Morgan State 51, Delaware State 44
DOVER, Del. (Jan. 22, 2011)-Theresa Davis fell shy of a double-double, finishing with 14 points and nine rebounds, while #Jamesia (Jamie) Smith# came off the bench and scored 12 of her 14 points in the first half to lead visiting Morgan State to a 51-44 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) win over Delaware State on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Hall.
With the win, coupled by Hampton's loss at Bethune-Cookman, the Lady Bears are now tied with Hampton a top the MEAC standings in the loss column with one loss.
Delaware State scored the game's first eight points and held a 10-2 advantage, following a basket by Alexis Johnson with 17:07 left in the opening half. Morgan State then woke up and countered with a 19-2 run to take a 21-12 lead, while holding the host Hornets scoreless for seven minutes.
The Hornets' Ashley Thompson ended the drought with a free throw to cut the Morgan State deficit to 21-13 with 6:12 to play.
Smith then knocked down her second trey of the half, this time from the right elbow to make it a 24-13 game. The Lady Bears would take a 26-18 lead at the break
Morgan State (10-7, 4-1 MEAC) began the second half missing its first six shots, but connected on 5-of-6 from the free throw line to extend the lead to 31-21 with 14:59 to play.
The Lady Bears finally got their first field goal nearly eight minutes into the second half when Brittany Noel hit a three-pointer at the 12:13 mark, giving Morgan a 34-24 lead.
Delaware State (5-12, 1-4 MEAC) then used a 17-10 run over the next eight minutes to pull with 44-41 with 2:15 to play. Morgan extended their lead to 48-41, before Conner nailed a trey from the left wing with 1:06 left, cutting the lead to 48-44.
Morgan State began to fall apart, as it was unable to get the ball up the floor on three consecutive possessions. Luckily the host Hornets could not capitalize and Morgan State sealed the game with three straight free throws for the victory.
The Hornets were led by Kianna Conner, who tied game-high honors with a team-high 14 points. Brittany Washington came off the bench and added eight points and a team-high nine rebounds.
The Lady Bears return to action on Monday, Jan. 24, when they travel to Princess Anne, Md., to take on the Lady Hawks of Maryland Eastern Shore. Tip-off is slated for 5:30 p.m. at the Hytche Center.
BEAR CLAWS
- Theresa Davis moved into 10th-place all-time at Morgan State in rebounds with 551.
- Morgan State head coach Donald Beasley moved into second-place all-time at Morgan State in career victories with 86, passing Anderson Powell (85-179).
