SAVANNAH, Ga. (Jan. 21, 2017)-Heading into Saturday afternoon's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) game against Savannah State, it had been a full year and a day since the Lady Bears last won a MEAC contest – a 66-55 victory over North Carolina Central on Jan. 20, 2016.
 
For much of the second half of Saturday's game, it appeared as if Morgan State would finally find a way to end its losing skid, as well as get its first MEAC victory of the season.
 
Unfortunately for Morgan State, that would not be the case, as the host Lady Tigers would send Morgan State to its 10th consecutive defeat, following a 66-62 overtime victory at Tiger Arena. It was the second straight overtime game between the two teams, who last year in this very building needed triple overtime before Morgan State won.
 
The loss was certainly heartbreaking for a Morgan State team, which seemed to have pulled out all the stops and was on its way to recording its first MEAC win of the season and putting an end to what is now an eight game MEAC losing skid dating back to the final three games of last season.
 
Added insult to injury was the fact that Savannah State was playing without the services of five players, who were ruled out prior to the start of the game.
 
Savannah State (5-13, 3-3 MEAC) was led by Lauren Moss, who scored a game-high 24 points and Kenyata Hendrix, who finished with 18 points. Tiyonda Davis, who tallied a game-high five blocked shots, fell shy of a double-double with a game-high 11 rebounds and nine points.
 
Morgan State (2-16, 0-5 MEAC) received a strong performance from Jihayah Chavis, who came off the bench to score a career-tying 15 points, while setting career highs in both rebounds (4) and steals with a game-high five. Tykyrah Williams added 11 points, six rebounds and three assists, before fouling out and Braennan Farrar finished with 10 points, giving her 1,069 for her career and moving her past Vinstel Watson for 12th-place at Morgan State.
 
Tayler Miller (eight points, seven rebounds) would convert on two free throws with 8.2 seconds remaining in the game to give visiting Morgan State a 57-54 lead. But Savannah State and Rhianna Warren would have other plans. Warren would dribble the ball across half court and pull up from the left elbow, draining a three-pointer with 2.2 seconds remaining to tie the score at 57 all and send the game into overtime.  
 
Miller would give Morgan State a 61-59 lead in the overtime session on a jumper with 3:04 left in the game. The host Lady Tigers responded by scoring the next five points to take a 64-61 lead with 1:08 to play.
 
Savannah State shot 46.8 percent (22-of-47) for the game, while Morgan State shot 40 percent (26-of-64). The host Lady Tigers outscored Morgan State, 26-22 in the paint and held a 16-11 advantage in points off turnovers.
 
Morgan State outscored the hosts 21-13 in bench scoring and 20-7 in second chance points. The Lady Bears held a 33-31 cushion in rebounds.
 
Down 10-4 with 4:59 left in first quarter, Morgan State closed out the period on an 11-6 spurt to pull within 16-15 after a quarter of play.
 
The Lady Bears took their first lead of the game on a steal and layup by Chavis, to give Morgan State a 17-16 advantage with 9:33 left in the second half. The lead would grow to as much as three points (19-16) after a layup by Zuri White at the 8:58 mark.
 
But Savannah State would come back with five quick points capped off by a three-pointer from Hendrix to give the hosts a 21-19 lead with 6:55 to play in the half. The Lady Tigers would later use a 6-2 run to take a 33-29 lead with 39 seconds remaining. Morgan State would end Savannah State's run with a layup by Mitchell to cut the deficit to 33-31 at the intermission.
 
Morgan State would again do itself in on the free throw line. The Lady Bears, who at first struggled to even get in the first half, ended up shooting 8-of-16 (50 percent) for the game. The Lady Tigers shot 86.4 percent from the free throw line, after converting 19-of-22 attempts.
 
The Lady Bears return to action on Monday, Jan. 23, when they take on the Lady Bulldogs of South Carolina State. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in Orangeburg, S.C. S.C. State (3-12, 0-4 MEAC), which is also searching for its first MEAC victory of the season, is coming off a 72-70 loss to visiting Delaware State on Saturday.