BALTIMORE, Md. (Nov. 6, 2018)-The 2018-19 college basketball season got underway on Wednesday and the Morgan State Lady Bears, who were playing at home for the first time in three years to start a season, welcomed Lincoln-Pa. to Hill Field House. The outcome did not go as the Lady Bears would have liked, as the Lady Lions would put a damper on Morgan State's season opener with a 51-46 non-conference victory.
Morgan State (0-1) was led by senior Naomi Bolasingh who scored a game-high 14 points and pulled down six rebounds, while fellow senior Adre'onia Coleman added eight points and grabbed six rebounds. Freshman Ashia McCalla grabbed a game-high 11 boards and added eight points in her collegiate debut for the Lady Bears, who fell to 11-31 in season openers dating back to 1977. It was Morgan State's fifth season opening loss in six years.
For Lincoln (0-0), the game was an exhibition and did not count towards the Lions' record. Freshman Shakira Edwards nearly recorded a double-double, finishing with 11 points and nine rebounds. Kenzie Spencer scored 10 points and DeAshia Young added nine points on 7-of-10 shooting from the free throw line.
Morgan State had built its largest lead of the game at 17 points (22-5), following a layup by McCalla with 55 seconds remaining in the first quarter. The Lions, out of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, would not go away. Lincoln would outscore the Lady Bears, 15-6 in the second quarter to pull within, 28-23 at the break.
While neither team shot well for the game, the third quarter would be the worst for each team. Morgan State would score seven points in the quarter on 2-of-14 shooting (14.3 percent), while holding the Lions to just two points on 1-of-18 shooting (5.6 percent) to take a 10-point advantage (35-25) heading into the fourth and final quarter.
Before the fourth quarter even began, the guests would shoot two free throws for a technical which was called on Morgan State. The Lions would get back-to-back baskets by Dominique Allen and Spencer to cut the Lady Bears' lead to 35-31 with 7:56 to play.
Bolasingh would knock down three free throws to up Morgan State advantage to seven points (38-31), but the Lions would go to work, using a 14-0 run just shy of four minutes to take a 45-38 lead with 3:46 to play. Edwards triggered the run when she scored on a jumper and added the free throw from the foul. Edwards later scored on a layup with 4:39 remaining in the game to give the guests their first lead of the game at 40-38.
Coleman ended Lincoln's run with a jumper at the 3:34 mark to pull Morgan within 45-50. Two free throws by the Lions' Bryanna Brown put Lincoln up seven points (47-40) with 3:18 left in the game. Morgan State then went on a 6-0 spurt and got within 47-46 on a layup from Dezyree Morales with 51.8 left in the contest.
However, that would be as close as Morgan State would get. The Lions would end the game hitting 4-of-6 free throws down the stretch for the win.
Lincoln, which outscored Morgan State, 26-11 in the fourth quarter, held a 13-1 advantage in bench scoring and turned six Morgan State turnovers into 11 points.
The Lady Bears will have a quick turnaround, as they host Washington Adventist (1-2) on Wednesday, Nov. 7 at 5:30 p.m. Morgan State and the Shock last met on Nov. 17, 2016 with the Lady Bears claiming a 79-28 victory at Hill Field House.
