BALTIMORE, Md. (Jan. 28, 2019)-The Morgan State Lady Bears defeated the visiting Florida A&M Rattlers 75-71 in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) overtime thriller at Hill Field House on Monday.
 
Morgan State senior Adre'onia Coleman led the way with a game-high 24 points and 13 rebounds to record her eighth double-double of the season. Freshman Ashia McCalla also tallied her second consecutive double-digit game in a row by totaling 18 points along with six rebounds, as the Lady Bears, improved to 6-16 overall and closed out the first half of the MEAC slate with a 4-4 record.
 
Though the Rattlers (3-16, 1-6 MEAC) were able to overcome a deficit as large as 17 points (34-17) with 1:08 left in the second quarter, Coleman and the Lady Bears were able to force clutch turnovers and make tough baskets in the overtime session when the game was on the line.
 
Morgan State head Coach Ed Davis Jr. described Coleman as real tough when speaking of her leadership down the stretch of the game.
 
"You saw her. She went back into the game," said Davis. She shook off the cramp and she came back and hit three big shots in overtime and had a double-double."
 
However, Coleman said she didn't expect to be a leader when she began her collegiate career, but stepped up and took the role for her coach.
 
"Like [Coach Davis], he's the coach on the sideline and I'm the coach on the floor," Coleman said. "My teammates followed behind me so I just have to understand I have a group of wolves behind me and I just got to take lead."
 
When it seemed as though FAMU was going to pull away in overtime after Morgan State committed a few fouls and turnovers to put the Rattlers up 66-59, Coleman, after leaving the game because of cramps, returned to hit two elbow jumpers and a free throw to trim the lead to two (66-64) with 2:01 left in the game.
           
"After I got the cramps, I just told myself my team needs me and I said that's my spot so I just took the shot," Coleman said.
 
The rest of the Lady Bears followed suit and increased their intensity. Senior guard Kayla Horn got her second steal of the game in a crucial moment, which led to a layup by Naomi Bolasingh (10 points) to even the score at 66 all at the 1:43 mark. It would be the first tie of overtime. 26 seconds later, Coleman hit another jumper to give the Lady Bears the lead back for good at 68-66.
 
Horn (9 points) recorded another steal and followed with a layup and McCalla added another layup and hit the free throw to complete a three-point play to cap off a 14-0 run and give Morgan State a 73-66 lead with 37 seconds remaining.  
 
Morgan State was able to turn FAMU mistakes into points as they scored 36 points off 29 turnovers. 11 of those points came in overtime. However, the Lady Bears were not the only ones able to take advantage of miscues as the Rattlers finished with 28 points off 29 Morgan State turnovers.
 
"My biggest concern is that we have never turned the ball over 30 times. That was a sign of either pressure against us, unwillingness to be aggressive and make shots, so that's something we got to go back and work on," Davis said. "Our main goal right now is stay at .500 so we can go above [.500]."
 
In addition, the Lady Bears were faced yet again with foul trouble similar to their previous game against Bethune-Cookman. FAMU would connect on 23 of the 37 free throws (62 percent) it attempted. Morgan State shot 65 percent (15-of-23) from the charity stripe.
 
Florida A&M's Dy'Manee Royal shot 8-of-11 from the floor to score a team-leading 18 points. Royal, who shot 2-of-7 from the free throw line, missed two potential game-winning free throws with seven seconds remaining in regulation. Royal grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, had four steals and a game-high five blocks. Maya Moye came off the bench to also score a team-high 18 points. Candice Williams finished with 14 points.
 
The Lady Bears will take the short trip across town to face the rival Eagles of Coppin State on Saturday, Feb. 2 in Round 1 of the annual 'East vs. West' game. Tip-off is set at 2 p.m. from the Physical Education Complex on the Coppin State campus.