BALTIMORE, Md. (Dec. 31, 2016)-The Morgan State Lady Bears closed out 2016 and their non-conference slate with a 68-51 loss to visiting Brown on Saturday afternoon at Hill Field House.
 
The loss was the fifth straight for Morgan State (2-11) and its fifth straight loss to the Brown Bears in as many meetings.
 
Justine Gaziano scored a game-high 19 points and added a team-high 12 rebounds to record a double-double. Shayna Mehta finished with 13 points and Kathleen Ryan came off the bench to score 13 points.
 
Morgan State was led by Zuri White, who totaled 12 points and pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds to record a double-double. Braennan Farrar scored all of her 12 points in the fourth quarter, going 10-for-11 from the free throw line. Jayde Duncan added a career-high nine points
 
Brown (8-4) used a 15-0 run which spanned from the second and third quarters to build a 34-20 lead after Gaziano completed a three-point play with 7:50 left in the third. Morgan State would get within 12 points at 38-26, but the guests used an 11-2 run to close out the third quarter and take a 49-28 lead.
 
The Lady Bears were down 57-46 when the hosts put together a 10-2 spurt to cut the deficit to 12 points (59-47) after a free throw by Tykyrah Williams with 3:19 left.
 
Unfortunately, that was as close as Morgan State would get, as the Brown Bears closed out the game scoring nine of the final 13 points for the 68-51 victory.
 
Brown shot 47 percent (25-of-53) from the floor and hit 3-of-14 (21 percent) from three-point range. Brown finished with 17 assists for the game and shot 62 percent (15-of-24) from the charity stripe.
 
Morgan State took 70 shots and made 18 for 25 percent and was 0-for-9 from three-point range. The Lady Bears shot 78.9 percent (15-of-19) from the free throw line. Morgan State forced 19 Brown turnovers and recorded 12 steals.
 
Trailing 18-10, Morgan State went on an 8-0 run to even the score at 18 all with 6:05 left in the second quarter. The Lady Bears took a brief 20-19 lead on a jumper by Zuri White with 4:33 left in the half, but the visiting Brown Bears closed out the period on a 10-0 spurt to take a 29-20 halftime lead.
 
Brown had made 10 field goals in the first half, including two three-pointers. Morgan State made one field goal less (9) and hit no three-pointers. Brown was 7-of-12 from the free throw line, while Morgan State did not take a free throw attempt in the first half.
 
The Lady Bears return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 4, when they play host to Norfolk State. Tip-off is at 5 p.m. at Hill Field House. The game, which will be the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) opener for both teams, was originally scheduled for Jan. 2. It will now be part of a doubleheader with the men's team, which gets underway at 7 p.m.