Game 13
Morgan State "Lady Bears" (2-10)
at the University of Maryland Baltimore County "Retrievers" (5-7)
January 1, 2015 / 7 p.m.
Baltimore, Md. (RAC Arena)
Series: UMBC leads, 12-10

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BALTIMORE, Md. (Jan. 1, 2015)-The Lady Bears begin the 2015 portion of its schedule with a non-conference road game on New Year's night against rival the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). Tip-off is Thursday, Jan. 1 at 7 p.m. at RAC Arena. This will be the 23rd meeting between the two programs with UMBC holding a 12-10 all-time series lead.
  
BEAR CLAWS: Morgan State (2-10) had its season-long losing skid reach eight straight after back-to-back losses to Chattanooga and Tennessee Tech in the Chattanooga Christmas Classic (Dec. 20-21). Braennan Farrar, who led the Lady Bears in scoring in both games, led four Morgan State players in double figures in scoring with a game-high 20 points against Tennessee Tech in the consolation game. She also added five assists and four steals, also game highs. Danielle Robinson finished with 11 points, including three three-pointers, while Zuri White and Dinah Jones added 10 points apiece. Jones added four assists and White along with Lexus Spears totaled a game-high seven rebounds each. The Lady Bears had been led by senior Tracey Carrington, who was averaging 19.3 points per game, which ranks third in the MEAC, prior to her injury. Carrington, who has not played in five-and-a-half games since getting injured prior to halftime in the Bucknell game, also ranks second on the team in rebounding (5.1 per game), assists (15) and steals (15). Farrar has stepped up in the absence of Carrington, averaging (10.8 points), while leading the team in assists (33) and steals (29). Harrington is coming off the bench to contribute 6.8 points per outing and ranks second in the MEAC in field goal percentage at 54.0 (34-of-63). White leads the team with 5.3 rebounds per game.
 
PAW PRINTS: The Retrievers (5-7) enter the contest on a two-game losing skid and losers of four of their last five games. UMBC is coming off a heartbreaking 65-62 loss at La Salle (12/30).Capree Garner scored a game-high 22 points, while Dana Lewis scored a career-high 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting and added eight rebounds in the loss. Taylor McCarley added 13 points and had a team-high four assists. Garner leads the team in scoring with an average of 19.2 points per game, while Amanda Hagaman is scoring 9.4 points and a team-high 5.9 rebounds per contest and McCarley is contributing 9.1 points a game and a team-high 4.0 assists per outing. As a team the Retrievers are scoring 66.8 points per game, while allowing 70.1 points a game.
 
MSU VS. UMBC SERIES NOTES: The Retrievers lead the all-time series, 12-10. Morgan State ended a six-game losing skid against UMBC, following a 72-61 victory in the season opener at Hill Field House (11/9/12).
 
MORGAN VS. THE AMERICA EAST: Morgan State is 11-22 all-time against members of the America East Conference. Here is how Morgan State has done against the America East: Albany (0-2), Binghampton (0-1), Hartford (0-1), UMBC (10-12), New Hampshire (0-1), Stony Brook (1-5). Morgan State has never faced Maine, Massachusetts-Lowell or Vermont.
 
NEXT UP: The Lady Bears return home to host Brown on Sunday, Jan. 4 at 2 p.m. at Hill Field House. The Brown Bears (4-8) are coming off an 80-68 win over Howard on Tuesday, Dec. 30 in the consolation game of the Cyclone Challenge in Iowa.
 
A NEW YEAR: Morgan State opens the 2015 portion of its schedule on the road against crosstown rival the University of Maryland Baltimore County. The Lady Bears are 3-6 in their first game of the new year under the direction of head coach Donald Beasley. Morgan State's last win to start the new year was a 56-46 win at home over Howard (1/8/11).
 
LOSING SKID REACHES EIGHT: Morgan State dropped its season-long eighth consecutive game of the season, following two losses while playing in the Chattanooga Christmas Classic (Dec. 20-21) to end the 2014 year. Last season the Lady Bears had a 15-game losing streak.
 
BEASLEY FOUR WINS SHY OF SCHOOL RECORD: Morgan State head coach Donald Beasley, who is in his 10th year at the helm of the Lady Bears, is four wins shy of becoming the program's all-time coaching leader. Beasley, who currently ranks second on the school's all-time list with a mark of 119-165, earned his second win of the season against Washington Adventists (11/20). LaRue Fields (122-60 from 1979-85) is the school's all-time leader.
 
FARRAR EARNS SECOND STRAIGHT MEAC ROOKIE AWARD: Freshman Braennan Farrar was named MEAC Rookie of the Week by the league office on Dec. 22. It was the second consecutive week that Farrar earned the conference honor. Farrar averaged 13.5 points, three rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.5 steals during the Chattanooga Christmas Classic (Dec. 20-21). She scored a game-high 20 points and added five assists and four steals, both game highs against Tennessee Tech.
 
THE FRESHMEN WILL LEAD THEM: With the absence of leading scorer and senior captain Tracey Carrington (19.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg), freshmen Braennan Farrar, Tykyrah Williams, Lexus Spears and Zuri White have filled the void. Farrar ranks second on the team in scoring at 10.8 points and leads the team in steals (29) and assists (33). Williams is averaging 5.6 points to rank fourth, while Spears (4.5 ppg) ranks third in rebounding at 4.9 per game. White leads the Lady Bears in rebounding with 5.3 boards per contest.
 
FARRAR SETS SEASON-HIGH IN SCORING: Braennan Farrar scored a career-high 21 points in a 50-48 heartbreaking loss at home to Stony Brook (12/13). It was the second consecutive game that Farrar set a new career record, surpassing her pervious high of 16 points at Hampton (12/8).
 
FARRAR NAMED MEAC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK: Braennan Farrar was named MEAC Rookie of the week by the league office on Dec. 15. The St. Louis, Mo. native led the Lady Bears in scoring during the week, averaging 18.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists against Hampton (12/8) and Stony Brook (12/13). Farrar scored a then career-high 16 points and added three rebounds, three steals and an assist at Hampton, before setting a new career high with 21 points, including the Lady Bears' final 12 points of the game in a two point loss to Stony Brook.
 
LADY BEARS SUFFER FIRST HOME LOSS: Morgan State was dealt its first home loss of the season in three tries, when Stony Brook defeated Morgan State, 50-48 on a buzzer beater on Dec. 13. It was the final home contest of the 2014 season.
 
STILL SEARCHING: The Lady Bears are still searching for not only their first road win of the season, but their first victory over a Division I opponent. Morgan State's two victories this season have come at home and against Wesley (Del.), a Division III opponent and Washington Adventist, an NAIA opponent.
 
SPEARS, MYERS HAVE CAREER OUTINGS AT NORFOLK STATE: Fellow freshmen Lexus Spears and Eva Myers each tallied career highs in scoring at Norfolk State (12/6). Spears scored a team- and career-high 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting and tied a team-high seven rebounds and added two steals. Her 15 points surpassed her previous high of 13 points against Wesley (11/18). Myers scored 13 points to surpass her previous mark of seven points at Georgia Tech (11/16). Myers also knocked down all four of the Lady Bears' three-pointers against Norfolk State.
 
TRACKING CARRINGTON: Tracey Carrington entered the season with 1,137 career points, which ranked ninth all-time at Morgan State. Carrington, who ranks seventh at Morgan State, scored a team-high 12 points at Bucknell (12/3), giving her 1,272 points for her career. She is now 16 points shy of passing former Lady Bear Whitney Cunningham (1,287 points from 2004-07) for sixth-place. She now needs 303 more points to move into second all-time in scoring at Morgan State.