In the opening round of the MEAC tournament, the Lady Rattlers edged South Carolina State 54-50 in orderly fashion.
That first round win was coupled with a 64-43 quarterfinal victory over rival Coppin State University.
With one game left on the bracket, Howard University ended the season for the Rattlers in the semifinals with a 70-58 upsetting loss.
On the upside the Lady Rattlers chances at the title in 2010 is promising with the slew of returning players whom have shown what the team is capable of accomplishing in their performances this past season.
The roster will still be loaded with talent like leading scorer Deidra Jones who will be returning for another season with the Rattlers as well as Antonia Bennett who was the team’s leading scorer in the MEAC semifinals game.
“We did pretty good this season, we came together well as a team and we made it pretty far in the tournament,” said freshman guard Qiana Donald.
The season came to an end for the Rattler’s in the semifinals of the MEAC tournament, as they were upset 74-56 by the Hampton Pirates.
Advancing to the semifinals was a step up from last season when they were thwarted in the quarterfinals. The Rattlers fell shy of a .500 season with a 14-17 record, the same as last season.
This season the Lady Rattler’s were under new leadership as first year Coach LaDawn Gibson came in and took the reign.
“She’s a really great coach, she’s hard but she just wants the best out of us,” Donald said.
The Rattler’s are expecting positive results next season although they will be losing a few key players.
Melissa Daniels, Stephanie Foster and Denise Tate, will be graduating this year. Foster was the second leading scorer while Daniels and Tate led the team in rebounds.
With their post-season success and trusted faith behind the leadership of Gibson, the Lady Rattlers are on a mission to reach the MEAC title in 2010.
“We just got a taste of it making it to the semifinals,” Donald said. “Now we have the hunger for it, not saying we didn’t have that hunger before but now it’s even greater.”