Lady Bears Drop Ninth Straight; Fall To FAMU in Season Finale, 88-57

Morgan State 57, Florida A&M 88

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (March 1, 2012)-The Lady Bears entered Thursday's regular season finale at Florida A&M on an eight-game losing skid. But the one thing they had in their favor was a six-game winning streak against the Lady Rattlers, including its last three in Tallahassee.

That all came to an end, as Jasmine Grice came off the bench and scored a game-high 20 points to lead five Lady Rattlers in double figures scoring to help FAMU to an 88-57 thumping of Morgan State in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) game at the Al Lawson Center.

Tameka McKelton added 16 points, Qiana Donald and Antonia Bennett each added 15 points and tallied double-doubles and Kimberly Sparkman chipped in with 10. The Lady Rattlers concluded the regular season as co runner-ups with Howard and will be the No. 3 seed in next week's MEAC Tournament.

With the loss, the Lady Bears (6-23, 3-13 MEAC) concluded the regular season on a nine-game losing skid and finished 12th in the league standings – a far cry from the back-to-back co runner-up finishes the past two seasons and last year's WNIT appearance.

The six wins are the fewest since the Lady Bears won five games in head coach Donald Beasley's first year at the helm during the 2005-06 season.

FAMU (21-7, 14-2 MEAC) used a 24-6 spurt to take a 31-17 lead with 4:46 left in the opening half.
Triggered by eight straight points by Keirah Hicks, the Lady Bears countered with a 12-10 run to pull within 41-29. The host Lady Rattlers, however would take a 43-31 lead into the locker room.

FAMU scored the first eight points to begin the second half in part of a 23-12 spurt to take a 66-43 lead, following a three-pointer by Jasmine Grice.

The Lady Rattlers out rebounded Morgan State, 54-39 for the game with Bennett grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds and Donald finishing with 10.

FAMU went 18-for-22 (82 percent) from the free throw line, while the Lady Bears converted 5-of-7 (71 percent) from the charity stripe.

The Lady Bears were led by Hicks, who scored a career-high 17 points, while Amarah Williams added 12 points on 6-for-8 shooting. Kelsey Jones came off the bench to grab a team-high six rebounds to go with her six points and two steals.

Morgan State will now prepare for the upcoming MEAC Tournament. The Lady Bears will face No. 5 North Carolina A&T in opening round action on Monday, March 5 at 1:30 p.m. at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C. Morgan State defeated the Lady Aggies earlier this season in the only meeting, 85-83 in overtime at Hill Field House (1/21/12).

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