Injured Brown leads Bison to 5th conference win
Junior Cheyenne Brown limped her way to 23 points against conference rival North Carolina Central University (8-12, 3-4 MEAC) in Burr Gymnasium last Saturday. The Lady Bison won with a final score of 66-61.
After coming out on fire with 12 early points, Brown injured her ankle on a fast break after a steal on the left sideline with 6:37 left in the first half.
“I just stepped on her foot as I went up and my ankle twisted crazily,” Brown said.
The six-foot junior from Silver Spring, Md. immediately left the game to get treatment on her ankle as Howard (9-11, 5-2) fought to maintain its lead without her.
The Lady Bison were without the services of their starting point guard Te’Shya Heslip, who is averaging just over 14 points per game this season. Brown said she knew that this was a big conference game for the team and that she had to make an impact.
“I knew today was a big day and I had to step up and help my team get the W,” she said. “I’ve always been a shooter, but today I made sure that I stepped up and actually made the shots that needed to be made.”
Brown’s unexpected exit caused a bit of a spark for NCCU as the Lady Eagles were able to cut Howard’s double-digit lead down to eight by the end of the first half.
After returning from halftime, NCCU would continue its momentum with a 14-8 run, cutting their once 15-point deficit to two points with a score of 40-38. Seeing enough, head coach Tennille Adams put a limping Brown back in the game with 14 minutes left in the half to try to slow down the Lady Eagles’ charge.
Brown’s return immediately caused problems for NCCU’s defense as she knocked down her four of five three pointers on the afternoon within seconds of being back on the floor. The three-point spark wouldn't slow down the Lady Eagles as they went on to score eight more unanswered points to take their first lead of the game at 46-43.
“We stopped communicating on defense and gave up some easy baskets,” Brown said on NCCU’s late game surge. “We have to make sure we always know where our man is in our zone.”
After a timeout, Brown was able to come back out and sink yet another three to tie the game up at 46. Sophomore center Victoria Gonzalez helped Howard regain control of the game by clogging up the middle and knocking down skillful baskets in the paint.
Holding the Lady Eagles to just 10 points during a 10-minute stretch, Howard was able to recapture a solid lead towards the end of the second half.
With 1:10 left in the game NCCU’s, Khyra Conerly got a steal and an easy field goal to cut the score to 63-58. After a successful hook shot from Gonzalez, Howard extended their lead back to seven with under a minute left in the game and eventually forced the Lady Eagles to foul as the Lady Bison clinched their second consecutive victory.
Brown says that the team was able to hold off the Lady Eagles by tightening up their defense at the end of the game.
“We had high energy towards the end and we made sure we got those defensive stops that we needed,” she said. “We hit some shots at the end at that’s what got us through.”
Brown and Heslip will be back in action on Monday against North Carolina A&T in Burr Gymnasium at 5:30 pm.