 2000-01 season.