Daytona Beach, Fla. (Feb. 21, 2009) --- The Delaware State women's basketball team led by 12 in the second half before falling apart in a 65-55 loss to Bethune-Cookman at Moore Gymnasium on Saturday.
The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Lady Hornets, who fell to 14-12 overall and 10-3 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). The Wildcats snapped a three-game losing streak to improve to 10-14 and 3-10. Bethune-Cookman also ended a 12-game losing streak to DSU since the 2001-02 season.
Delaware State led 37-27 at the half, but was outscored 38-18 in the final 20 minutes.
The Lady Hornets led 50-38 after a basket by Selena Galloway with 10:40 left to play.
Bethune-Cookman answered with a 15-2 run, and led for the first time in the game, 53-52, on a lay up by Eunshia Proctor with 5:26 remaining in the game.
The Wildcats opened up a 56-52 lead after a three-point play by Demetria Frank with 4:15 left in the game.
Delaware State was one-for-four from the field with six turnovers during the Wildcat rally, which included a nearly five-minute stretch between baskets for the Lady Hornets.
DSU missed its last six shots from the field, while Bethune-Cookman was 5-for-6 at the free throw in the last 34 seconds to seal the win.
The Lady Hornets were 8-for-22 from the field (36.4%), including 1-fo-6 from three-point territory in the second half. DSU also missed four-of-five free throws in the last 20 minutes.
Bethune-Cookman hit 11-of-23 shots from the floor (47.8%) and 15-of-18 at the line in the second half.
Delaware State appeared headed for just its fourth road win of the season in the first half.
Sonia Johnson capped off a 10-0 run to give the Lady Hornets a 17-7 lead in the early going.
After Bethune-Cookman pulled to within 19-14 on a three-pointer by Keturah Newkirk, DSU answered with a 13-3 run to regain control of the game. Galloway capped off the run with a three-pointer to give the Lady Hornets a 32-17 lead with 4:46 left in the half.
The Wildcats scored 10 of the last 15 points of the half to pull to within 37-27 at the break.
Franks was high-scorer for Bethune-Cookman with a game-high 22 points. Her performance included 12-of-15 shooting at the free throw line.
Galloway came off the bench to lead three Lady Hornets in double-figures with 16 points. Keyhana Wakefield tallied 15 points and Sonia Johnson added 10 for DSU.
Delaware State returns to action on Monday at Florida A&M. Game time is 5:30 in Tallahassee, Fla.
