Theresa Davis led Morgan State with a team-high 13 points against NC Central.
Morgan State 49, North Carolina Central 60
Bear Shots
DURHAM, N.C. (Feb. 12, 2011)-Jori Nwachukwu scored 15 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to record her 10th double-double of the season, while Chasidy Williams came off the bench and added 15 points to lead host North Carolina Central (NCCU) to a 60-49 victory over Morgan State in a non-conference game on Saturday afternoon at McDougald-McLendon Gym. Tenika Neely chipped in with 10 points and J'mia Pollock tallied 10 rebounds, all defensive to help the Lady Eagles end a 13-game losing skid.
Morgan State (14-9), which had its season-long winning streak snapped at four games, was led by Theresa Davis, who finished with 13 points and #Jamesia (Jamie) Smith#, who added 11 points. Kyla Rollins came off the bench and recorded a game- and season-high 12 rebounds to go with her eight points in the loss.
The Lady Eagles (3-21) shot 42 percent (22-of-52) from the field and were 2-for-14 (14 percent) from three-point range. NCCU converted 14-of-22 (63 percent) from the free throw line. Morgan State shot 14-of-51 (27 percent) from the field, including 15 percent (3-of-19) from three-point range and connected on 18-of-26 (69 percent) from the charity stripe.
Morgan State scored the first five points of the game and held its largest lead of the first half at eight points, following a free throw by Davis, giving the guests a 24-16 lead with 7:02 remaining in the first half.
But Williams completed a three-point play, which triggered a 13-4 run by the host Lady Eagles to cut the Morgan State lead to 30-29 at the intermission.
Neely hit a three-pointer to begin the second half, giving the hosts their first lead of the game at 32-30. The Lady Eagles would score the seven consecutive points, upping their lead to 36-30 after a layup by Pollock, before Davis ended Morgan's scoreless drought with a trey at the 17:10 mark.
The Lady Bears found themselves facing an 11-point deficit at 48-37 with 7:43 to play, when they went on a 7-0 run just under four minutes to pull within 48-44. But that would be as close as they would get. North Carolina Central, who last claimed victory on Dec. 18, 2010, scored the next 12 points to take its largest lead of the game at 60-44 with 1:12 to play to secure the victory.
Morgan State, which concluded its non-conference slate with a 6-7 mark this season, returns to Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) action on Monday, Feb. 14, when it visits South Carolina State at 5:30 p.m. in Orangeburg, S.C.
