Game #16
Morgan State "Lady Bears" (4-11, 2-1 MEAC) at Maryland Eastern Shore "Lady Hawks" (3-11, 1-1 MEAC)
Date: Monday, Jan. 11, 2016 / 5:30 p.m.
Place: Princess Anne, Md. (Hytche Athletic Center)
Series: UMES leads, 40-34

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Morgan State Notes | UMES Notes
 
BALTIMORE, Md. (Jan. 11, 2016)-The Morgan State Lady Bears will take to the road for the first time in 2016 and for the first time in MEAC play this season when they visit the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) on Monday, Jan. 11. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the William P. Hytche Athletic Center in Princess Anne, Md.
 
BEAR CLAWS: The Lady Bears (4-11, 2-1 MEAC) are coming off a 56-49 home victory over Delaware State on Saturday. The win helped the Lady Bears improve to 4-3 at home and closed out their three-game homestand with a 2-1 record. Braennan Farrar led the way with a game-high 18 points and added a career-high eight steals in the win. Tykyrah Williams came off the bench to score 15 points and grabbed six rebounds and Chelsea Mitchell added 10 points and had four steals in a  reserve roll. The Lady Bears have been paced by Farrar, who is averaging 13.9 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. Farrar also leads the team in steals (27) and assists (36). Lexus Spears is adding 8.2 points and leads Morgan State with 6.6 rebounds per game.
 
A LOOK AT THE LADY HAWKS: UMES (3-11, 1-1 MEAC), which reached the MEAC championship game last season, has struggled thus far. The Lady Hawks, who haven't played since a 71-51 loss at UNC-Greensboro (12/28), currently are on a six-game losing skid. Keyera Eaton came off the bench and scored a team-high nine points to lead the Lady Hawks. Alexus Hicks came off the bench to score seven points and Taylor Thompson and Moengaroa each added seven points. Thompson and Subritzky each grabbed six rebounds. Alexis Udoji finished with a game-high four blocks. Subritzky leads the team with 10.1 points per game and has a team-leading 31 assists. Ciani Byrom (8.9 points) has 30 assists on the season. Taryana Kelly leads the squad in rebounding with 6.3 per contest. Alexis Udoji has a team-leading 31 blocks and is tied with TeAmber Burke and Subritzky with a team-best 15 steals.
 
MSU VS. UMES SERIES NOTES: Morgan State has won four of the past five meetings against UMES, including last year's season sweep, but the Lady Hawks lead the all-time series, 40-34.
 
NEXT UP: The Lady Bears will take to the road this weekend for the first time in 2016 and the first time in MEAC play this season, when they travel to the Sunshine State for two MEAC games. Morgan State will first visit the Rattlers of Florida A&M on Saturday, Jan. 16 for a 4 p.m. tip in Tallahassee, Fla. The Lady Bears will close out the trip on Monday, Jan. 18 when they travel to Daytona Beach, Fla. to take on Bethune-Cookman at 5:30 p.m.
SEARCHING FOR TWO: While the opportunities have been limited this season, Morgan State has yet to record back-to-back wins this season. Morgan's latest chance came against UMKC (1/2). However, the Lady Bears would fall short in a 59-50 loss.
 
ROAD STRUGGLES: The Lady Bears have struggled on the road this season and are still in search of their first win away from Hill Field House. Morgan State is currently 0-8 away from home, including two neutral court losses during the Navy Classic (11/27-28) in Annapolis, Md. The Lady Bears have not won a road contest since last year's regular season finale against Maryland Eastern Shore (3/5/15), a 65-50 victory.
 
PLAIN THIEVERY: Braennan Farrar recorded a career– and game-high eight steals in the win over Delaware State (1/9). Her eight steals surpassed her previous high of six set last season at Howard (1/31/15). Farrar leads the Lady Bears with 27 steals.
 
THE PURGE: Whether it's a big scoring run, or huge scoring outputs in a quarter, Morgan State opponents have been having their way with the Lady Bears so far this season. While predicting which quarter it will be is unknown, knowing its going to happen, thus far this season is a given. Through 15 games, the second and third quarters have been big for MSU opponents. The Lady Bears have been outscored a combined 63 points (245-182) in the second and by 70 points (270-200) in the third quarter. In the loss to UMBC (12/12), it would be the third quarter, which the Lady Bears saw a 30-26 lead turn into a 52-30 deficit, as the Retrievers scored 26 straight points and held Morgan State scoreless during a seven minute span. UMBC would score 32 points in the third quarter, to surpass the previous opponent high for points in a quarter of 31 points the Lady Bears gave up to then No. 23 Syracuse in the fourth quarter on Nov. 23.
 
FARRAR NAMED MEAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Braennan Farrar was named MEAC Player of the Week as announced by the league office on Monday. Farrar scored 20 of her career-high 33 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Lady Bears to a win over Norfolk State (12/5). She finished the game shooting 12-of-23 from the floor, connecting on 8-of-11 free throws to go with five rebounds, a game-high five assists and a game-high three steals.
 
STARTED AT THE BOTTOM: Last season Morgan State finished the 2014-15 campaign also in last place (443rd) in field goal percentage. This season the Lady Bears currently rank last (344th) in the nation in field goal percentage through 15 games at 29.7 percent (268-of-903). In the loss at James Madison (11/17), Morgan State shot a season-low 18.3 percent (11-of-60).
 
FARRAR SETS CAREER-HIGH: Braennan Farrar scored a career-high 33 points on 12-of-23 shooting and connected on 8-of-11 from the free throw line in the win over Norfolk State. Farrar also added five rebounds, a game-high five assists and a game-high three steals. Her 33 points surpassed her previous career-high of 30 points she scored last season in the regular season finale at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (3/5/15).
 
MAKE IT A DOUBLE: Sophomore Braennan Farrar recorded a double-double in the season opening win over Washington Adventist (11/15). The St. Louis, Mo. native tallied a game-high 22 points, while adding a career– and game-high 12 assists against the Lady Shock.
 
PROVIDING ASSISTANCE: Braennan Farrar dished out a career-best 12 assists against Washington Adventist (11/15). It surpassed her previous high of nine assists set last season against Wesley (11/18/14).
 
MORGAN PICKED NINTH IN MEAC: Morgan State was picked to finish ninth 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 last (13th), but put together an 11-19 overall mark and finished 8-8 in the MEAC to finish seventh.
  
FARRAR NAMED TO PRESEASON MEAC SECOND TEAM: Sophomore guard Braennan Farrar was named to the Preseason All-MEAC second team. A native of St. Louis, Mo., Farrar was second on the team in scoring (13.9), while leading the Lady Bears in assists with 2.6 per game. She also led the team in steals (67) and three-pointers made (45).
 
BEASLEY ALL-TIME COACHIING LEADER: Morgan State head coach Donald Beasley, who is in his 11th year at the helm of the Lady Bears, became the program's all-time coaching leader last season. Beasley, who surpassed LaRue Fields (122-60 from 1979-85), as the winningest coach (123-166), following a 57-50 win over Florida A&M (1/17/15), currently holds a 132-189 all-time record at Morgan State.
 
2016 MEAC TOURNAMENT: The 2015 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) men's and women's basketball tournament is scheduled for March 7-12 at the Norfolk Scope Arena in Norfolk, Va. Ticket books can be purchased at all 13 MEAC university ticket offices, the Norfolk Scope Arena, Ticketmaster outlets, the MEAC Administrative Office and online at Ticketmaster.com. Tickets are also available by calling the MEAC at 757-951-2055 or Ticketmaster at (800)-745-3000. The annual MEAC Basketball Tournament moved to Norfolk after spending the previous four years in Winston-Salem, N.C. from 2009 through 2012.