WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 9, 2023) – Mount St. Mary's women's basketball fell to the Howard Bison in the 2023-24 season opener at Burr Gymnasium.
Freshman
Tessa Engelman had a solid collegiate debut, scoring eight points to lead the team.
Isabella Hunt grabbed nine rebounds and added six assists with four points.
Jo Raflo added seven points and newcomer
Jackie Christ earned six. Returning from injury,
Giana Hoddinott added five coming off the bench.
Turnovers were costly from the jump, as the Mountaineers ended the contest with three times the giveaways of the Bison.
Engelman scored the first bucket of the season for the Mount, which stopped a 6-0 run from the tip by the home squad. Layups from Christ cut the contest down to a bucket twice, but a second Howard run of 5-0 gave them the upper hand to lead 18-11 after the first quarter. The Bison were able to push their advantage to 10 before Mount countered with eight points in the final 2:25, cutting the deficit to 28-22 at half.
The third quarter provided each team with a lengthy run. Kicked off by an Engelman triple, the Mount scored the first seven points to grab a 29-28 lead. Howard matched with the next seven to return the lead to them, 36-29. By period's end the game was back at five points. Seizing on the momentum the homestanding Bison pulled away in the fourth, keeping the Mountaineers off the scoreboard until the final seconds of the game.
Mount St. Mary's takes to the road again this coming Wednesday (Nov. 15) to battle Navy. Tip-off is 7 p.m. from Annapolis.
NOTES
- Mount St. Mary's falls to 22-28 in season openers all-time
- Howard improves to 9-4 against the Mount, continuing a win streak in place since 1993
- Engelman's eight points in a freshman's debut are the most since Aryna Taylor against Indiana in November 2019 (8)
- The Mountaineers ended up outscoring the Bison in percentage – 35.7 to 34.9 – but turnovers gave the Bison 21 more shot attempts
