The Bison (5-2) trailed, 13-11, at the end of the first quarter and 34-32 at the half.
Primarily on the efforts of Bison trio Howell, freshman guard Saniyah King (Washington), who came off the bench, and junior forward Nile Miller (Haddonfield, N.J.), Howard went on a 19-13 run to take a 51-45 lead at the end of three.
Howell took over at a key point, scoring eight of her points during a two-minute stretch. Her backcourt mate King added five points during the spurt as the Bison opened a 71-56 lead, its biggest of the game with 2:07 on the clock in the final stanza.
The 2022-23 MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) Player of the Year connected on 8-of-14 shots from the floor, including 2-of-3 from her specialty area, the three-point line. In addition to her nine rebounds, she also had two assists, a steal and a blocked shot.
King, the two-time MEAC Rookie of the Week, showed her value by adding 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting and a game-high six assists.
Other contributors to the win included graduate forward Kaiya Creek (Seat Pleasant, Md.), who scored all of her 11 points in the first half, and Miller tallying a season-high 11 points and seven rebounds.
William & Mary (1-6) was led by Cassidy Geddes, who led all scorers with a game-high 23 points on 9-of-25 shooting.
BISON NOTES: Howell has reached double figures in all seven games this season…Howard played most of the game without starting forward Zennia Thomas (Cleveland), who played only 17 minutes…The Bison held an advantage with points in the paint (32-18) and points off turnovers (21)…The Bison’s fifth win last season did not come until January 20, 2024, the team was 5-12 at that time…Redshirt sophomore guard Tyana Walker (Leawood, Kan.), a preseason First Team All-MEAC selection, added a season-high seven points.
