Morgan State University Athletics

Box Score
BALTIMORE, Md. (March 1, 2014)-Bethune-Cookman's Chastity René Taylor's baseline jumper with .5 seconds remaining lifted the visiting Lady Wildcats past Morgan State, 47-45 in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game on Saturday afternoon at Hill Field House. It was the first meeting between the two teams since Feb. 7, 2011 in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Bethune-Cookman (11-16, 8-7 MEAC), which was making its first appearance in Hill Field House, since Feb. 8, 2010 (a 79-68 win by the Lady Wildcats), has now won three of the last four contests against Morgan State, while extending its winning streak to three straight.

The Lady Wildcats were led by Taylor Houston, who finished with 11 points and had a team-high seven rebounds and Kendra Cooper finished with nine points. Taylor added a team-high six assists and six rebounds to go with her game winner, as the guests held a 43-41 rebounding advantage over the Lady Bears.

For Morgan State (4-23, 2-12 MEAC), the win ended a season-long two-game winning streak for the Lady Bears, who have now dropped eight of their last nine games at home.

Tracey Carrington, who entered the contest as the second leading scorer in the MEAC (21.1 points), recorded her second double-double of the season, finishing with a game-high 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds to lead the Lady Bears. Carrington also tallied a career- and game-high seven assists and had a block and a steal.

Simone Sampson came off the bench to total 10 points and seven rebounds and a steal, while Danielle Robinson added eight points a block and a steal in the loss.

Morgan State, which trailed by as much as 17 points in the first half, used 20-6 run to start the second half to pull within 38-37. A floater in the lane by Carrington with 9:28 left in the game cut the deficit to a point. The Lady Bears went on runs of 9-0 and 11-2 during the first 10-and-a-half minutes to get back in the game. Carrington, who went 10-of-12 from the free throw line, later added two free throws to give the Lady Bears a 41-40 lead with 7:10 to play, their first lead since they were up 10-7 six minutes into the first half.

However Morgan State would again go on a field goal drought, this time making just one more field goal the final 7:10 of the game. After a basket by Alea Godfrey gave the Lady Wildcats a one-point lead, Carrington knocked down two more free throws to put Morgan State up, 43-42 with 3:25 to play.

A free throw by Godfrey evened the score at 43 all and Jasmine Evans put Bethune-Cookman up 45-43 with her layup with 1:38 remaining. Dinah Jones responded for Morgan State with a running hook shot to even the game at 45 with 1:03 left.

Both teams would get stops and Bethune-Cookman took over with 25 seconds remaining and called timeout with 13.8 left on the clock. When play resumed, Taylor caught Morgan State defense napping in the paint and drove to the right side of the basket. By the time the Lady Bears rotated it was too late, as Taylor's jumper went in to give the visiting Lady Wildcats the win.

Both teams ironically shot 16-of-55 from the floor for 29.1 percent. The Lady Wildcats were 3-for-18 from three-point range (16.7 percent) and Morgan State shot 23.1 percent (3-of-13) from three-point range. Morgan State shot 10-of-14 (71.4) from the charity stripe and Bethune-Cookman was 12-of-17 for 70.6 percent).

Ivy Harrington brought the Lady Bears within 14-12 with 11:06 to play. However that would be the last field goal for Morgan State for over a nine-minute span, as Bethune-Cookman closed out the half on an 18-5 run to take a 32-17 lead at the break.

The Lady Wildcats scored 13 straight points, capped off by a three-pointer from Cooper, following Harrington's basket. Morgan State ended the run with a free throw by Carrington with 4:16 to play. Two minutes and 31 seconds later, Sampson scored a basket to end the Lady Bear's drought without a field goal with 1:45 remaining in the first half. Sampson later added a jumper from the right wing to end the half.

The Lady Bears close out their 2013-14 home slate on Monday, March 3^rd against the Lady Rattlers of Florida A&M. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at Hill Field House.