LEWISBURG, Pa. (Dec. 3, 2014)-Claire Maree O'Bryan scored a game-high 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including 4-of-6 from three-point range to lead host Bucknell to a 79-50 non-conference victory over Morgan State on Wednesday evening at Sojka Pavilion.
Claire DeBoer recorded a double-double with 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, while Audrey Dotson added 10 points, eight rebounds and a game-high six assists, as the Bison improved to 2-1 all-time against Morgan State.
Morgan State (2-5) losers of three straight, was led by Tracey Carrington, who only played in the first half and finished with a team-high 12 points. Tykyrah Williams finished with eight points and Jayde Duncan tallied a team-high seven rebounds.
The second half of Wednesday's game was a sense of déjà vu for both squads when looking at their respective previous contests. For Morgan State, it was a 30-10 run by Oklahoma State (11/25) over the course of 10 minutes to start the second half, which turned a once one-point lead into 30-point deficit for the Lady Bears.
Bucknell (4-2) used a 16-2 second half run over the span of four-and-a-half minutes to take control in its home opening win on Saturday against Cornell. Tonight, it would be a 34-5 run by the Bison over the first 11:14 of the second half, giving Bucknell its largest lead of the contest (31 points) at 70-39. Bucknell held just a 36-34 lead at halftime.
Both teams got going slow in the first half, but Morgan State appeared to find enough offense early on. The Lady Bears used a 10-2 spurt to begin the game, following a jumper by Braennan Farrar to give the guests the eight-point lead with 15:07 to play.
Just over six minutes later, Dotson connected on two free throws to cap off a 14-5 run to give Bucknell a 16-15 lead with 9:02 to go in the first half. The two teams traded leads back and forth several times, before a three-pointer by Megan McGurk capped off a 6-0 mini run by Bucknell and put the host Bison ahead 29-24 with 5:10 to play.
Morgan State would chip away at the deficit and a jumper in the lane by Carrington with 1:02 to play end the scoring, as the Lady Bears trailed 36-34 heading into the locker room.
The host Bison shot 40 percent (23-of-57) and 34.8 percent (8-of-23) from three-point range. Bucknell also converted 25-of-33 free throws for 75.8 percent. The Bison had 20 assists for the game, while Morgan State only had six.
Morgan State was 18-of-71 from the floor for 25 percent. The Lady Bears hit just 4-of-27 (14 percent) from three-point range and were 10-of-16 (62 percent) from the free throw line.
The Lady Bears will now turn their attention to this weekend's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) opener, as Morgan State visits Norfolk State on Saturday, Dec. 6 at 4 p.m. at Echols Hall. The Lady Bears will then conclude their trip to the Tidewater area when they take on defending MEAC champion Hampton on Monday, Dec. 8 at 6 p.m. at the HU Convocation Center.
