Game #20
Morgan State "Lady Bears" (7-12, 5-2 MEAC) vs. Coppin State "Eagles" (7-11, 4-2 MEAC)
Date: Monday, Feb. 1, 2016 / 5:30 p.m.
Place: Baltimore, Md. (Hill Field House)
Series: Coppin State leads, 37-31
Radio: WEAA, 8.9 FM

Live Video
Morgan State Notes | Coppin State Notes | MEAC Notes
 
BALTIMORE, Md. (Jan. 31, 2016)-The Morgan State Lady Bears will close out their mini two-game homestand on Monday evening, when they welcome cross-town and MEAC rival Coppin State to Hill Field House. Tip-off is at 5:30 p.m. This will be 69^th overall meeting between the two teams with Coppin State holding a 37-31 all-time series lead.
 
BEAR CLAWS: The Lady Bears (7-12, 5-2 MEAC) winners of four of their last five games, are coming off a 78-66 victory over Howard on Saturday at Hill Field House. Morgan State, which hadn't played in 12 days, was led by Zuri White, who tallied a game- and career-high 22 points. White, who shot 8-for-11 from the floor and connected on all six of her free throw attempts, also pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds to record her second double-double of the season. Lexus Spears added 14 points and Braennan Farrar also tallied a double-double, tying her career-high of 12 assists and scoring 11 points. Danielle Robinson came off the bench to score 12 points, as the Lady Bears improved to 18-49 all-time against the Lady Bison. As a team, Morgan State knocked down all 18 of its free throw attempts, marking the first time this season Morgan State has shot 100 percent from the charity line. Farrar leads the Lady Bears in scoring (14.5), assists (55) and steals (37). Williams ranks second in scoring (9.0) and steals (24), while Spears is adding 8.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. White leads the team in rebounding with 7.3 per game.
 
EAGLE SCRATCHES: Coppin State (7-11, 4-2 MEAC) enters the contest riding a two-game winning streak after its 61-54 victory over visiting Maryland Eastern Shore on Saturday. Omaah Tayong posted a double-double with a game-high 20 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Tayong also accounted for a game-high seven of Coppin State's eight blocked shots. Keena Samuels and Janelle Lane each scored 10 points. Jordan Swails fell one point shy of a double-double, pulling down 11 rebounds and scoring nine points. Coppin State held a 34-14 advantage over the Lady Hawks in points in the paint. Lane is averaging 11.2 points per game and also leads the Eagles in blocks with 18. Samuels is averaging 11.0 points per game and Genesis Lucas leads the squad in assists (62) and steals (37). Tayong leads Coppin State in rebounding with 8.6 boards per game to go with 9.3 points per outing.
 
MSU VS. COPPIN STATE SERIES NOTES: The Eagles hold a 37-31 all-time series lead over Morgan State. The Lady Bears had won three straight after sweeping last season's regular season series. It was the Lady Bears' first season sweep over rival Coppin State since the 2012-13 season. However, the two teams would meet for a third time, and Coppin State would defeat Morgan State, 71-56 in a first round game during the MEAC Tournament (3/10/15). It was the Lady Bears' first loss to Coppin State in a MEAC Tournament contest in four tries. 
 
NEXT UP: Morgan State will return to the road for MEAC action when they take on Savannah State and South Carolina State. The Lady Bears will first travel to Savannah, Ga. for a meeting against defending MEAC Tournament champion Savannah State Lady Tigers. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. Morgan State will then visit the South Carolina State Lady Bulldogs on Monday, Feb. 8 for a 5:30 p.m. tilt in Orangeburg, S.C.
 
WHITE SETS CAREER-HIGH: Sophomore Zuri White put on an offensive shooting display scoring a career-high 22 points against Howard (1/30). The Durham, N.C. native shot 8-for-11 from the floor and made all six of her free throw attempts. White also pulled down 13 of Morgan State's 48 rebounds to record her second double-double of her career.
 
FARRAR TIES CAREER-HIGH: Braennan Farrar tied her career-high of 12 assists against Howard (1/30). She first totaled 12 assists earlier this season in the season opener against Washington Adventist (11/15).
 
PERFECTION: The Lady Bears were a perfect 18-of-18 (100 percent) from the charity line in their win over Howard (1/30). It marked the first time this season that Morgan State made all of its free throw attempts.
 
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 19 games, the first and third quarters have been big for MSU opponents. The Lady Bears have been outscored a combined 67 points (266-199) in the first and by 81 points (259-340) 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 30.7 percent (360-of-1171). 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 135-190 all-time record at Morgan State.