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Game 9 (Non-Conference)
Morgan State "Lady Bears" (2-6) vs. Robert Morris "Colonials" (4-6)
Date: December 18, 2016 | 2 p.m.
Place: Baltimore, Md. | Hill Field House
Series: Robert Morris leads, 1-0
 
BALTIMORE, Md. (Dec. 15, 2016)-The Morgan State women's basketball team returns to action this Sunday, Dec. 18 after an 11-day layoff, when it plays host to Robert Morris in a non-conference game at Hill Field House. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. and will be just the second home contest of the season for the Lady Bears, who last played at home on Nov. 17.
 
BEAR CLAWS: Morgan State (2-6) put an end to its five-game losing skid with a 69-61 victory over rival UMBC (12/7) on the road. Braennan Farrar led the Lady Bears with a game-high 22 points, while adding four assists and four steals, also game highs. Jihayah Chavis finished with a season-best 15 points and had four assists and three steals, while Tykyrah Williams recorded 12 points, as Morgan State improved to 12-13 all-time against UMBC. The Lady Bears have been led by Farrar, who is averaging 15.5 points per outing. Farrar also leads Morgan State with 29 assists and 24 steals, while Williams is scoring 9.9 points and has a team-leading 5.5 rebounds per contest. Morgan State is scoring 55 points per game and allowing 59.7 points.
 
A LOOK AT ROBERT MORRIS: Robert Morris (4-6), losers of five of its last six games, is coming off an 81-60 loss at Iowa on last Friday. Anna Niki Stamolamprou scored a game-high 16 points and Nadege Pluviose came off the bench and added a career-high 12 points in the loss to the Hawkeyes. Stamolamprou leads the team in scoring with 14.2 points per game, while Megan Smith is contributing 13.1 points and a team-leading 7.9 rebounds per game. Janee Brown (7.5 ppg) leads the team in steals (19) and assists (38), while Nneka Ezeigbo (6.2 rpg) has a team-best 11 blocked shots. This will be the Colonials second and final contest this season against a team from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Robert Morris already defeated Howard, 59-42 at home on Dec. 4.
 
MSU VS. ROBERT MORRIS SERIES NOTES: The will be the second meeting between the two teams. The Colonials won the first meeting last season, 76-44 in Moon Township, Pa. (12/2).
 
LADY BEARS VS. THE NEC: Morgan State is 9-10 all-time against members of the Northeast Conference. Here's how the Lady Bears have done against the NEC: Fairleigh Dickinson (0-1), LIU Brooklyn (1-0), Mount St. Mary's (7-7), Robert Morris (0-1), Sacred Heart (0-1) and Saint Francis-Pa. (1-0). Morgan State has not faced Bryant, Central Connecticut, Saint Francis-Brooklyn or Wagner.
 
NEXT UP: The Lady Bears will head to San Juan, Puerto Rico for the Puerto Rico Tour (Dec. 20-21). Morgan State will take on Campbell on Tuesday, Dec. 20 and will close out the event against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Wednesday, Dec. 21. Tip-off for both games will be 6:30 p.m. at the Roberto Clemente Arena.
 
MORGAN ENDS LOSING SKID: The Lady Bears put an end to their season-long five-game losing skid with a 69-61 victory over UMBC (12/7). The defeat of the Retrievers also ended a two-game losing streak to UMBC and improved Morgan State's all-time record to 12-13 against UMBC.
 
CHAVIS PUTS UP CAREER-HIGHS: Making her fourth consecutive start of the season, freshman guard Jihayah Chavis had a career high night in the Lady Bears win over rival UMBC (12/7). The Newark, N.J. native scored a career-high 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting, including 3-of-7 from three-point range. Chavis also set career highs in steals (3) and assists (4).
 
HARRINGTON PROVIDES SPARK AGAINST UMBC: Senior guard Ivy Harrington provided a much needed spark off the bench in the win over UMBC (12/7). The Neptune, N.J. native finished with seven points on 2-2 shooting from the floor and added 3-of-4 at the free throw line. She also pulled down four rebounds and had a steal in 18 minutes of play. Her offensive rebound and put back gave the Lady Bears a 62-59 lead with 43 seconds remaining in the game and Morgan State never looked back.
 
FARRAR NAMED TO PLAZA LIGHTS ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Braennan Farrar was named to the Plaza Lights All-Tournament team (Nov. 25-26). Farrar scored a combined 41 points, had five rebounds, six steals and four assists in two games. She finished with a game-high 26 points on 10-of-20 shooting and added three steals and an assist against host University of Missouri-Kansas City (11/26).
 
GETTING DEFENSIVE: Morgan has forced 163 opponent turnovers in eight games, with 92 of them coming by way of steals. In the win against Washington Adventist, the Lady Bears forced a season-high 31 turnovers, a season-best 21 of them were steals. Morgan State converted those turnovers into 33 points.
 
DAVIS BACK IN THE WIN COLUMN: It took interim head coach Edward Davis just two games to earn his first victory as the coach of Morgan State, when the Lady Bears defeated Washington Adventist (11/17). The win marked the first for Davis since he recorded a 55-53 victory over South Carolina State in the season finale on March 1, 2012, in his final season as the head coach at Delaware State.
 
PUTTING THE CLAMPS DOWN: The Lady Bears' defense held the visiting Shock of Washington Adventist (11/17) to just three points in the second quarter and nine for the entire first half. The three points scored by WAU were the lowest points output in a quarter by a Morgan State opponent since the NCAA went to the quarter system in the women's game. The nine total points in the first half, were the lowest since Morgan State held rival Coppin State to 13 first half points on Dec. 14, 2010.
 
BACK ON THE SIDELINE: Morgan State interim head coach Edward Davis, returns to the sideline for the 2016-17 campaign as the head man, after spending the last four seasons as an assistant coach with the Lady Bears. Davis, who last served as a head coach in 2012 to conclude 12 season's at the helm of Delaware State, currently is in his 21st season and has a career record of 351-243.
 
MORGAN PICKED FIFTH IN MEAC: Morgan State was picked to finish fifth 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 ninth, but put together an 13-17 overall mark and finished 10-6 in the MEAC to finish fifth.
 
FARRAR NAMED TO PRESEASON MEAC SECOND TEAM: MSU junior 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 (13.7), while leading the Lady Bears in assists (98), steals (63), three-pointers made (46), while shooting a team-best .794 (104-131) from the free throw line. This is the second consecutive preseason second-team All-MEAC honor for Farrar, who last season was named to the 2015-16 All-MEAC second team at the conclusion of the season.
  
2017 MEAC TOURNAMENT: The 2017 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference men's and women's basketball tournament is scheduled for March 6-11 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 in 2013 after spending the previous four years in Winston-Salem, N.C. from 2009 through 2012.