BOWIE, Md. -- Makia Staves (Bishop McNamara/Ft. Washington, MD) scored a career-high 23 points to lead Shepherd College to a 77-56 win over Benedict College in first round women's basketball action of the Best Western Holiday Classic at Bowie State University. The victory gives Shepherd head coach Betsy Blose her 100th career win.
Staves connected on 8-of-12 shots from the floor and also hit on 7-of-11 shots from the foul line. Ashana Cowans (Robinson/Fairfax, VA) poured in 16 points, while Cassie Murray (Allegany/Cumberland, MD) and Barb Oller (Centreville/Centreville, VA) each added nine. Leading the Rams in rebounding were Staves with 10 and Cassie Murray with nine.
The Rams opened the game with a 12-0 run and held a 41-29 advantage at the intermission.
TaWanda Crittington led Benedict with 22 points and 13 rebounds.
Shepherd improves to 5-1 on the year, while Benedict falls to 3-4. The Rams will face the winner of the Bowie State-UDC contest in the championship game tomorrow at 4:00 p.m.