Jan. 11, 2010

Final Stats

BOWIE, Md. - It didn't take Eva Patterson-Heath long to identify the culprit in her team's 81-71 loss at Bowie State on Monday.

"Throughout the game, they were able to get offensive rebounds," she said. "They got 20 offensive rebounds and got a lot of second chance opportunities. We're fighting hard, but when you can't get the ball that negates all the hard work that you've done."

Despite holding the Bulldogs (6-4, 6-2 CIAA) to 31.6 percent shooting from the field, BSU had 20 more field goal and 12 more free throw attempts than FSU.

The Broncos (7-4, 4-2 CIAA) played without leading scorer L'Oreal Price who suffered an ankle injury in Saturday's win over Lincoln (Pa.).

Still, led by senior point guard Danielle Russell, FSU jumped out to an early 10-2 lead and led by as much as 14 in the first half.

"We came out focused and ready to play," said Patterson-Heath. "I told them that we can't just play 15 minutes of good basketball. We have to put together two good halves and we just didn't do that down the stretch."

The loss snapped FSU's three-game winning streak.

Russell led FSU with 16 points and was one of five FSU players in double figures.

Deja Middleton had 10 points and five rebound swhile LaQuasha Jordan added 11 points and seven rebounds. Mercedes Humphries tallied 10 points.

Tiffany Haywood had a double-double, posting 14 points and a season-high 20 rebounds all while playing a season-high 37 minutes.

"She was tired at the end, you could tell," Patterson-Heath said. "She knew she had to suck it up and keep going because she knew what we needed from her."

The Bulldogs have won five of their last six games against FSU.

Patterson-Heath and FSU return to action on Saturday, when they step out of CIAA play to host Claflin University inside Capel Arena. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.

FSU's first-year head coach said she will continue tweaking her lineup with Price out.

"The lineup may change," said Patterson-Heath said. "I'm not sure though, we're still playing with it."

Teaunsha Robinson led BSU with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Bianca Lee tallied 17 points and Brittney Jackson contributed 12.

FSU led 38-33 at halftime and shot 51.9 percent from the field in the first half.