South Carolina State 54, Morgan State 61
BALTIMORE, Md. (Jan. 15, 2011)-Brittany Noel fell shy of a double-double, finishing with a team-high 14 points and pulling down a team-high nine rebounds, while Jamesia (Jamie) Smith came off the bench and added 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting to lead Morgan State to a 61-54 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) victory over South Carolina State on Saturday afternoon at Hill Field House.
The Lady Bears improved to 8-7 on the season, 3-1 in the MEAC, while South Carolina State dropped its first conference game, falling 6-7 overall and 2-1 in the MEAC.
Morgan State nearly blew a 19-point second half lead, as the visiting Lady Bulldogs evened the score at 50 all with a three-pointer by Whitney Wiley with 2:35 to play. The Lady Bears, who shot 77 percent (14-of-18) from the free throw line, closed out the game with an 11-4 run, including 5-for-7 from the line.
The Lady Bears took a 35-16 lead after two free throws by Dodson with 18:20 left in the game. The guests used a 10-0 run to cut the Morgan State lead down to 40-34 and then went on an 11-4 spurt to pull within 46-45 after a basket by Goodwin with 4:06 to play. Wiley's three-pointer to even the score at 50 apiece, would be as close as South Carolina State would get.
South Carolina State shot 18-of-59 (30.5 percent) for the game, including 5-of-15 (33 percent) from three-point range. Morgan State shot 42.9 percent (21-of-49) from the field and 5-of-14 (35.7 percent) from the charity stripe.
The Lady Bulldogs were led by Wiley, who finished with a team-high 14 points, including 4-for-8 from three-point range. Goodwin added a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Tiara Knotts came off the bench and added 10 points.
Once the game, which had its start time change three times less than two hours from tip-off, finally got underway, the host Lady Bears took control of the game by using a 17-0 run during the course of just over four minutes to extend their lead to 27-8. Morgan State held a 10-8 lead, when Brittany Dodson connected on a three-pointer to trigger the run and Noel capped off the spurt with a trey, giving the hosts the 19-point advantage with 5:06 to play.
South Carolina State ended its four minute scoreless drought with two free throws by Tracey Flowers, followed by a basket by Fannie Goodwin to make it a 27-12 game. Smith then hit a three-pointer to give Morgan State a 30-14 halftime advantage.
Morgan State returns to non-conference action on Monday, Jan. 17, when it plays host to MEAC newcomer North Carolina Central. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at Hill Field House. The Lady Eagles dropped a 59-47 decision at Coppin State on Saturday. South Carolina State travels to Coppin State on Monday for a 5:30 p.m. game at the Physical Education Center.
