Brittany Dodson finished with a game-high 18 points in Morgan's WNIT loss to Virginia. (photo by Andrew Shurtleff)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (March 17, 2011)-Playing in its first postseason game in school history as a Division I program, Morgan State's Erin Hawkins knocked down a deep three-pointer from the right side near the WNIT logo on the court, giving the visiting Lady Bears a 3-0 lead. 39 minutes later Brittany Dodson would hit a bank-shot three-pointer for the final points of the game and her collegiate career.
Unfortunately, Morgan State would fall short in its upset bid, dropping a 69-56 decision to host Virginia in the first round of the WNIT Tournament at John Paul Jones Arena.
Dodson would lead all scorers with 18 points. Jamie Smith would come off the bench to score 12 points, while Hawkins, who was also playing in her final collegiate game, added 11 points for the Lady Bears who finish the season 17-15 overall for its fifth consecutive winning season.
Virginia (17-15) was led by Whitny Edwards and Ariana Moorer, who both came off the and scored 11 and 10 points, respectively for the Cavaliers, who will face Loyola (Md.) on Sunday at 4 p.m.
Following Hawkins game opening three-pointer, Virginia would score the next 11 points, before Dodson ended the run with a jumper, cutting the lead to 11-5.
The host Cavaliers used a 14-6 run to extend their lead to 25-11, before Hawkins went on a 6-0 spurt of her own with back-to-back three-pointers to cut the deficit to 25-17 with 6:54 to play. But UVA would again counter with its own run, using a 10-2 run to push its advantage back up to 14 points at 33-19.
Both teams scored eight points in the final minutes and the host Cavaliers took a 43-27 lead into the locker room.
Morgan State finished the game shooting 21-of-64 for the game, including 9-of-33 from three-point range. Morgan State went 6-for-8 from the free throw line.
Virginia finished the game shooting 22-of-54 from the field and 5-of-13 from three-point range. The host Cavaliers out rebounded Morgan State, 51-27. But despite the rebounding advantage, Virginia connected on 20-of-24 free throws, which was the difference in the game.
