Fred Batchelor says it's too early to talk about NCAA tournament implications just yet, but the UMES women's basketball coach isn't oblivious to the signs.
In the space of five days recently, the Hawks knocked off last year's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament runner-up (Morgan State), the regular-season champion (Coppin State) and the tournament champ (Delaware State).
"If we can continue to play at that level, mentally and physically ... " Batchelor said, leaving the NCAA tournament implication unsaid.
UMES' seven-game winning streak ended last night with a 68-64 loss to visiting Hampton. The Hawks fell into a tie for third place in the conference with the Lady Pirates and Delaware State at 7-3. Coppin State is in second place at 8-3, and North Carolina A&T; is in first at 10-0.
What's scary about UMES is how young it is. Batchelor starts three sophomores and a freshman and has just two seniors on the team - with no juniors.
Tiffany Reid, his best player, is a 5-foot-9 sophomore guard from Philadelphia who passes as well as she shoots. She missed last season after shoulder surgery but has come back to become an instinctive player.
Reid teams with April McBride, a 6-1 sophomore forward, to give UMES a dynamic one-two scoring punch.
With the first half of the conference season concluded, McBride already has seven double doubles.
"April is not a three-point shooter, but she can knock it down," Batchelor said. "She's not a dribbler, but she can get to the basket."
Then there are three freshmen who play. Casey Morton starts at point guard, Chena Parker provides depth in the post, and Queenique Tyler, from Fort Washington, is the first player off the bench.
Batchelor, in his fourth season at Princess Anne, said the team will have to overcome inexperience to finish strong. But UMES looks right on schedule.
"This is what we expected," he said.
Women's basketball
The Loyola women drew their largest crowd of the season for their annual Women in Sports Day, which coincided with the "Think Pink" campaign to raise national awareness and raise money for cancer.
The 75-72 win over Saint Peter's was especially meaningful because the Greyhounds accomplished it without senior guard Tynisha Davis, who was home in New York City after the death of an uncle to cancer.
"We know that she wanted to be here [Sunday], but we just wanted to be able to call her after the game and tell her that we won for her and her family," guard Siobhan Prior said.
Prior, who didn't start at the beginning of the season, has become one of Loyola's most consistent players. She has scored in double figures in seven of the past nine games.
Men's basketball
It appears to be a two-team race for first place in America East between UMBC and Vermont. The Retrievers have gone 3-0 without leading scorer Brian Hodges (ankle injury) and at 9-2 get a week to rest and recoup before playing Boston University on Saturday.
UMBC must play three of its final four games on the road before the conference tournament, and getting Hodges back for that stretch will be critical.
"He might play the BU game, and he might not," coach Randy Monroe said. "He's getting better. A week ago, he wasn't able to walk without crutches. He's walking now."
Swimming
Senior Brad Test, Johns Hopkins' most decorated active swimmer with 18 All-America honors, won the 50-, 100-, and 200-meter freestyle in a tri-meet with No. 14 North Carolina and No. 4 Emory (Division III) last week to earn the national Division III Swimmer of the Week award.
Test, from Dresher, Pa., is the reigning national champion in the 400-medley relay and could tie Matt Johnson (1995-1998, 25) as the most decorated swimmer in school history at this year's NCAA championships March 20-22 in Oxford, Ohio.
ken.murray@baltsun.com