Senior Brittany Dodson (12) and Erin Hawkins (3) closed out their MEAC Tournament careers with 14 points apiece against Howard.
No. 6 Howard 55, No. 2 Morgan State 51
Bear Shots
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (March 11, 2011)-The second-seeded Morgan State Lady Bears nearly erased a nine-point deficit in the final 1:09 to play, but fell short, falling to No. 6 Howard, 55-51 in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) semifinal game on Friday afternoon at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Morgan State seniors Erin Hawkins and Brittany Dodson each scored a team-high 14 points, while Moneshia Davis added 10 points and Kyla Rollins pulled down a career- and game-high 13 rebounds, but it clearly wasn't enough, as the Lady Bears fell to 45-15 all-time against Howard and 0-4 against the Lady Bison in MEAC Tournament action.
Howard (16-17) was led by Cheyenne Curley-Payne scored a game-high 18 points, while Saadia Doyle, the MEAC player of the Year, added a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Tamoria Holmes, who chipped in with 10 points, connected on 6-for-8 from the free throw line, including two with 12 seconds remaining to secure the victory.
The Lady Bison held a 51-42 lead, following two free throws by Portia Deterville with 1:09 left in the game. Hawkins then nailed a deep three-pointer with a minute to play. Hawkins later got a steal and Dodson drained a three-pointer with 31 seconds to go, cutting the Howard lead to 52-48. Morgan State was not done there, as Rollins recorded a steal on the inbound pass and Jamesia (Jamie) Smith scored on a layup and was fouled on the play. Smith added the free throw to make it 52-51 game.
Holmes free throws made it a 54-51 game and Doyle added one for the game's final score.
Morgan State (17-14) which entered the game shooting 73 percent from the charity stripe, connected on just 8-of-16 (50 percent) for the game. Howard went to the line 25 times, making 18 of them for 72 percent.
The Lady Bears, who never led in the game, fell behind 16-7 after a basket by Julee O'Neal. Morgan State responded with a 13-5 run, capped off by two free throws by Brittany Noel to get within 21-20. But the Lady Bison closed out the half on a 7-1 spurt to take a 28-21 lead into the locker room.
Morgan State would close the gap to 43-39 after a basket by Theresa Davis, but the Howard lead would grow to 51-42 an 8-3 run, setting the stage for the Lady Bears' last stand in the final minute.
