Game 26 (MEAC Contest)
Opponent: vs. Norfolk State (13-12, 8-5 MEAC)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019
Site: Baltimore, Md. | Hill Field House
Tip-Off: 2 p.m.
Series Record: Norfolk State leads the series, 21-16
TV: None
Live Video: here | Live Stats: here
Radio: WEAA 88.9 FM/HSRN.com
Game Day: here  
MSU Notes | NSU Notes
 
BALTIMORE, Md. (Feb. 23, 2019)-The Lady Bears return to the basketball court this Saturday, Feb. 23, following a 12-day layoff, when they host Norfolk State in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) contest at Hill Field House. Tip-off is at 2 p.m. This will be the only regular season meeting between Morgan State and the Spartans. The contest will be the first home game in the month of February and the first in the friendly confines of Hill Field House, since a 75-71 overtime win over visiting Florida A&M on Jan. 28.
 
BEAR CLAWS: Winners of four of its last six games, Morgan State (8-17, 6-5 MEAC) enters the contest coming off a 53-35 road loss to Savannah State (2/11). Jihayah Chavis led Morgan State with 13 points and had a team-high three assists and a game-high three steals in the loss. Adre'onia Coleman finished with 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Coleman has paced the Lady Bears all season long in scoring, averaging 16.4 points per game to go with a team-leading 8.1 rebounds per game. McCalla is averaging 9.6 points per outing. The Lady Bears are averaging 53.7 points, while allowing 64.0 points per game.
 
SPARTAN LEGION: Norfolk State (13-12, 8-4 MEAC), losers of four of its last six contests, had a two-game winning streak come to an end, following a 49-44 loss at home on Monday to North Carolina A&T State. Raven Russell scored a team-high 13 points, while Khadedra Croker added 12 points and a team-high six rebounds. La'Deja James leads the Spartans in scoring with 12.6 points per game and is grabbing 4.8 rebounds a game, while Russell is adding 11.3 points per contest. Croker leads Norfolk State in rebounding with 5.6 boards a game and has a team-best 49 blocked shots. Dana Echols leads the Spartans in assists (126) and steals (41).
 
MORGAN VS. NORFOLK STATE SERIES NOTES: Norfolk State leads the series, 21-16. Morgan State defeated the Spartans in last season's lone meeting, 55-53 in Norfolk, Va. (2/3/18). 
 
NEXT UP: The Lady Bears will host Beltway rival Howard in a MEAC contest on Monday, Feb. 25 at 5:30 p.m. at Hill Field House. The contest will be broadcast live on FloSports.com.
 
FAREWELL: Morgan State and Savannah State squared off one final time during the regular season in their annual 'Orange & Blue' battle on Monday, Feb. 11 at Tiger Arena in Savannah, Ga. The Lady Tigers would win, 53-35. Savannah State will leave the conference and return to the Division II level at the end of the 2018-19 academic calendar. The Lady Bears' win over the Lady Tigers (1/7) marked the final meeting in Baltimore between the two programs as members of the MEAC.
 
LADY BEARS WIN THIRD STRAIGHT: Morgan State recorded its first three-game winning streak of the season, following victories over Florida A&M (1/28), at Coppin State (2/2) and at South Carolina State (2/9). It was the Lady Bears' first three-game winning streak since last season (Dec. 28, 2017-Jan. 8, 2018), when Morgan State had a four-game winning streak, which began with a road win at UMass Lowell (12/28), followed by home wins over Maryland Eastern Shore (1/3), Florida A&M (1/6) and Savannah State (1/8).
 
BURST IN SCORING: As a team, the Lady Bears are averaging 53.7 points per game. However, during its season-long three-game winning streak, Morgan State upped its scoring to 70.6 points a game. The 75 points scored against Florida A&M (1/28) are the most points scored this season.  
 
FEELING COMFORTABLE ON THE ROAD: After beginning the season dropping its first eight true road games and going a combined 0-11 away from Hill Field House, Morgan State put together a three-game road winning streak, following its 63-61 victory at South Carolina State (2/9). That winning streak would come to an end with a 53-35 loss at Savannah State (2/11).
 
ANOTHER WEEK-LONG LAYOFF: Morgan State enters Saturday's Norfolk State contest coming off a 12-day layoff between its last game. The Lady Bears are 2-3 this season when coming off a layoff of seven or more days. This will be the sixth such layoff this season for Morgan State and its second longest of the season. The Lady Bears had a season-long 13-day layoff from Dec. 2-15, which resulted in a loss at Michigan.
            - Nov. 9-16 (7 days): L, at Stephen F. Austin (11/16/18)
            - Dec. 2-15 (13 days): L, at Michigan (12/15/18)
            - Dec. 20-29 (9 days): W, vs. UMass Lowell (12/29/18)
            - Dec. 29-Jan. 5 (7 days): L, Maryland Eastern Shore (1/5/19)
            - Feb. 2-9 (7 days): W, at South Carolina State (2/9/19)
            - Feb. 11-23 (12 days): ? vs. Norfolk State (2/23/19)
 
FAITHFUL EIGHT: With the dismissal of three players prior to the start of the season due to conduct detrimental to the team, two players sitting out due to NCAA transfer rules and a fourth player removing herself from the team, the Lady Bears have gone into battle each game with eight strong and dedicated players. Despite a tough non-conference schedule and the shortage of numbers, the Lady Bears have fought in every game and have picked up their play since the start of the MEAC schedule. 
 
DAVIS RECORDS VICTORY NO. 370: Morgan State head coach Ed Davis Jr. recorded career coaching victory 370, following the Lady Bears' win over UMass Lowell (12/29). Davis, who is in his seventh season with the Lady Bears and third as head coach, has an overall record of 376-297. 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.
 
SAYING GOODBYE: Morgan State will say goodbye to three seniors at the conclusion of the season. Two-year members Naomi Bolasingh, Adre'onia Coleman and Kayla Horn, who all transferred to Morgan State as juniors, will be honored on Senior Night when they play their final home game at Hill Field House on March 7, 2019 against crosstown rival Coppin State at 5:30 p.m.
 
2019 MEAC TOURNAMENT: The 2019 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) men's and women's basketball tournament is scheduled for March 11-16 at the Norfolk Scope Arena in Norfolk, Va. Ticket books can be purchased at all 12 MEAC university ticket offices, the Norfolk Scope Arena, Ticketmaster outlets, the MEAC Administrative Office and online at Ticketmaster.com. Tickets are also available by calling the MEAC at 757-951-2055 or Ticketmaster at (800)-745-3000. The annual MEAC Basketball Tournament moved to Norfolk in 2013 after spending the previous four years in Winston-Salem, N.C. from 2009 through 2012.