NORFOLK, Va. — The Howard University Women's basketball team is going to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2001 behind the scoring of sophomore guard Destiny Howell.
Howell scored a career-high 25 points to lead Howard to a 61-44 win over Norfolk State in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) basketball tournament championship at the Scope Arena.
The Bison receive MEAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA and await the pairings for the NCAA tournament.
After the win, Howard head coach Ty Grace stated via a press release, “We were locked in from Day One. We never forgot about last year. Our kids remember crying in that loss while North Carolina A&T celebrated.”
The Bison (20-9), the No. 1 seed, got out to an early 15-10 first-quarter lead on the scoring of Howell, who led all scorers in the quarter with five points.
Coach Grace stated, “Howell is a player that can score on every play . . . I am so proud of her and how she performed on a big stage.”
The second-seeded Spartans (17-11) stayed close and trailed 29-22 at the half. Howell led the way with 14 points, she converted of seven of 17 from the floor while gathering six rebounds, dealing out two assists and adding a block and two steals.
Howell stated via the release, “My teammates kept trying to feed me the ball in positions where I could be effective. It was a team victory, for sure.”
Howell was named the tournament’s most outstanding player.
Howell was a freshman last season and knows the pain of that bitter defeat to NC A&T. She said, “We all felt that pain when they were celebrating after we got so close. We were determined to not let that happen this time.”
Howard broke the game wide open in the fourth quarter, using a 27-14 blitz to pull away and the Bison women earned their first title since 2001.
During that fourth-quarter spurt, Brooklyn Fort-Davis, Krislyn Marsh, Kaniya Harris and Anzhane’ Hutton got into the act.
In addition to Howell’s scoring, the Bison defense played a major role, limiting the Spartans to 23% shooting (15-for-65) while dominating the boards by a decided 48-30 advantage.
The Bison have won 11 titles overall.
“Congratulations to the Bison of Howard University,” Norfolk State Spartans head coach Larry Vickers said. “They were consistently good all year. They came in here and played an awesome game We wish them the best in the tournament.”
Norfolk State was led by Diawara Makoye and Camile Downs, who scored 11 and 10, respectively.
2022 MEAC Basketball Tournament All-Tournament Team:
Destiny Howell, Howard
Iyanna Warren, Howard
Deja Francis, Norfolk State
Camille Downs, Norfolk State
Zamara Haynes, Maryland Eastern Shore
Outstanding Performer: Destiny Howell, Howard
Outstanding Coach: Ty Grace, Howard
