ELKINS, W.Va. -- Down by as many as 19, Davis & Elkins comeback bid came up just short as the Senators fell to visiting Frostburg State, 73-72, on Thursday night in the MEC opener.
The Bobcats opened up a 23-6 lead after the first quarter, but the Senators chipped away all game and took the lead back at 72-71 with just :26 left in the game. FSU's Brenae Ford hit a pair of free throws and then held off a last-ditch effort by D&E to hold on to the win.
Frostburg's Morgan Dombroski stuffed the box score with a game-high 21 points to go along with 10 rebounds and five assists. Ciara Thomas had 17 points and seven rebounds, and For finished with 14 points.
Jamiyah Johnson paced D&E with 20 points and seven rebounds, snapping her streak of consecutive double-doubles at 24 dating back to last season.
Marissa Berlin came off the bench to score 11 and contribute nine rebounds, and
Amiah Banks added 10 more for the Senators.
The Senators eventually settled in, outscoring the Bobcats 23-16 in the second frame as they trailed 39-29 at the halftime break. Ford connected on a long-range trey to end the second period before the Senators battled back to within two just before the third quarter media timeout. An
Allie Taylor jumper at 2:18 in the third put the Senators in front, 52-51, as the teams traded buckets for the remainder of the frame.
Head coach
Rachel Swartz utilized seven players off the bench in the opener, as the group accounted for 37 points combined. Freshman guard
Brooklyn Maxwell cracked the starting lineup for D&E, logging a team-high 28:48 of playing time and posted a solid all-around effort with six points, four rebounds, four assists and five fouls drawn.
A Jada Holland and-one lifted Frostburg back ahead by four, a margin the Bobcats maintained until a Johnson layup with 1:57 remaining sliced the deficit to one for the Senators at 69-68. Another clutch jumper from Taylor pushed D&E ahead 72-71 with less than one minute remaining, but the advantage was short lived as Frostburg took the lead back at the foul line on its next trip up the floor.
Davis & Elkins will not return to the court until Wednesday, January 13 against Glenville State at 5:30 PM. The Senators matchup with Fairmont State set for Sunday has been postponed after the Falcons paused team activities due to COVID-19 protocols.
*The Mountain East Conference contributed to this story
