Game 19
Morgan State "Lady Bears" 7-11, 3-2 MEAC) vs. N.C. A&T State "Lady Aggies" (12-4, 4-0 MEAC)
Date: Monday, Jan. 20, 2020
Site: Baltimore, Md. (Hill Field House)
Tip-off: 5:30 p.m.
Series Record: A&T leads, 40-21
Gameday: Here
TV: N/A
Audio: HSRN.com
Watch: Here
Live Stats: Here
Website: www.MorganStateBears.com | www.ncataggies.com
Game Notes: Morgan State | N.C. A&T | MEAC
 
BALTIMORE, Md. (Jan. 19, 2020)-Morgan State welcomes defending 2018-19 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) regular season champion North Carolina A&T State on Monday, Jan. 20. Tip-off is at 5:30 p.m. at Hill Field House.
 
BEAR CLAWS: Morgan State (7-11, 3-2 MEAC) bounced back from a tough loss at Bethune-Cookman (1/13) to defeat beltway rival Howard on Saturday, 74-67. Jihayah Chavis scored a career- and game-high 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting, while Dahnye Redd added a double-double with 22 points and a game-high 12 rebounds in the win. Chelsea Mitchell finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and added three more steals to give her 145 for her career and move her into sole possession of 12^th-place at Morgan State. The Lady Bears are led by Mitchell, who is averaging 13.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per contest – both team highs. Redd is the team's second leading scorer (13.5) and rebounder (7.3), while Ashia McCalla is scoring 12 points per game.
 
MSU VS. NC A&T SERIES NOTES: The Lady Aggies hold a 40-21 advantage over Morgan State after winning the lone meeting last season, 62-29 in Greensboro (1/19/19). It was the eighth straight win for N.C. A&T over the Lady Bears.
 
DOG BISCUTS: North Carolina A&T State (12-4, 4-0 MEAC), winners of 10 of its last 11 games, extended its winning streak to six straight, following an 84-38 victory at Coppin State. Cinia McCray scored 20 points, grabbed six rebounds, had four assists and a game-high six steals in the win. Deja Winters came off the bench to add 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Alexus Lessears finished with 11 points and six rebounds. A&T is led by Winters, who is averaging 13.9 points, while McCray is adding 11.7 points. Foy is contributing 10.8 points, 5.3 rebounds a game and leads the Lady Aggies in assists (51) and steals (29). Lessears is grabbing a team-leading 6.2 rebounds per game to go with 9.5 points per outing.
 
NEXT UP: The Lady Bears will make the brief trip crosstown to face rival Coppin State in the season's first edition of the annual "East vs. West" match-up on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 2 p.m. at the Physical Education Complex on the Coppin State campus.
 
NOT UP IN HERE: Morgan State remained unbeaten at Hill Field House this season after defeating Howard (1/18). The Lady Bears improved to 5-0 with the win and have won six straight home contests dating back to last year's regular season finale victory over Coppin State (3/7/19).
 
CHAVIS SETS CAREER HIGH: Senior guard Jihayah Chavis scored a career-high 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting in the win over Howard (1/18). Chavis also tied a game-high five assists and added four rebounds and two steals.
 
MITCHELL RANKS FOURTH NATIONALLY IN STEALS: Chelsea Mitchell ranks fourth in the nation in total steals (66) and is seventh in steals per game with 3.67. The senior guard leads the Lady Bears in steals this season (66) and picked up three more thefts against Howard (1/18) to give her 145 for her career, which moved her into sole possession of 12th on the Morgan State charts.
 
MARYLAND'S FINEST: Of all the leading rebounders of the eight Division I women's basketball programs in the State of Maryland, Morgan State's Chelsea Mitchell ranks second with 8.7 rebounds per game. A native of Columbia, Md., Mitchell has led the Lady Bears in rebounding 12 times, including a season-best 16 rebounds against South Carolina State (1/6). She was held without a rebound in the loss at Bethune-Cookman (1/13), which marked the first time this season she failed to grab a rebound.
 
Rk. Name, School                                    Rebounds
1. Stephanie Karcz, Loyola-Maryland                  9.5
2. Chelsea Mitchell, Morgan State                    8.7
3. Chance Graham, Coppin State                        8.6
4. Kaila Charles, Maryland                                   7.9
5. Nukiya Mayo, Towson                                      7.7
6. Janee'a Summers, UMBC                                7.6
7. Sophie Gatzounas/Morgan Taylor, Navy          4.9
8. Amanda Carney, Maryland Eastern Shore       4.6
 
MAKE IT A DOUBLE: Chelsea Mitchell picked up her team– and MEAC-leading seventh double-double of the season in a victory at Florida A&M (1/11). Mitchell finished with a game-high 11 points and had a game-best 13 rebounds.
   
MORGAN STATE TO HONOR ELIJAH CUMMINGS: Throughout the 2019-20 season, Morgan State student-athletes will celebrate the life of longtime Baltimore Congressman Elijah Cummings, who passed away on October 17, 2019, at the age of 68. In honor of Congressman Cummings and all of his many positive contributions to the University and his district, all Morgan State athletic teams will wear a special commemorative "EC" patch on their jerseys throughout the season. The Bears' football team helmets were also adorned with an EC decal. The patch is a black circle with the initials "EC" in the center in orange letters and outlined in white. Congressman Cummings has a long history with Morgan State University and over the years has been one of its most staunch supporters. In addition to hosting many of his youth workshops and annual career fairs at Morgan, he also served on the University's Board of Regents for 19 years after having been appointed in July 1999 (he missed one year due to other commitments at the time.
 
MORGAN STATE 'GRIT': The Morgan State athletic department has adopted the slogan GRIT for the 2019-20 athletic campaign. GRIT, which stands for Growth, Resiliency, Integrity and Teamwork, was introduced by Morgan State Director of Athletics Dr. Edward Scott at the start of the Fall semester. GRIT will define all 15 of Morgan State's athletic teams on and off the field of play this season.
 
SKRIPKINA HAS BREAKOUT: Lana Skripkina scored a season- and team-high 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including 3-for-5 from three-point range in the win at Florida A&M (1/11). She also tied a season-high three rebounds. A native of Russia, Skripkina's previous high was eight points at Nebraska (11/14).
 
MITCHELL PICKS UP ANOTHER MEAC HONOR: Chelsea Mitchell was named MEAC Co-Player of the Week on Tuesday, Jan. 7 to earn her fourth MEAC weekly honor this season. She previously was named MEAC Defensive (11/26), Co-Defensive (11/12) and MEAC Co-Player of the Week (12/17) honors. The Columbia, Md. native averaged a double-double for the week, recording 23 points and 15.5 rebounds per game in two contests, while shooting a combined 19-for-36 (.528) from the floor. Mitchell began the week scoring a game-high 25 points and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds, while adding three steals and a block at Delaware State (1/4). She then recorded a 21-point, 16-rebound performance against South Carolina State (1/6).
 
I'M COMING HOME: Senior guard Sydney Searcy returned to her home state of Florida when the Lady Bears visited Florida A&M (1/11) and Bethune-Cookman (1/13). A native of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., Searcy spent her first two seasons at the University of Florida, before transferring to Morgan State and sitting out the 2018-19 campaign. She scored a season-best six points at Bethune-Cookman and pulled down three rebounds, while recording an assist, steal and a block.
 
IT'S HARD OUT THERE ON THE ROAD: The Lady Bears recently earned a split on the road during their trip to Florida (Jan. 11-13) to improve to 2-11 on the road this season, including 0-2 in neutral contests. Morgan State began with a 59-47 victory at Florida A&M (1/11) to end a seven-game losing streak away from Hill Field House. The Lady Bears then dropped a 74-65 decision at Bethune-Cookman (1/13).
 
THE MAIN EVENT: The Lady Bears were the main event in their MEAC opener doubleheader at Delaware State (1/4). The contest followed the men's game and marked the first time in nearly three decades that the women's team followed the men's game in a MEAC doubleheader.
 
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.
 
UNBEATEN STREAKS ON THE LINE: The Lady Bears entered the 2019-20 campaign looking to remain unbeaten against three teams on the schedule: Notre Dame-Maryland, Washington Adventist and Hofstra. The Lady Bears were successful in extending their winning streaks against both Notre Dame-Maryland (4-0) and Washington Adventist (5-0), but suffered its first loss to Hofstra (2-1).
 
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).
 
2020 MEAC TOURNAMENT: The 2020 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) men's and women's basketball tournament is scheduled for March 9-14 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.