Box Score ORANGEBURG, SC – Visiting Howard scored 10 of the game's final 12 points to earn a 68-58 victory over the host South Carolina State women Saturday in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference contest at Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center.

The loss was the fifth in a row for the Lady Bulldogs who fell to 5-10 on the season and 0-3 in league play. Howard improved to 5-11 and 1-2 in the MEAC.

Bryeasha Blair had 17 points, 12 in the opening half, to lead SC State, which also got 10 points each from Kemoni Jenkins and Jaquanna Murray. Jenkins and Kerry Watson had seven rebounds each to lead Coach Doug Robertson's team on the boards.

Howard was led by Sarah Edmond with 18 points. Tajzhane Dopson added 14 and Ayonna Williams 12 and a game-high nine rebounds.

SC State shot a dismal 29.6 percent (21-71) from the field, including just 21.1 percent (4-19) in the third quarter when the Lady Bison took control of the game, outscoring SC State 19-11 in the period to take a 47-39 advantage into the final quarter.

The Lady Bulldogs closed the gap to two, 58-56, on 3-pointer by Kyesha Lewis, who had nine points, before Howard went on its 10-2 run in the final two minutes.

"We took 71 shots and made just 21," said a disappointed Robertson. "We missed a lot of easy baskets, including a ton of layups. We just couldn't get any consistency going.
"We turned them over 29 times but often failed to take advantage of the opportunities. "It was certainly a frustrating loss."

Howard overcame the 29 turnovers by making 45.1 percent (23-51) of its shots from the field and controlling the boards 45-36.

The host Lady Bulldogs got off to a quick start, breaking away from a 5-all tie with 4:44 left in the first period to go ahead 14-8 after one. Blair had 10 of her total in the first quarter.

The Lady Bulldogs took an eight-point lead twice in the second quarter, the last time at 22-14 on two free throws by Jaquanna Murray with 6:46 left in the half, however, Howard chipped away at the SC State advantage and pulled even at 28-28 on a layup by Dopson with 1:10 remaining in the half and that remained the score at intermission.

The SC State will play the second of four straight home league games Monday when Robertson's team hosts Maryland Eastern Shore in the first game of an MEAC doubleheader, beginning at 5:30 p.m.