Howard’s women ended a five-game losing streak in their series against Norfolk State, pulling away late for a 68-59 victory Saturday in Washington in a showdown for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference lead.
Zoe Stewart scored 14 points to lead the Bison (16-7, 6-1), who have won four games in a row, while Nile Miller had 12 points and 10 rebounds and Zennia Thomas had 12 points.
Anjanae Richardson led all scorers with 19 points for NSU (10-12, 5-2), while Carmen Kweti had 12 and Da’Brya Clark 10. The Spartans shot 36% (21 of 58) as their four-game winning streak ended.
NSU trailed 16-9, surged ahead 28-23 and led 32-30 at the half. Clark’s layup put the Spartans up 55-54 with 3:54 remaining, but two Miller baskets gave Howard a 58-55 edge. After Jasha Clinton missed an 18-footer with 2:37 to go, NSU never had another chance to tie.
Washington and Lee 64, Virginia Wesleyan 59: The improved Marlins (11-8, 5-5 Old Dominion Athletic Conference) gave the Generals (19-0, 10-0), who are ranked fifth nationally by d3hoops.com, all they could handle before falling at TowneBank Arena.
W&L senior Mary Schleusner, the all-time leading rebounder in NCAA Division III, had 27 points and 16 rebounds, hitting 7 of 9 free throws.
VWU’s Brianna Long had 15 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out. Bre Robinson had 11 points and Maesyn Blaylock eight.
The Marlins went ahead 52-50 with 6:50 left but yielded eight consecutive points. They never got closer than four after that.
Radford 61, Winthrop 57: Catholic High graduate Cate Carlson had 18 points and eight rebounds as the host Highlanders (15-9, 7-2 Big South) edged the Eagles (11-12, 4-5). Radford has won six consecutive games.
She was 6 of 8 from 3-point range, including a shot with 6:13 left that gave Radford the lead for good, 53-52.
Georgia Simonsen also scored 18 for Radford. Madison Ruff had 19 points and five rebounds for Winthrop.
George Mason 66, Saint Louis 51: Zahirah Walton’s 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists paced the host Patriots (15-6, 10-0), who extended their best-ever Atlantic 10 start and maintained a share of first place with Rhode Island.
Kennedy Harris, a Hampton High alumna, had 12 points, five steals and four rebounds for George Mason, which is on a nine-game winning streak. The Billikens (11-13, 5-6), coached by former William & Mary player and Longwood coach Rebecca Tillett, have lost three in a row.
James Madison 88, South Alabama 52: The host Dukes (16-8, 8-4 Sun Belt) zoomed past the Jaguars (9-12, 2-9), who have lost five straight.
Peyton McDaniel scored 22 points for JMU, which shot 58% (34 of 59) and led 49-21 at the half. Lake Taylor High graduate Ashanti Barnes, a former Old Dominion player who scored her 1,000th Division I point Thursday, had 18 points, nine rebounds and three steals.Daniela Gonzales netted 12 points for USA.
