Erin Hawkins (3) finished with 15 pionts, including the game winning free throws and MyQueisha Bratton (33) stole a pass in the final seconds to lift Morgan State over UMES on Senior Night.
Morgan State 58, Maryland Eastern Shore 56 OT
BALTIMORE, Md. (Feb. 21, 2011)-Playing in her final home game in the friendly confines of Hill Field House, senior guard Erin Hawkins scored a team-high 15 points, had two steals and dished out five assists to help lead Morgan State to a 58-56 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) overtime win over the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) on Monday evening for 'Senior Night'.
Hawkins, who scored 10 of her points following the intermission, connected on a free throw to even the score at 52 all, but missed the second attempt with 12.6 seconds remaining in regulation, thus sending the game into an extra session. Hawkins would make up for it in overtime, converting two attempts with 24.2 seconds to play to put the Lady Bears in front 58-56.
MyQueisha Bratton (four points, three rebounds and a steal), picked off a UMES entry pass in the paint to preserve the win for Morgan State and end a season-long three-game skid. Moneshia Davis added 13 points for the Lady Bears, while Brittany Noel, who was also playing in her final home contest, chipped in with 11 points and three steals. Fellow senior Brittany Dodson, was plagued with foul trouble for the majority of the game, but managed to finish with eight points and pulled down five rebounds before fouling out of her second straight game.
The win keeps Morgan State (15-11, 9-4 MEAC) in sole possession of second-place in the league standings, just a game in front of a surging Howard (13-15, 9-5 MEAC), who has won three straight and leaped over both fourth-place North Carolina A&T and fifth-place Florida A&M over the weekend.
Morgan State fell behind 8-3, before using a 13-6 spurt, which consisted of back-to-back three-pointers by Moneshia Davis and Erin Hawkins and a put back layup by Kyla Rollins to give Morgan its first lead of the game. Brittany Dodson then added a free throw to complete a three-point play and Morgan's run at the 6:07 mark, giving the hosts a 19-14 advantage.
The Lady Hawks (8-18, 5-8 MEAC) answered back with four straight points to pull within, 19-18, but Morgan State closed out with a 9-4 run, capped off with a three-pointer by Moneshia Davis to give the Lady Bears a 31-24 halftime advantage.
UMES quickly erased the seven-point deficit with a 10-4 run to pull within 35-34 after a basket by Chelsea Sanders with 14:39 to play. Morgan State seemed to be in good shape when Noel nailed a three-pointer with 6:28 remaining, giving the Lady Bears a 49-42 lead.
However, has been the case all season-long, the Lady Bears would once again go scoreless without a field goal the rest of the way. UMES would go on a 10-3 run in that span to take its first lead of the half at 52-51 after four straight points from Amber Cook, including two free throws with 1:02 left in the game. Morgan State's lone points would be three free throws, two from Bratton and the last by Hawkins to send the game into an extra period.
Casey Morton, who in her four years has been Morgan State's nemesis, including the 20 points she scored against the Lady Bears in the first meeting this season, went 0-for-10 from the field, including 0-for-3 from three-point range. Morton's lone points came off of two free throws at the 2:01 mark of overtime, putting the guests ahead, 56-52.
The Lady Bears got back-to-back baskets from Moneshia Davis and Noel to even the score at 56, leading to Hawkins' free throws and Bratton's steal.
UMES was led by Sanders, who led four Lady Hawks in double figures scoring with a game-high 17 points and three steals, while Cook tallied 14 points and a team-high four steals. Adobi Agbasi recorded a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, while LaKendra Wilkerson also had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds for UMES, which suffered its fourth straight loss.
The visitors shot 19-of-56 (33.9 percent) from the field, including 1-for-8 from beyond the arc. UMES also converted 17-of-22 (77 percent) from the charity line and held a 46-40 rebounding edge.
The Lady Bears shot 29 percent (18-of-61) for the game and was 8-for-24 (33 percent) from three-point range. Morgan State shot 70 percent (14-of-20) from the free throw line.
Morgan State, which will play its final three regular season games on the road returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 26, when they travel to Norfolk, Va. to take on Norfolk State in a MEAC contest at Echols Hall. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.
