Game 12
Opponent: at West Virginia (6-2, 0-0 Big 12)
Date: Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2018
Site: Morgantown, W.Va. | WVU Coliseum
Tip-Off: 7 p.m.
Series Record: Series Tied, 1-1
TV: None
Live Video: WVUsports.com
Live Audio: WVUsports.com
Live Stats: stats.statbroadcast.com
 
Gameday | MSU Notes | West Virginia Notes
 
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (Dec. 17, 2018)-The Lady Bears will wrap up their mini two-game road swing on Tuesday, Dec. 18, when they battle the Mountaineers of West Virginia. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. at the WVU Coliseum. This will be the second straight season the two teams will square off and the series' third overall meeting. Last season the Mountaineers defeated Morgan State, 84-41 on Dec. 18 in Morgantown to even the all-time series at 1-1.
 
MSU VS. THE BIG 12: Morgan State enters its contest with West Virginia a combined 1-6 all-time against the Big 12 Conference. Here's how the Lady Bears have done against members of the Big 12: Kansas (0-2), Oklahoma State (0-2), Texas Tech (0-1) and West Virginia (1-1). MSU has never faced Baylor, Kansas State, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Christian.
 
A LOOK AT WEST VIRGINIA: The Mountaineers, winners of two straight, are coming off a 78-29 victory over Eastern Kentucky on Saturday in Charleston, W.Va. Kari Niblack led four players in double figures with a career-high 18 points and 12 rebounds to earn her first career double-double. Naomi Davenport added 16 points and Tynice Martin finished with 14 points. Madison Smith scored 10 points. West Virginia scored 20 of the game's first 22 points. Martin leads the team in scoring with 19.1 points and is adding 7.9 rebounds per game. Davenport is scoring 14.3 points and is grabbing a team-high 8.9 boards. Kysre Gondrezick and Katrina Pardee are also averaging double figures at 13.2 and 12.1 points, respectively.
 
NEXT UP: After its contest against West Virginia (12/18), Morgan State will head home for its final two contests to close out 2018. The Lady Bears will first host local foe, UMBC (12/20) at 5:30 pm, before taking on UMass Lowell (12/29) at 2 pm. Both games will be played at Hill Field House.
 
LADY BEARS TAKE IN NBA GAME IN MOTOWN: The Lady Bears concluded their trip to Ann Arbor, Mich., by attending the Boston Celtics-Detroit Pistons game on Saturday, Dec. 15 at the new Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit. Following the game the team got to go on the court and attempt a free throw shot, before meeting and taking pictures with Celtics players Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. The host Pistons defeated Boston, 113-104. It was the first time the program caught an NBA game since 2014, when they went to Phillips Arena to see the home team Atlanta Hawks take on the Utah Jazz, prior to the Lady Bears' season opener at the University of Georgia.
 
GRAHAM RETURNS TO MORGANTOWN: Morgan State assistant coach Donchez Graham will make his second consecutive return to WVU Coliseum when the Lady Bears take on West Virginia (12/18). Graham served as an assistant coach on the Mountaineers' staff during the 2009-10 season. WVU would finish the season with a 29-6 record, including a berth in the Big East Conference Championship game and a second round appearance in the NCAA Tournament. At the time it was the winningest season in school history.
 
HOMECOMING FOR HORN: Saturday's game against Michigan will mark a homecoming of sorts for senior guard Kayla Horn. A native of nearby Romulus, Mich., Horn, who never attended a Michigan basketball game while growing up, will now play against the hometown Wolverines in front of family and friends. Saturday's game is extra special for Horn, as it will be the first collegiate game her parents will get to see her play.
 
13-DAY LAYOFF: The Lady Bears will end a season-long 13-day layoff when they take the floor against the University of Michigan on Saturday. It will be Morgan State's first game since playing at Florida International on Dec. 2. The layoff was so that Morgan State could focus on final exams.
 
DAVIS CLOSING IN ON 370 VICTORIES: Morgan State head coach Ed Davis Jr. is one win away from picking up career coaching victory 370. Davis, who enters his seventh season with the Lady Bears and third as head coach, has an overall record of 369-289, following a 60-43 win over Washington Adventist (11/7). He has guided his teams to a total of four NCAA Tournament appearances, while at Bowie State (3) and Delaware State (1) and two Division II Sweet 16 appearances.
 
REMATCH: Five of the Lady Bears' non-conference opponents (Lincoln-Pa., Central Connecticut, Florida International, West Virginia, UMass Lowell) will be rematches from the 2017-18 campaign. Morgan State went 4-1 a year ago against those opponents with its lone loss coming at then 10th-ranked West Virginia. Morgan State is currently 0-3 this season in those rematch games.
 
SOMEONE NEW: Morgan State will square off this season against two first-time opponents in Western Kentucky (11/28) and Michigan (12/15). Both contests will be on the road.
 
WELCOME BACK: Local foe UMBC returns on the 2018-19 schedule after a year hiatus. Morgan State and the Retrievers will meet on Dec. 20 at Hill Field House. The two programs last met on Dec. 7, 2016 at UMBC with the Lady Bears winning, 69-61.
 
DAVIS A THREE-TIME HALL OF FAMER: Morgan State head coach Ed Davis Jr. was inducted into his third Hall of Fame in September 2017, when his 2006-07 Delaware State women's basketball team was inducted for capturing the 2007 MEAC title. Davis was also inducted into the Bowie State University Hall of Fame in 2014 as a coach, where he guided the Lady Bulldogs to three CIAA titles and a pair of Division II "Sweet 16" appearances and in 2008 he was inducted into the West Virginia State University Hall of Fame as a basketball player.