Game 6
Morgan State "Lady Bears" (2-3) at Marshall "Thundering Herd" (3-1)
Date: Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019
Site: Huntington, W.Va. (Cam Henderson Center)
Game Time: 5 p.m.
Series Record: Marshall leads, 3-0
Gameday
Watch: CSUA TV
Marshall Radio: www.marshall.edu/wmul on stream 1
Live Stats: herdzone.com
Website: www.herdzone.com
 
BALTIMORE, Md. (Nov. 21, 2019)-The Morgan State women's basketball team will travel to Huntington, W.Va. to take on the Marshal Thundering Herd on Thursday night in a non-conference game at Cam Henderson Center. Tip-off is at 5 p.m. This will be the fourth meeting between the two teams with all four contests taking place at the Cam Henderson Center. Fans can watch live on the CUSA.TV. Live stats will be provided on herdzone.com. Morgan State will be the third and final opponent out of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference that Marshall will play this season. Marshall has already defeated Norfolk State (75-69) and Coppin State (60-47) this season
 
BEAR CLAWS: Morgan State (2-3) enters the contest on a two-game losing skid, following a 70-64 loss at Omaha (11/17) Chelsea Mitchell scored a team-high 20 points, as four of the Lady Bears' starters scored in double figures, but it wasn't enough. Mitchell also pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds to earn her second double-double of the season. Dahnye Redd fell short of a double-double, adding 13 points and nine rebounds, while Dezyree Morales and Jihayah Chavis had 12 and 11 points, respectively.
 
Morgan State has been paced by Redd, who is averaging 13.8 points per contest to go with 7.8 rebounds per game. Ashia McCalla is scoring 12.8 points, while Mitchell is adding 12.0 points, a team-high 8.0 rebounds and a team-best 3.6 steals per contest. Chavis is recording 10.6 per game and has a team-leading 3.6 assists per contest.
 
MSU VS. MARSHALL SERIES NOTES: This will be the fourth meeting with Marshall holding a 3-0 series lead. The teams last met on Dec. 6, 2017 with the Thundering Herd holding off Morgan State, 73-68.
 
A LOOK AT THE HERD: Marshall (3-1) is coming off a 60-47 victory on Tuesday over visiting Coppin State. The Herd trailed 10-7 after a quarter of play, before putting Coppin State away, by outscoring the Eagles 21-6 in the second period to take a 28-16 lead at the intermission.
 
Taylore Pearson scored a team-high 19 points and had nine rebounds and Kristen Mayo added 11 points in the win over Coppin State. Savannah Wheeler came off the bench to score 10 points and Khadaijia Brooks pulled down a team-best 10 boards to go with eight points. Ashley Saintigene recorded a game-high five blocked shots.
 
Wheeler has led the Thundering Herd, averaging 14 points per game. Mayo is scoring 13.3 points and leads the team with 3.75 assists per outing. Pearson is contributing 11.5 points and 6.5 rebounds, while Brooks is scoring 10 points and a team-best 8.3 rebounds per contest. Saintigene is averaging 7.0 points and leads the team with 15 blocks at 3.75 per game.
 
NEXT UP: Morgan State will travel to Jersey City, N.J. to take on Saint Peter's on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 5 p.m.
 
CHAVIS MOVES INTO EIGHTH ON STEALS CHART: Senior Jihayah Chavis picked up a steal against Omaha (11/17) to give her 167 for her career and move past former Lady Bear Moneshia Davis (166 steals from 2009-13) for eighth all-time at Morgan State.   
 
DAVIS RECORDS CAREER VICTORY NO. 380: Morgan State head coach Ed Davis Jr. recorded his 380th career coaching victory, following the Lady Bears' win against Washington Adventist (11/11). Davis, who is in his eighth season with the Lady Bears and fourth as head coach, has an overall record of 380-304. He recorded career win No. 370, following the Lady Bears' win over UMass Lowell (12/29/18). Davis 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.
 
MITCHELL, HENSON EARN MEAC WEEKLY HONORS: Senior Chelsea Mitchell was named Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Co-Defensive Player of the Week, while Ja'Niah Henson was named MEAC Rookie of the Week. Mitchell averaged 4.7 steals per game in helping the Lady Bears to a 2-1 week, including a pair of six-steal efforts, while averaging 12 points per game. The Columbia, Md. native had six steals to go with 11 rebounds (seven defensive), a blocked shot and 14 points against Notre Dame of Maryland (11/8). She then recorded six more steals to go with three rebounds and 13 points against Washington Adventist (11/11). Henson posted nine points, three assists and three steals in a win over Notre Dame of Maryland. The Baltimore native then dropped 10 points, hitting on 2-of-3 three-pointers against Washington Adventist.
 
SEARCY MAKES LONG AWAITED DEBUT: Senior transfer Sydney Searcy made her long awaited Morgan State debut in the win over Washington Adventist (11/11). The former Florida Gator, who sat out last season to fulfill NCAA transfer requirements, came off the bench to score 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting, including 1-of-3 from three-point range and recorded five steals in 17 minutes of play.
 
MORGAN IN SEASON OPENERS: The Lady Bears are 11-32 all-time in season openers dating back to 1977, following this season's 70-48 road loss at Marquette (11/5). It was the sixth season opening loss for the Lady Bears in seven years. Morgan State at one point had lost 23 straight season openers, prior to winning three straight from 2006-08.
 
MORGAN PICKED SEVENTH IN MEAC: Morgan State was picked to finish seventh in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) preseason poll, as voted by the league's head coaches and sports information directors. Last year, the Lady Bears were picked to finish sixth, and went 10-21 overall and finished 8-8 in the MEAC to finish sixth.
 
TOURNAMENT EXPOSURE: Six of Morgan State's 2019-20 opponents advanced to postseason play last season in Marquette-2nd round, Michigan-2nd round and Bethune-Cookman-1st round (NCAA Women's Tournament); North Carolina A&T State-1st round (Women's National Invitational Tournament); Akron-1st round and Marshall-2nd round (Women's Basketball Invitational).
 
SAYING GOODBYE: Morgan State will say goodbye to five seniors at the conclusion of the season. Four-year member Jihayah Chavis, three-year member Chelsea Mitchell along with Dawn Gipson, Sydney Searcy and Dezyree Morales, who all came to Morgan State a year ago as juniors, will be honored on 'Senior Night' prior to their final home game at Hill Field House against Norfolk State (3/5/20).
 
DAVIS RETURNS TO THE HORNETS NEST: Morgan State head coach Ed Davis will make his fourth trip back to Memorial Hall (1/4/20), as an opposing head coach on Jan. 4, 2020 when Morgan State travels to Delaware State for the MEAC opener. Davis, who once patrolled the sideline for 12 seasons as the head coach of Delaware State, has dropped his last two visits to Dover, Del., falling to 4-2 in six trips to Memorial Hall since joining Morgan State as an assistant during the 2012-13 season. The Lady Bears have a 7-4 all-time record against Delaware State since Davis joined Morgan State's staff.
 
REMATCH: Three of Morgan State's non-conference opponents this season (Washington Adventist, Michigan and UMBC) will be rematches from the 2018-19 campaign. Morgan State went 1-2 a year ago against those opponents with its lone win coming against Washington Adventist.
 
SOMEONE NEW: Morgan State will square off this season against five first-time opponents in Marquette (11/5), Nebraska (11/14), Nebraska-Omaha (11/17), Texas State (12/18) and Akron (12/21).
 
HOME SWEET HOME: Senior guard Chelsea Mitchell will end her collegiate career at Morgan State where she started. A native of Columbia, Md., Mitchell spent her first two years playing at Morgan State from 2015-17, before transferring to Lander University for her junior season (2017-18).
 
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.
 
NO BETTER TIME THAN MARCH: Last season it took all 30 regular season games, but the Lady Bears' back-to-back victories at Maryland Eastern Shore (3/4) and at home against Coppin State (3/7), gave Morgan State a 2-1 record for the month of March, it's first winning record month all season.