Whitney Southerland came off the bench and tied a team-high 16 points in the loss to Holy Cross.
Morgan State 66, Holy Cross 73
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (Dec. 29, 2011)-Just when Morgan State thought its seven-game losing skid was about to be over the Lady Bears found a way to blow a 10-point second half lead and fall to Holy Cross, 73-66 in the consolation game of the Miami Holiday Classic on Thursday evening at the BankUnited Center.
DeKeisha Mathis scored on a layup with 14 seconds remaining, giving the Lady Bears a 66-63 advantage. But on the ensuing inbound, Holy Cross beat Morgan State's full court press and after several passes around the arc, Alex Smith was wide open at the top of the key and drained her fifth three-pointer of the game to even the score at 66 and force overtime.
The Lady Bears, who had a chance to win it in regulation, but had a potential layup attempt hit the bottom of the rim as the horn sounded, clearly seemed effected by the rollercoaster feel of being seconds away from celebrating a victory to dealing with yet another loss. Holy Cross would hold Morgan State scoreless during the extra session, as Morgan State went 0-for-8 from the field, including 0-for-4 from three-point range in overtime.
The Crusaders (7-6) were led by Smith and Amy Lepley, who both scored a game-high 19 points. Lepley added a team-high 10 rebounds to record a double-double, while Brisje Malone fell shy of a triple-double, finishing with a game-high 11 assists, 10 points and eight rebounds to help Holy Cross take third-place.
Morgan State (2-9), which last season took runner-up honors after reaching the championship game of the Miami Classic, was led by Whitney Southerland, who came off the bench and scored 16 points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals. Mathis tied Southerland for team-high honors of 16 points, while Omara Parker added 12 points, eight rebounds and had a game-high five steals. Amarah Williams recorded her first double-double of the season, totaling 10 points and a team-high 10 rebounds in the loss.
The Lady Bears held a 52-42 advantage following a Mathis three-pointer with 13:54 to play in the second half and maintained a nine-point cushion at the 8:27 mark. But Holy Cross used a 10-0 spurt capped off by a jumper by Christine Ganser to reclaim the lead at 58-57 just two and a half minutes later.
The Crusaders would go up 61-57 after a three-pointer by Smith. Mathis then banked in a three-pointer to cut the Morgan State deficit to a point and a jumper by Southerland reclaimed the lead for the Lady Bears at 62-61. The teams would trade one-point leads, before the layup by Mathis put Morgan State up 66-63 with 14 seconds remaining, setting the stage for Smith's heroics.
The Lady Bears will stay in Miami through the New Year's and will return to action on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012 when they visit Florida International at 7 p.m.
