By: Kevin C. Paige, MSU Athletic Communications
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Game 22
Opponent: Norfolk State Spartans (12-7, 5-2 MEAC)
Date: Saturday, February 3, 2018
Site: Norfolk, Va. (Echols Hall)
Game Time: 4 p.m.
Series Record: Norfolk State leads series, 21-15
Watch: nsuspartans.com
Live Stats: nsuspartans.com
Websites: www.MorganStateBears.com | www.nsuspartans.com
BALTIMORE, Md. (Feb. 1, 2018)-Morgan State begins the second half of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) season on the road, when it travels to Virginia's Tidewater area this weekend to take on Norfolk State on Saturday, Feb. 3. Tip-off is at 4 p.m. at Echols Hall in Norfolk, Va. The Lady Bears concluded the first half of the league slate with a 4-4 record, following their 65-55 win at home on Monday over South Carolina State.
BEAR CLAWS: Morgan State (11-10, 4-3 MEAC) ended a season-long four-game losing skid, following a 65-55 victory over South Carolina State on Monday. The win also helped the Lady Bears improve to 9-1 at home this season.
Adre'onia Coleman recorded a double-double with a game-high 14 rebounds and 13 points to lead Morgan State.
Tykyrah Williams finished with 14 points and added nine rebounds, a game-high five assists and a game-high four steals.
Braennan Farrar finished with 13 points, five rebounds, a game-high two blocks and two steals. The Lady Bears have been paced all season long by Spears, who is averaging 13.2 points and 7.0 rebounds, both team highs and leads Morgan State with 17 blocks. Farrar is scoring 11.7 points per game and leads the team in assists (71) and steals (53). Williams is recording 11.2 points and 6.4 boards, while Coleman is just under 10 points per game at 9.7 and 6.4 rebounds per game.
SPARTAN LEGION: Norfolk State (12-7, 5-2 MEAC) is coming off a 53-51 loss at North Carolina A&T on Wednesday. Raven Russell scored a team-high 11 points and had five boards, while Kendrea Dawkins added 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Kayla Roberts finished with a team-leading 10 rebounds in the loss. The Spartans have three players averaging double figures in scoring. Roberts has led the way with 14.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per outing, both team highs. Roberts also leads the squad with 34 steals. Russell is scoring 11.1 points per game, while Alexys Long is averaging 10. Khadedra Croker has recorded 60 blocked shots thus far. The Spartans are averaging 62.7 points per game and are allowing 57.3 by their opponents.
MSU VS. NORFOLK STATE SERIES NOTES: Norfolk State leads the series, 21-15. The Spartans won last season's lone meeting, 56-47 in Baltimore (1/4/17). Morgan State's last win over Norfolk State came on Feb. 13, 2016, a 59-56 victory in Norfolk.
NEXT UP: Morgan State will return home on Monday, Feb. 5 to host rival Howard at 5:30 p.m. at Hill Field House.
ROAD WOES: The Lady Bears will look to pick up their third road win this season when they visit Norfolk State on Saturday, Feb. 3. Morgan State will enter the contest a combined 2-9 (including loss to Iowa at neutral site) away from Hill Field House. Morgan's last road victory came at UMass Lowell (12/28/17). The Lady Bears have since lost their last three road games.
SPEARS JOINS 500 REBOUND CLUB: Senior forward
Lexus Spears pulled down six rebounds against South Carolina State (1/29), giving her 501 career rebounds at Morgan State. Spears, who played in just three games last season due to an injury, has pulled down a team-leading 148 boards this season for an average of 7.1 rebounds per game.
COLEMAN RECORDS THIRD DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Adre'onia Coleman picked up her third double-double of the season in Morgan State's win over South Carolina State (1/29). The Baltimore native would score 13 points and pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds. Coleman's first two double-doubles came in back-to-back games, when she scored 14 points and grabbed a game– and season-high 16 rebounds in the win over Maryland Eastern Shore (1/3). Coleman recorded her first double-double of the season, finishing with 11 points and a game– and season-high 10 rebounds at UMass Lowell (12/28).
SECOND HALF MEAC STRETCH: Morgan State begins the second half of the MEAC slate on the road at Norfolk State (2/3). The Lady Bears concluded the first half of the league schedule with a 4-4 mark. Last season the Lady Bears, who went 7-9 in MEAC play, put together a 7-1 second half run, including a season-long five-game winning streak, after dropping their first eight conference games during the 2016-17 campaign.
SEE YOU MONDAY AT THE HOUSE: Due to this year's unusual MEAC scheduling, the Lady Bears' final six MEAC games at Hill Field House will all be played on Monday evenings only. Morgan State's victory over Florida A&M (1/6) was the final Saturday home contest of the season.
HOLD UM UNDER 60 POINTS: During the Lady Bears' season-long four-game winning streak (Dec. 28-Jan. 8), Morgan State held three of those opponents to under 60 points. The Lady Bears are 9-1 this season when holding their opponents under 60 points. Of those nine victories, twice (Lincoln-Pa. and Central Connecticut) the Lady Bears surrendered an opponent low 41 points.
NOT UP IN HERE: The Lady Bears improved to 9-1 at Hill Field House this season, following their 65-55 victory over South Carolina State (1/29). The Lady Bears had won their first eight home contests this year and was riding a nine-game home winning streak dating back to last season, before falling to Delaware State, 64-52 on Jan. 22.
A NEW SEASON: What a difference a year makes. Last season the Lady Bears finished the 2016-17 campaign with a 9-21 mark. This year, Morgan State head coach Ed Davis Jr. has already guided the Lady Bears to 11 wins through their first 21 games. A year ago the Lady Bears didn't record their ninth and final win until the 29th game of the season, a 66-62 road victory at Maryland Eastern Shore on March 2, 2017.
