March 21, 2013

Written by Ariel V. Germain, Assistant Sports Information Director

2012-13 Information Guide

WBI Homepage / WBI Bracket

WASHINGTON, D.C. (www.howard-bison.com) – March 18- The Howard University women's basketball is not ready to hang up the blue and white just yet, as the Lady Bison have been invited to the 2013 Women's Basketball Invitational to play the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) on Thursday, March 21 at 7:00 p.m. at the Palestra.

This is the second year, Howard heads into post-season action, while this is the squad's first appearance at the WBI.

Thursday, HU and Penn meet for the second time in school history, with the mighty Lady Bison leading the series with a 77-59 win, on March 4, 1978.

After three days of competition during the 2013 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Tournament in Norfolk, Va., Howard took second place and holds an overall record of 20-11, 14-5 in the conference, 10-8 on the road, and 10-3 at home.

During the MEAC Championship game against Hampton, senior Kara Smith tallied the only double figure outing of the contest with 12 points, while Saadia Doyle notched nine points and Cheyenne Curley-Payne pulled down a team-high five rebounds.

In the loss, Howard shot 61 percent from the free-throw line, 21 percent from the field and 16 percent from three-point range.

The University of Pennsylvania welcomes HU with a record of 16-12 overall, 9-5 in the Ivy League, 8-6 at home and 6-6 on the road.

Penn concluded the season with a 60-44 loss to Princeton on Tuesday, March 12 on their home hardwood.  In the 18-point loss, Alyssa Baron topped game with a team-high 16 points and 11 rebounds, as Keiera Ray added 10 points to the contest.

The Ivy League opponent shot 47 percent from the free-throw line, 29 percent from the field and 14 percent from behind the arc.

Season Highlights

• Saadia Doyle became the All-Time leading scorer in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and at Howard University on Feb. 18 against Bethune-Cookman

• Cheyenne Curley-Payne, who was named to the 2012-13 All-MEAC (3rd Team), is ranked No. 14^th in the country in assists (6.4) and No. 36 in steals 2.79

• Saadia Doyle notches 2304 points and 1170 rebounds

• Cheyenne Curley-Payne tallies 195 assists thus far on the season

• Howard boast the fifth strongest defense in the country

Lady Bison Bites

• Niki Reid Geckeler is in her fourth season as head coach

• Finished second in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (2012-13), with a 59-38 loss to Hampton

• This is the second all-time meeting between Howard and Penn, Howard leads the series with an initial 77-59 win, on March 4, 1978

• Howard and Penn have faced one similar opponent this season, the Temple Owls.  Howard defeated Temple 61-58, while Penn fell 59-51

• HU concluded the 2013 MEAC Women's Basketball Tournament with a 59-38 loss to Hampton

• Kara Smith tallied the only double figure outing of the contest with 12 points, while Saadia Doyle notched nine points and Cheyenne Curley-Payne pulled down a team-high five rebounds

• Howard shot 61 percent from the free-throw line, 21 percent from the field and 16 percent from three-point range

• HU averages 55.0 points per game, while shooting 35 percent from the field, 29 percent from three-point range and 66 percent from the free-throw line

Probable Starters

No.	Name	Ht.	Yr.	Pos.	MPG	PPG
5	Cheyenne Curley-Payne	5-8	Sr.	G	35.8	8.8
10	Jerrelle Gorham	5-8	R-Jr.	G	25.7	4.8
13	Saadia Doyle	5-10	Sr.	G	34.8	20.3
32	Nicole Deterville	6-0	Sr.	F	21.6	2.2
44	Kara Smith	6-0	Sr.	F	33.9	9.6

Primary Reserves

No.	Name	Ht.	Yr.	Pos.	MPG	PPG
11	Adelle Walton	5-7	Sr.	G	17.0	4.2
24	Imani Bailey	5-9	Fr.	G	15.6	3.3
34	Portia Deterville	6-0	Sr.	F	8.2	0.3
22	Victoria Gonzalez	6-0	Fr.	F	9.5	2.5

 

Scouting the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia)  

• Mike McLaughlin is the head women's basketball coach at Penn

• The Quakers are members of the Ivy League conference

• Penn is 16-12 overall, 9-5 in the Ivy League, 8-6 at home and 6-6 on the road

• The University of Pennsylvania is on a two-game losing streak, with a most recent loss to fellow Ivy League foe Princeton

• Alyssa Baron topped game with a team-high 16 points and 11 rebounds, as Keiera Ray added 10 points to the contest

• Penn shot 47 percent from the free-throw line, 29 percent from the field and 14 percent from behind the arc

• The Quakers average 58 points per game, while shooting 36 percent from the field, 30 percent from three-point range and 72 percent from the free-throw line.

Seeing Double

Saadia Doyle's double-double performances:

• 21 points and 10 rebounds (DePaul)

• 12 points and 11 rebounds (Northwestern)

• 24 points and 10 rebounds (Delaware State)

• 25 points and 10 rebounds (Pepperdine)

• 26 points and 15 rebounds (Coppin State)

• 19 points and 13 rebounds (North Carolina A&T)

• 27 points and 10 rebounds (New Jersey Institute of Technology)

• 10 points and 10 rebounds (Hampton)

• 23 points and 12 rebounds (Morgan State- MEAC Tournament)

• 27 points and 10 rebounds (North Carolina A&T- MEAC Tournament)

Consecutive Honors for Doyle

Saadia Doyle was named Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.  The honor was announced on Thursday, Nov. 1.

What Have You Heard about the Herd

Along with Doyle's accolades, the Lady Bison were predicted to finish first in the MEAC this 2012-13 season.

Major News

Among 340 mid-major Division I institutions in the country, the Lady Bison ranked 12th above Richmond (Atlantic 10), Harvard (Ivy) and Central Michigan (Mid-American) on the preseason list.

For more information on Lady Bison Basketball or for up-to-date scores and statistics, visit the official website of Howard Athletics at www.howard-bison.com. 

-HU-