Game 28 (MEAC Contest)
Morgan State "Lady Bears" (9-18, 6-8 MEAC)
vs. Coppin State "Eagles" (5-20, 4-10 MEAC)
Date: February 28, 2015 / 2 p.m.
Place: Baltimore, Md. (Hill Field House)
Series: Coppin State leads, 36-30
Live Video: morganstatebears.com
Live Stats: morganstatebears.com
Audio: WEAA 88.9 FM / HSRN.com
 
Morgan State Notes | Coppin State Notes
 
BALTIMORE, Md. (Feb. 26, 2015)-BALTIMORE, Md. (Feb. 26, 2015)-Morgan State will play in the friendly confines of Hill Field House for the final time during the 2014-15 regular season, when they play host to crosstown rival Coppin State on Saturday for 'Senior Day' at 2 p.m.
 
The contest will be final home game for senior guard and captain Tracey Carrington. The Lady Bears will look to end their current five-game losing skid and try to even up their home record at 6-6.
 
"I have been extremely blessed to be able to play Division I college basketball", said Carrington. "It has been a remarkable and rememberable four years for me here at Morgan. Saturday will be an emotional yet bittersweet day for me, just reflecting back on everything since I stepped foot on campus in 2011 when I was only 17.
 
"I have watched myself mature in so many ways on and off the court. I just always wanted to be a leader for my teammates to look up to. I think I have filled big shoes throughout my four years here and it wouldn't have been possible without my teammates and Coach Beas never losing faith in me."
 
A win by Morgan State would result in a season series sweep over the Eagles for the first time since the 2012-13 season. The Lady Bears average 56.3 points per game, while surrendering 61.8 points to their opponents. Coppin State averages 57.6 points and allows 68.1 per contest.
 
For Carrington, who is averaging 16.1 points per game in seven meetings against the Eagles, closing out her career with her final home game coming against rival Coppin State is only fitting.  

"I think that God works in mysterious ways," said Carrington, who is 4-3 all-time against Coppin State. "What other way to end my senior day than to be playing Coppin? It gives me more of a reason to go out with a bang and I know my teammates feel the same way. It's always a battle playing Coppin and it's always been a game to look forward to. The 'Battle of Baltimore' can't get any better than that. It will be a good game."
 
BEAR CLAWS: Morgan State (9-18, 6-8 MEAC) suffered its fifth consecutive loss, following a 67-59 loss at North Carolina A&T on Monday, Feb. 23. The Lady Bears, who led for a total of 34:54 in the game, held a 10-point lead at halftime and led by as much as 12 points (33-21) early in the second half, but were unable to hold on down the stretch. Braennan Farrar led Morgan State with a game-high 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Farrar added a team-high six rebounds, had a game-high two steals and notched four of the team's six assists. Tracey Carrington added 13 points, giving her 1,495 for her career. She is now 80 points away from moving into second-place all-time at Morgan State. The Lady Bears have been led by Carrington (17.9 points, 4.8 rebounds) and Braennan Farrar (13.2 points). Farrar leads the team in assists (69) and steals (58). Dinah Jones leads Morgan State with 5.4 rebounds.
 
EAGLE SCRATCHES: Coppin State (5-20, 4-10 MEAC) is coming off a 69-44 road loss at Hampton (2/23). The loss was the second straight for the Eagles. Genesis Lucas scored a team-high 19 points, while Janelle Lane added eight points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and recorded a game-high two blocked shots. The Eagles have been paced by Jordan Swails, who is scoring 10.8 points per game, leads the team in steals (43) and ranks second on the team with 6.0 rebounds per game. Lane is totaling 9.9 points to go with 4.6 rebounds and is second on the team in blocks with 21. Bria Harris (9.0 ppg) leads the Eagles in rebounding with 7.4 boards per game. Amber Griffin (7.4 ppg) has a team-leading 83 assists, while Lucas (8.7 ppg) ranks second in assists (68) and second in steals with 31. Omaah Tayong has a team-high 22 blocks.
 
MSU VS. COPPIN STATE SERIES NOTES: Coppin State leads the all-time series, 36-30. The Lady Bears have won two straight over Coppin State, including a 62-53 victory earlier this month (Feb. 2) at the Physical Education Complex. The Eagles' last win over Morgan State was a 76-60 victory at home on Feb. 10, 2014.
 
NEXT UP: Morgan State will take to the road when it visits the Lady Hawks of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in the regular season finale on Thursday, March 5. Tip-off is slated for 5:30 p.m. at the William P. Hytche Center in Princess Anne, Md.
 
SAYING GOODBYE: This afternoon's game will be the final home contest for senior guard Tracey Carrington. The Baltimore native is 4-3 all-time against Coppin State and is averaging 16.1 points against the Eagles, including a series-best 22 points last season at Hill Field House (2/19/15).
  
FARRAR SETS SEASON-HIGH IN SCORING: Braennan Farrar scored a career-high 23 points in the loss at North Carolina A&T (2/23). Farrar shot 10-of-15 from the floor, including two three-pointers. The 23-point outing surpassed her previous high of 22 points she tallied in a 62-53 victory over crosstown rival Coppin State (2/2).
 
FREE FALLING: Three weeks ago the Lady Bears were sitting in a two-way tie for third-place in the MEAC with Savannah State with identical 5-3 records heading into the two team's match-up (2/7). Morgan State has since dropped five straight and six of its last seven games, including the Savannah State game, while going just 1-5 in MEAC competition during that stretch to drop to eighth-place in the league standing with a 6-8 mark. 
 
SEPARATE BUT EQUAL: The Morgan State Lady Bears and the Bears have both struggled this season making shots, as both programs rank last in field goal percentage among all Division I women's and men's programs, respectively. The Lady Bears currently rank 343rd in field goal percentage (31.1), while the men's team ranks 345th at 35.3 percent. The Lady Bears shot a season-low 20.8 percent (11-of-53) against Hampton (2/16).
 
TRACKING CARRINGTON: Tracey Carrington entered the season with 1,137 career points, which ranked ninth all-time at Morgan State. Carrington, who now ranks third all-time in scoring at Morgan State, scored 13 points at North Carolina A&T (2/23) to give her 1,495 points for her career. The Baltimore native needs 80 points to move into second all-time in scoring.
 
LOW POINT: Tracey Carrington was held to a season-low six points in the loss to Hampton (2/16). It ended a string of 58 consecutive games of scoring in double figures and was her lowest scoring total, since being held to four points against the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (3/2/13). Carrington, who is averaging a team-best 17.9 points, shot 2-for-11, including 0-for-3 from beyond the three-point arc against Hampton.
 
A ROUGH GO: Morgan State concluded its 2014-15 non-conference slate with a 52-49 loss at NJIT (2/11). The loss dropped the Lady Bears to 3-10 in non-conference action. The loss was the second straight non-conference defeat for Morgan State, which dropped eight of their last nine non-conference games.
 
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 (126-170), 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).
 
CARRINGTON MOVING UP: Tracey Carrington, who ranks 12th all-time at Morgan State in steals with 120, was held without a steal at North Carolina A&T (2/23). Carrington did grab four rebounds against the Lady Aggies to give her 559 for her career, six rebounds shy of moving into 10^th-place past Corin "Tiny" Adams (564 rebounds from 2007-10).
 
PROVIDING ASSISTANCE: Braennan Farrar had a team-high four assists against N.C. A&T (2/23), giving her a team-leading 69 assists in 27 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.
  
THE FRESHMEN WILL LEAD THEM: During the absence of leading scorer and senior captain Tracey Carrington (17.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg) for seven-and-a-half games, freshmen Braennan Farrar, Tykyrah Williams, Lexus Spears and Zuri White all filled the void. Farrar currently ranks second on the team in scoring at 13.2 points and leads the team in steals (58) and assists (69). Spears (5.0 ppg) ranks tied for third in scoring and is second in rebounding at 5.3 per game. Williams is averaging 4.2 points, while White had led the Lady Bears with 7.1 rebounds per contest, before sitting out the last eight games.
 
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 IN SEASON OPENERS: The Lady Bears, who opened up the 2014-15 campaign on the road for the first time in three years, fell to 10-28 all-time in season openers dating back to 1977, following its 68-32 setback at Georgia (11/14). Morgan State at one point had lost 23 straight season openers, prior to winning three straight from 2006-08. Last season the Lady Bears opened up at home and suffered a 94-86 overtime loss to Division II Lincoln-Pa.
 
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.