Game 23 (Non-Conference Contest)
Morgan State "Lady Bears" (9-13)
At New Jersey Institute of Technology "Highlanders" (9-15)
Date: February 11, 2015 / 7 p.m.
Place: Newark, N.J. (Fleisher Athletic Center)
Series: Morgan State leads 2-0
Live Stats: njithighlanders.com
Video: njithighlanders.com
 
Morgan State Game Notes
 
BALTMORE, Md. (Feb. 10, 2015)-Morgan State will step out of Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) play for the first time in over a month, as it closes out its 2014-15 non-conference slate with a trip to Newark, N.J. to face the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) Highlanders. Morgan State and the Highlanders square off on Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. at Fleisher Athletic Center. It will be the first meeting between the two teams since Feb. 14, 2008 in Newark.
   
BEAR CLAWS: The Lady Bears (9-13) defeated visiting South Carolina State, 54-46 in a MEAC game on Monday at Hill Field House. The win ended a three-game losing skid to the Lady Bulldogs and was Morgan State's first win over SCSU since a 61-54 victory at Hill Field House (1/15/11). Tracey Carrington scored a game-high 28 points, including a 13-for-15 performance from the free throw line and hauled in a team-high six rebounds in the win. Ivy Harrington came off the bench to add eight points on 3-of-4 shooting. Danielle Robinson finished with a game-high five assists to go with six points and tied Carrington with a team-high two steals. The two steals for Carrington gave her 118 for her career and moved her into 12th-place at Morgan State. The Lady Bears have been led by its senior captain, Carrington, who is scoring a team-leading 19.9 points per game and 4.9 rebounds per outing. Farrar is scoring 12.8 points and leads the team in both assists (59) and steals (49). Spears is adding 5.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, while Danielle Robinson (5.2 ppg) leads the team in blocked shots with 11 and Simone Sampson is adding 10 blocks. The Lady Bears are scoring 57.5 points per game, while allowing 61.1 points.
 
A LOOK AT THE HIGHLANDERS: The Highlanders (9-15) enter the contest coming off a 92-39 home victory over College of St. Joseph's (Vermont) on Saturday, Feb. 7. The win ended a five-game losing skid, including a 56-54 loss to MEAC foe Delaware State on Feb. 5. Leah Horton scored a game-high 17 points to lead six NJIT players in double figures scoring in the win over St. Joseph's. Camerin Spahn came off the bench to score 14 points, while Maria Ruban also came of the bench to score 12 points and grab a game-high seven rebounds. Ruta Vetra finished with 11 points in a reserve roll and Ronni Grandison and Martina Matejcikova each added 10 points. NJIT's bench would outscore St. Joseph's, 57-2. The Highlanders, who led 45-16 at the intermission, recorded 25 assists for the game. Horton has led the team in scoring and rebounding with 10.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Alyssa Albanese is averaging 9.3 points and leads NJIT in assists (95) and steals with 29. Nicole Maticka (7.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg) has a team-leading 61 blocks, which ranks 28th in the nation.
 
MSU VS. NJIT SERIES NOTES: The Lady Bears lead the series over NJIT, 2-0 with both meetings being played on the road. Morgan State and the Highlanders last met Feb. 14, 2008 with the Lady Bears claiming a 59-45 decision. In the series' first meeting on Nov. 13, 2006, Morgan State would become the first opponent for NJIT, who was entering its first year as a Division I program. The Lady Bears won that game, 63-55.
 
NEXT UP: The Lady Bears, who return to MEAC play for the remainder of the season, begin with a home game against Norfolk State on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 2 p.m.
 
BEASLEY BECOMES PROGRAM'S WINNINGEST COACH: Morgan State head coach Donald Beasley, who is in his 10th year at the helm of the Lady Bears, became the program's all-time coaching leader, following the win over Florida A&M (1/17). Beasley (126-168), who earned his sixth win of the season against FAMU, passed LaRue Fields (122-60 from 1979-85) as the school's all-time coaching leader for victories. Beasley recorded his first career victory in the 10th game of the 2005-06 season, following a 66-54 road win at Bethune-Cookman (1/9/06).
 
UNBEATEN STREAKS ON THE LINE: The Lady Bears entered the season with a perfect record against two of this season's opponents in Wesley (1-0) and New Jersey Institute of Technology (2-0). Morgan State improved to 2-0 against Wesley, following a 90-50 victory over the Wolverines in the Lady Bears' home opener on Nov. 18. Morgan State will face N.J.I.T on the road on Feb. 11.
 
TRACKING CARRINGTON: Tracey Carrington entered the season with 1,137 career points, which ranked ninth all-time at Morgan State. Carrington, scored a game– and season-high 28 points against South Carolina State (2/9) to give her 1,425 points for her career and pass Monique Liddell (1,420 from 1996-00) for fourth-place. A native of Baltimore, Carrington is 40 points shy of passing Shakira Smith (1,464 from 1997-01) for third-place. She also needs 150 more points to move into second all-time in scoring at Morgan.
 
FARRAR SETS SEASON-HIGH IN SCORING: Braennan Farrar scored a career-high 22 points in a 62-53 victory over crosstown rival Coppin State (2/2). The 22 points surpassed her previous scoring high of 21 points in a heartbreaking 50-48 home loss against Stony Brook (12/13).
 
CARRINGTON MOVING UP: Tracey Carrington recorded two steals in the win over South Carolina State (2/9), giving her 118 for her career and move past Erin Hawkins (117 steals from 2009-11) for 12th-place at Morgan State. She also grabbed six rebounds to give her 538 for her career, which moved up two spots and past Calibra Alston (537 rebounds from 1998-02) for 12th all-time on the Lady Bear charts.
 
PROVIDING ASSISTANCE: Braennan Farrar added one assist in the South Carolina State game (2/9), giving her a team-leading 59 assists in 22 games. Farrar recorded a season-high nine assists in the win over Wesley (11/18). As a team the Lady Bears recorded 19 assists in that game.
 
TAKING A BREAK: The Lady Bears, who hadn't played since their home loss to Bethune-Cookman (1/19), ended their season-long 12-day layoff when they returned to the court against Howard (Jan. 31). It was the longest time between games this season for Morgan State, surpassing the previous 11-day break it had from Dec. 21-Jan. 1.
 
WELCOME HOME: Morgan State assistant coach Ed Davis made his third return to Memorial Hall (1/10) and helped the Lady Bears go 3-0 in Dover, Del. against the Hornets. Davis, who served as head coach of the Hornets for 12 seasons, concluded his career at Delaware State's as the program's winningest coach with a 178-182 mark. He guided the Hornets to a MEAC Tournament title and NCAA Tournament berth in 2007, a MEAC regular season co-championship (2003-04), five MEAC championship game appearances and the only 20-win seasons (four) in team history.
 
LADY BEARS TAKE IN NBA GAME: Before heading over to Athens, Ga., for its season-opener against the University of Georgia, the Morgan State women's basketball team spent the first night of their five-day road trip in Atlanta and attended the Atlanta Hawks-Utah Jazz game on Wednesday, Nov. 12 at Phillips Arena. The home team Hawks would hold on for a 100-97 victory.
  
MORGAN PICKED LAST IN MEAC: Morgan State was picked to finish 13th in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) preseason poll, as voted by the league's head coaches and sports information directors. Last year, the Lady Bears were picked to finish sixth, but finished the season at 5-25 overall, 3-13 in the MEAC and finished 12th.
 
CARRINGTON NAMED TO PRESEASON MEAC FIRST TEAM: Senior guard Tracey Carrington was named to the Preseason All-MEAC first team. A native of Baltimore, Md., Carrington averaged 20.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game to lead the Lady Bears in both categories. She also led the team in assists (53) and ranked second on the team in steals with 40.
 
CARRINGTON RECEIVES MADNESS PRESEASON HONORS: Tracey Carrington was named College Sports Madness 2014-15 Preseason MEAC Player of the Year, as announced by the staff of College Sports Madness. Carrington was an All-MEAC first team selection by Madness College Sports at the conclusion of last season.
 
IT'S HAPPENED BEFORE: Last season's five wins marked the second time in Donald Beasley's tenure at Morgan State that the squad won just five games. The last time that happened was in Beasley's his first season at the helm during the 2005-06 campaign, when the Lady Bears went 5-24. The very next season the team recorded 18 wins, which at the time set the school mark for wins on the Division I level and also reached the MEAC Championship game, just the third appearance in the title game in school history.