Tracey Carrington scored a career-high 34 points in Friday's loss to Lincoln-Pa.
Box Score BALTIMORE, Md. (Nov. 15, 2013)-Morgan State junior guard
Tracey Carrington scored a career- and game-high 34 points and added a game-high five steals, but it wasn't enough, as the Lady Bears dropped their home- and season-opener to Division II opponent, Lincoln-Pa., 94-86 in overtime on Friday night at Hill Field House.
Carrington, who scored 23 of her points in the first half, ended the game shooting 9-of-22 from the field and connected on 15-of-17 from the free throw line.
However, Carrington's performance would be overshadowed in the loss by Zephrah Pam's double-double outing of a career- and team-high 28 points and game-high 15 rebounds for the Lady Lions. Pam, who scored a combined 19 of her points in the second half and overtime period, shot 9-of-16 from the floor and was 10-of-17 from the charity line.
Baltimore native Cynthia Johnson had a productive homecoming, coming off the bench to record 18 points, six rebounds, three steals and three assists, while Courtney Smith added 12 points to help Lincoln overcome a 20-point second half deficit to help Lincoln to its greatest win in program history, as well as the Lady Lions first-ever win over a Division I opponent in program history.
Lincoln (1-0) twice trailed by 20 points in the second half, the last coming at 62-42 with 17:18 remaining in the game. The Lady Lions then went on a 26-5 run over the next 10-plus minutes to take a 68-67 lead on a layup by Mieana Gaines with 6:53 to play. It was Lincoln's first lead since holding a 5-4 advantage.
The Lady Lions lead extended to 76-72 after a layup by Jailen Murphy at the 3:26 mark, before Morgan State used an 8-0 spurt to take an 80-76 lead off of two free throws by Carrington with 1:39 to play. Carrington later connected on two more free throws to give the hosts an 82-80 lead with 20 seconds to play, but Morgan State could not close the deal. Pam would score on a layup to tie the game at 82 and force overtime.
With the momentum on their side and the Lady Lion faithful in attendance feeling good, Lincoln would dominate the extra session, outscoring Morgan State 12-4. The Lady Lions scored the first six points of the period, before Harrington scored on a layup for the Lady Bears to cut the deficit to 88-84 with 3:21 remaining. Lincoln then closed the door on Morgan State and sealed its upset win with another 6-0 run for the final score.
Heading into the 2013-14 campaign with a roster consisting of as many as 11 freshmen and just three returnees from a year ago, a major concern for Morgan State was its youth and how they would react.
Morgan State (0-1), which has also had to deal with several injuries, appeared to have received a boost when junior transfer
Danielle Forrest (nine points and two rebounds) was cleared to play less than an hour before tip-off.
The Lady Bears had a 22-7 lead less than seven minutes into the contest when Forrest knocked down a three-pointer with 13:33 to play in the first half. But the smaller Lady Lions would not go away, making the first of many runs over the course of the game. Lincoln would put together a 14-4 run just under four minutes, capped off by a three-pointer from Smith to bring the guests within 26-24.
Morgan State countered and took a 42-32 lead, following a jumper by Carrington and then closed out the final 3:23 of the half on a 10-6 run with Carrington nailing a three-pointer to give the Lady Bears a 52-38 halftime cushion.
The Lady Lions controlled the paint, outrebounding Morgan State 63-42. Dejah Taylor finished with 10 rebounds for Lincoln.
Morgan State will look to regroup when it travels to Raleigh, N.C. to take on Atlantic Coast Conference member North Carolina State. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. at Reynolds Coliseum.
