BALTIMORE, Md. (Jan. 26, 2019)-The Bethune-Cookman Lady Wildcats defeated the Morgan State Lady Bears, 73-69 in overtime in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) match-up on Saturday at Hill Field House.
 
The Lady Wildcats (10-8, 3-3 MEAC) were able to hold off the Lady Bears after freshman Ashia McCalla, who came off the bench to score 16 points, stole the ball at half court and made a late off-balance three with seven seconds remaining in the 4th quarter to tie the game at 63. It was the first tie since the second quarter at 16 all.
 
"After the steal, all I knew was that we needed to score. So, we really didn't have anything to lose at that point, and I was just looking to score," McCalla said. "I'm a clutch player so I just went for the shot."
 
Morgan State head coach Ed Davis had high praise for McCalla after an outstanding performance off the bench.
 
"She's our bench. She's the kid that gets the points off the bench," said Davis. "I'm very pleased with her. We're just trying to turn up her defensive intensity a little bit more and I think she's going to be one of the better freshmen that come to Morgan State." 
 
One of the reasons McCalla had to step up is because many of the Lady Bears were in foul trouble early in the game. Guard Naomi Bolasingh fouled out in the first half and forwards Adre'onia Coleman and Dezyree Morales both had three fouls in the second quarter, limiting their time on their court.
 
Davis made sure to tell his team to keep their composure and not foul as much because of the lack of bench depth.
 
When Coleman returned in the second half she began to heat up. After going 1-7 in the first half and only totaling four points she finished with 17. The Lady Bears used her spark to go on a 12-6 run in the final five minutes to extend their chances of winning. However, MSU was outscored 10-6 in overtime session.
   
"Free throws win ballgames," a chant Morgan State's Magnificient Marching Band says while the Lady Bears are at the free throw line was what the guests followed on this afternoon.
 
The Lady Wildcats were 30-of-35 (85.7%) at the free throw line, while the Lady Bears shot 12-of-19 (63.2%). Though Bethune-Cookman shot 35% (21-of-59) from the field, the Lady Wildcats were able to make up their shooting woes with their constant trips to the free throw line.
 
Morgan State would shoot 40.9% (27-of-66) for the game. Jihayah Chavis scored nine of her 13 points in the first quarter and Kayla Horn finished with 12 points, five rebounds and two steals before fouling out.
 
Amaya Scott scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Bethune-Cookman. Chasimmie Brown tallied a double-double with 18 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. MEAC Preseason Player of the Year guard Angel Golden also scored 18 points. On an off day where she shot 3-19, Golden connected on 11-of-12 at the free throw line.
 
The Lady Bears will look to bounce back as conference play continues Monday at Hill Field House against Florida A&M (FAMU) at 5:30 p.m.
 
"We deal on the positive points on what they did. One was the rebounding and the other was creating steals," Davis said. "We don't look at the negative right now. That doesn't do anything. We know we have a tough opponent in FAMU, but if we bring the same effort I think we can come out with a win."