PRINCESS ANNE, Md. (March 5, 2019)-The Morgan State women's basketball team has played the entire season shorthanded with just eight players on the roster. But that has never been an excuse for the Lady Bears, who entered Monday's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) contest against second-place Maryland Eastern Shore (MDES), riding a four-game losing skid.
 
Behind a game-high 19 points from Adre'onia Coleman and 13 points by fellow senior Naomi Bolasingh, the Lady Bears would upend Maryland Eastern Shore, 57-53 at the Hytche Athletic Center. The win would end Morgan State's four-game losing streak, while also extending its winning streak to four straight over the Hawks in Princess Anne.
 
Asia McCalla came off the bench to score eight points, while Kayla Horn added seven to help Morgan State avenge its season opening loss to the Hawks (1/5). Jihayah Chavis recorded four assists to go with six points and added two steals, giving her 151 steals for her career to move into ninth all-time at Morgan State.
 
Morgan State (9-20, 7-8 MEAC) would force 20 turnovers out of the Hawks, 10 of which came by way of steals.   
 
The Hawks (15-13, 11-4 MEAC) who had already wrapped up the No. 2-seed for next week's MEAC Tournament, were led by Ciani Byrom, who finished with 13 points and a game-high seven assists. Brooklyn Bailey came off the bench to add eight points and Dominique Walker grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.
 
The Lady Bears trailed (4-2) four minutes into the first quarter and that would be their only deficit of the contest. Morgan State would use a 10-2 spurt to take a 12-6 lead and held a 14-9 advantage after one quarter of play.
 
A jumper by Bolasingh with 5:48 remaining in the second quarter gave the guests their largest lead of the game at 22-12. A layup by Byrom triggered a 10-2 spurt by the Hawks, who pulled within 24-22 with 2:13 left in the period after Keyera Eaton knocked down two free throws. The score would remain that way until Horn scored on a layup with 45 seconds to go, giving the Lady Bears a 26-22 lead at the intermission.
 
MDES evened the score at 32 all on a layup by Bairesha Gill-Miles, but that would be as close as the Hawks would get, as Bolasingh quickly hit a straight away three-pointer to give the lead back to Morgan State at 35-32 with 2:09 left in the third. Horn scored on a layup and hit the free throw with 9:22 left in the game, to complete a three-point play and cap off a 10-0 run by the Lady Bears, which began with Bolasingh's trey in the third period, as Morgan State matched its largest lead of the evening of 10 points (42-32).
 
The Lady Bears' lead would stay within 8-10 points for the next seven minutes, as a jumper by Coleman gave the guests an eight-point lead at 53-48 with 2:06 left in the game. MDES would get within four points at 57-53 when Adrienne Jones connected on two free throws with four seconds left. Morgan State would then turn the ball over, but the Hawks would give it right back on the ensuing inbound, as Elizabeth Sherrill stole the ball to preserve the win.
 
Morgan State will wrap up the regular season on Thursday, March 7, when it welcomes crosstown rival Coppin State for the MEAC season finale. Tip-off is at 5:30 p.m. at Hill Field House. The game will also be 'Senior Night' for three Lady Bears (Naomi Bolasingh, Kayla Horn and Adre'onia Coleman), who will play in their final home contest.