Corin Adams recorded the program's first triple-double in Wednesday's win over NCCU.
Boxscore
BALTIMORE, Md. (Nov. 21, 2007)-Coming off of back-to-back heartbreaking four-point losses last weekend at the Longwood Classic, the Lady Bears were eager to return home for their home-opener against North Carolina Central (NCCU) and get back in the win column.
Morgan State fans were not disappointed, as they witnessed sophomore guard Corin Adams record the school’s first triple-double, while the team erupted for 50 second half points in its 85-40 rout of the NCCU Eagles in a non-conference game at Hill Field House on Wednesday night.
“I’m really not happy for the performance in the first half,” said Morgan State head coach Donald Beasley. “Every game we’ve played we’ve started out slow. So I have to do something to get this first half going. We’ve scored 40 points each second half, 50 tonight, so I’m happy for the kids but I am not content and we have to work on getting started.”
A 5-foot-5 native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Adams scored 11 points, dished out 10 assists and tied the school mark for steals with 11 to collect the triple-double. Adams, who scored all of her points in the first half and totaled nine thefts in the first half, before picking up her 11th with 45 seconds left in the game. Her 11 steals tied her with two former Lady Bears for the single game high at Morgan State. Kaira Warfield was the last Morgan player to accomplish that mark against Maryland Eastern Shore on Feb. 24, 1996, while Mary Frazier recorded 11 against West Chester on Jan. 10, 1981.
“I didn’t realize it until the last couple of minutes and I heard I was still one (steal) away from the record,” said Adams on her school tying steal performance. “As far as the triple-double, my coach kept looking at the table and asking for me, so I tried to get it.”
For Morgan State coach Beasley, while proud of Adams’ accomplishment, he was disappointed in Adams’ lack of second half scoring.
“Those are numbers that are good for her personally, but I’m disappointed that she had 11 points at the end of the first half and she ended the game with 11 points,” said Beasley. “So mentality wise she’s not where I want her to be – a scoring machine. To not score any points in the second half is disappointing.”
All 13 Morgan State players in uniform saw action and scored, as the Lady Bears shot a season-high 56.5 percent from the field on 35-of-62 shooting. Defensively, Morgan State forced 34 North Carolina Central turnovers, 25 of which were steals. The Eagles were held to 14-of-44 shooting (31.8 percent) and shot 21.4 percent (3-of-14) from three-point range.
Britney Griffin led the Lady Bears with a game-high 13 points and added a game-high seven rebounds. Danielle Scott finished with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting to lead Morgan’s bench, which outscored the Eagles’ bench players, 47-7. Omega Boddie came off the bench and went 3-for-3, while connecting on both of her three-point attempts to finish with eight points. Jasmine Sellers and Theresa Davis also finished with eight points apiece. Sellers shot 3-for-4 from the field, including 2-of-3 from behind the arc.
Morgan State, which entered the contest having scored 40 or more points in the second half in its previous three games, exploded for 50 second half points against North Carolina Central. According to available records, the 50-point second half output ranks second all-time in school history.
“I’m from the CIAA and if I went down there they would have tried to kill me” said Beasley. “We’ve been scoring 40 points in every second half, so I think we are a scoring team, we just haven’t started out early. I think 75 points is our average and I need to get us to where that is consistent in every game and I’ll be happy but that’s what I’m shooting for.”
North Carolina Central (0-6), which fell to 0-3 this season against Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opponents, was led by Shanise Blanks’ 11 points, while Jori Nwachukwu and Tonia Roundtree added eight points each.
“Coming off a two-game losing streak, we tried to play hard and once we noticed they couldn’t really hang with us, we just tied to go at them,” said Adams. “I think this game gave us a lot of confidence, so for Mount St. Mary’s we should be ready and hopefully come out with the same intensity.”
The Lady Bears are off until Wednesday, Nov. 28, when they visit Mount St. Mary’s in a non-conference game at Knott Arena in Emmitsburg, Md. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
