Game #19
Morgan State "Lady Bears" (6-12, 4-2 MEAC) vs. Howard "Lady Bison" (3-15, 1-4 MEAC)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016 / 2 p.m.
Place: Baltimore, Md. (Hill Field House)
Series: Howard leads, 49-17
Live Video  
Morgan State Notes | Howard Notes

BALTIMORE, Md. (Jan. 29, 2016)-The Morgan State Lady Bears return to action after a 12-day layoff, when they host the Lady Bison of Howard on Saturday, Jan. 30 at 2 p.m. Morgan State will then take on crosstown rival Coppin State on Monday, Feb. 1 at 5:30 p.m. Both games will be played at Hill Field House.
 
BEAR CLAWS: The Lady Bears (6-12, 4-2 MEAC) who haven't played in 12 days, are coming off a split during their Florida trip. Morgan State first defeated Florida A&M (1/16) by a score of 67-62, which moved them into sole possession of first place in the league standings. Two days later Morgan State dropped a 63-48 decision at Bethune-Cookman (1/18).Tykyrah Williams came off the bench to lead the Lady Bears with 17 points. Lexus Spears finished with eight points and eight rebounds, while Braennan Farrar added eight points and had a game-high four steals. Farrar leads the Lady Bears in scoring (14.7), assists (43) and steals (35). Williams ranks second in scoring (9.1) and steals (23), while Spears is adding 8.1 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Zuri White leads the team in rebounding with 6.9 per game.
 
BISON HOOVES: Howard (3-15, 1-4 MEAC), losers of three straight, is coming off an 81-77 loss at home to Bethune-Cookman (1/26). The Lady Bison were led by Victoria Gonzales, who finished with a game-high 24 points, while Imani Bailey added 22 points and a team-high four assists in the loss. Sydni Johnson also reached double figures in scoring with 12 points and had seven rebounds. Tajzhane Dopson pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds. Howard has been paced  by Gonzales, who is averaging 20.7 points per game and a team-leading 8.6 rebounds per outing. Johnson is contributing 12.9 points and is also second on the team in rebounding with 5.3 per game. Johnson also has a team-high 24 steals.
 
MSU VS. HOWARD SERIES NOTES: Howard leads the all-time series, 49-17, but Morgan State has won the last two meetings. The Lady Bison had won the previous five contests, before the Lady Bears' current two-game winning streak. The Lady Bears defeated Howard, 77-64 in Washington, D.C. in last season's lone meeting (1/31/15).
 
NEXT UP: Morgan State will host crosstown rival Coppin State in a MEAC game on Monday, Feb. 1 at 5:30 p.m. The Eagles lead the all-time series, 37-31.
 
FARRAR NAMED MADNESS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Braennan Farrar earned Madness MEAC Player of the Week honors as announced by the staff of College Sports Madness (Jan. 18). A native of St. Louis, Mo., Farrar totaled 48 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals to lead the Lady Bears to a 2-0 week. She totaled a season-best 27 points and added seven rebounds and two steals in a win over Maryland Eastern Shore (1/11) and finished with 21 points, three rebounds, four assists and two steals at Florida A&M (1/16).
 
WHITE GRABS CAREER– AND MEAC-BEST 20 REBOUNDS: Zuri White pulled down a career-high and MEAC-best 20 rebounds at Florida A&M (1/16). White also scored 10 points to earn her first double-double of the season. Her 20 rebounds rank fourth on the Morgan State career charts and surpassed her previous high of 14 rebounds against Brown (1/4/15).
 
THREE STRAIGHT: Morgan State's victory over Florida A&M (1/16) gave the Lady Bears their first three-game winning streak of the season and first since Jan. 10-17, 2015 against the very same three teams (Delaware State, Maryland Eastern Shore and Florida A&M).
 
CALL OFF THE SEARCH: While the opportunities have been limited, Morgan State finally recorded back-to-back wins for the first time this season, following wins over Delaware State (1/9) and at Maryland Eastern Shore (1/11). It marked the first time the Lady Bears have earned two straight wins since closing out the 2014-15 season with wins over Coppin State (2/28/15) and at Maryland Eastern Shore (3/5/15).
 
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 18 games, the first three quarters have been big for MSU opponents. The Lady Bears have been outscored a combined 60 points (249-189) in the first, 56 points (234-290) in the second and by 72 points (241-313) 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.
 
WELCOME TO MY BLOCK PARTY: Simone Sampson recorded a career– and game-high five blocked shots in the win at Maryland Eastern Shore (1/11). Her five blocks gave her a team-leading 10 blocks for the season and surpassed her previous career-high of three blocks which she's matched three times.
  
ROAD STRUGGLES: The Lady Bears, who have struggled on the road this season, are 2-9 away from home. Morgan State earned its first win away from Hill Field House, following a 77-69 overtime victory over UMES on Monday, Jan. 11. Prior to the win, Morgan State was 0-8 away from home, including two neutral court losses during the Navy Classic (11/27-28) in Annapolis, Md. The Lady Bears had not won a road contest since last year's regular season finale against Maryland Eastern Shore (3/5/15), a 65-50 victory.
 
STARTED AT THE BOTTOM: Last season Morgan State finished the 2014-15 campaign also in last place (343rd) in field goal percentage. This season the Lady Bears currently rank last (344th) in the nation in field goal percentage through 18 games at 30.3 percent (333-of-1098). 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).
 
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 134-190 all-time record at Morgan State.