CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (Dec. 20, 2014)-For nearly 26 minutes the Morgan State women's basketball team was right there with a University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) squad which this season had already defeated perennial powers, the University of Tennessee and Stanford.  
 
However, in the end yet another second half scoring drought would do in the Lady Bears, as they dropped a 55-40 decision to the host Lady Mocs in the opening round of the Chattanooga Christmas Classic on Saturday afternoon at McKenzie Arena.
 
Keiana Gilbert scored a game-high 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting and added eight rebounds, while Jasmine Joyner finished with a double-double of 14 points and a game-high 13 rebounds for the Lady Mocs, who won their fourth straight and improved to 8-3 on the season. The win also improved UTC to 2-0 all-time against Morgan State.
 
Morgan State (2-9), which suffered its seventh straight loss of the season, was led by freshmen Braennan Farrar and Zuri White, who both scored a team-high seven points. It marked the first game this season that a Lady Bear player failed to reach double figures in scoring. White also led Morgan State with a game-high four steals, while Danielle Robinson finished with a team-high seven rebounds.
 
Second half scoring droughts and big runs by their opponents have been the Lady Bears' downfall this season. Saturday would be no different. After playing a strong first half and only trailing by two points at the intermission, the Lady Bears would be hindered by a scoring drought of 10 minutes and 11 seconds. Morgan State trailed 34-30, following a basket by Simone Sampson with 14:38 left in the game.
 
That would be the Lady Bears' last basket until Sampson scored again with 4:27 remaining. During the 10-minute scoreless stretch, Chattanooga would use a 17-0 spurt to gain control of the game and take a 51-30 lead with 4:47 to play.
 
Morgan State's bench outscored UTC 17-9 and the Lady Bears held a 12-9 advantage in second chance points.
 
The Lady Mocs held a 30-22 lead in points in the paint, 16-8 advantage in points off of turnovers and outscored Morgan State 8-4 in fast break points.
 
Morgan State held a slim 40-38 advantage over Chattanooga in rebounds, but was limited to just three assists, while UTC had 13 assists. Joyner tallied a game-high seven of the Lady Mocs 10 blocked shots in the game.
 
After Chattanooga had built a 6-0 lead, the Lady Bears settled in and used a 9-3 run capped off by a basket from Dinah Jones to even the score at 9-9 with 12:16 to play in the first half.
 
The Lady Mocs went on a 10-0 spurt over nearly four minutes to take a 19-9 advantage. But the Lady Bears would not go away, scoring the next seven points in part of a 9-2 run to pull within 21-18 with 2:41 to play in opening half.
 
The Lady Bears would then scored the final four points of the half, including a layup by Farrar as time expired to bring the guests within 24-22 at the break.
 
Morgan State finished the game shooting 25 percent (15-of-60) from the floor and 64 percent (9-of-14) from the free throw line. Chattanooga shot 41 percent (19-of-46) for the game and went 13-of-20 (65 percent) from the free throw line.
 
Morgan State will next face Tennessee Tech on Sunday, Dec. 21 at noon to close out the Chattanooga Christmas Classic. Fellow Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference foe North Carolina A&T defeated Tennessee Tech, 54-49 in the opening game on Saturday. This will be the second all-time meeting between the Lady Bears and the Golden Eagles with Tennessee Tech holding a 1-0 series lead.