Amarah Williams tallied a career-high 16 points and added six rebounds and two assists in the loss at SC State.
ORANGEBURG, S.C. (Jan. 7, 2012)-In the midst of Morgan State's losing skid, the Lady Bears tried to remain positive and upbeat in knowing that their struggles were coming against non-conference opponents.
After playing in 12 consecutive non-conference games all on the road, Morgan State was finally playing in its first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) game of the season.
Unfortunately for the Lady Bears the end result was still the same, as South Carolina State spoiled Morgan State's MEAC opener, defeating the visiting Lady Bears, 84-71 on Saturday afternoon at Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center.
Tracey Flowers scored a game-high 22 points to lead five South Carolina State players, including four starters in double figures scoring. Flowers shot 6-for-8 from the floor and added 10 free throws, eight rebounds, two assists and a block for the Lady Bulldogs who improved to 7-7 on the season and 2-1 in MEAC action.
Paris Alston scored 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting and Tiara Knotts and Kourtney Williams added 13 and 12 points, respectively for SC State. Tiana Hemphill came off the bench and contributed a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
Morgan State (2-11, 0-1 MEAC) which has now lost two straight to the Lady Bulldogs in Orangeburg, was led by freshman
Amarah Williams, who scored a career-high 16 points and added six rebounds and two assists. Senior
Omara Parker came off the bench and added 15 points and five rebounds, while fellow senior
DeKeisha Mathis chipped in with 12 points.
The host Lady Bulldogs used a 6-0 spurt to take a 27-24 advantage, but Morgan State's
Keirah Hicks evened the score on a layup and free with 6:06 to play. SC State countered with a 7-0 run to take its largest lead of the game at 34-27.
Morgan State pulled within three points at 34-31, but would get no closer, as the Lady Bulldogs held a 43-35 halftime advantage.
SC State quickly extended their cushion to 16 points (58-42) with a 15-7 spurt to begin the second stanza. Knotts capped off a 13-7 run for the Lady Bulldogs with a three-pointer to put the hosts up 18 (76-58), their largest lead of the game with 6:04 to play.
However, Morgan State had one last push in it, using an 11-1 run over the course of three minutes to pull within 77-69 with 2:51 remaining, before getting outscored 7-2 the remainder of the contest.
SC State held a slim 44-40 advantage in points in the paint, but had a whopping 26-2 advantage over the Lady Bears in second chance points.
The Lady Bears head to Savannah, Ga. to take on MEAC newcomer Savannah State on Monday, Jan. 7 at 6 p.m. at Tiger Arena. The game will mark the fourth meeting between the two teams with Morgan State holding a 2-1 series lead. The Lady Bears defeated the Tigers in their last meeting, 84-72 at Hill Field House in 2005.
