Game 24
Morgan State "Lady Bears" (11-12, 7-3 MEAC) vs. North Carolina Central "Eagles" (7-15, 4-5 MEAC)
Date: Monday, Feb. 10, 2020
Site: Baltimore, Md. (Hill Field House)
Tip-off: 5:30 p.m.
Series Record: Morgan State leads, 11-5
Gameday: Here
TV: N/A
Audio: HSRN.com
Watch: Here
Live Stats: www.MorganStateBears.com
Website: www.MorganStateBears.com | www.nccueaglepride.com
Game Notes: Morgan State | NCCU | MEAC
 
BALTIMORE, Md. (Feb. 10, 2020)- The Morgan State women's basketball team will look to get back in the win column when it takes on the Eagles of North Carolina Central in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) game on Monday, Feb. 10 at 5:30 p.m. at Hill Field House. It will be the only regular season meeting this season. The game will be broadcast live on both WEAA 889.FM and online on the Heritage Sports Radio Network (HSRN). Fans can also watch the action on www.morganstatebears.com. Morgan State, which began the season 6-0 at home and had won its last seven games at home dating back to last season, was upset by Maryland Eastern Shore, 71-61 on Saturday. It was the first home loss for the Lady Bears since a 74-62 defeat to Howard (2/25/19).
 
BEAR CLAWS: The Lady Bears (11-12, 7-3 MEAC), are coming off a 71-61 setback to visiting Maryland Eastern Shore (MDES) on Saturday. The loss ended Morgan State's 6-0 start at home this season and its seven-game winning streak dating back to last season. Chelsea Mitchell scored a game-high 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor and had a game-high 16 rebounds to earn her 11th double-double of the season. McCalla tallied 14 points and Ja'Niah Henson finished with 10 points. Mitchell continues to lead the Lady Bears in scoring (14.6) and rebounding (9.6). She also has a team-best 89 steals. Dahnye Redd is averaging 12.9 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. Ashia McCalla is posting 12.4 points and 4.0 rebounds per contest.
 
MORGAN VS. NCCU SERIES NOTES: Morgan State leads the series, 11-5, following last season's 65-62 victory in Durham (1/21/19).
 
EAGLE SCRATCHES: North Carolina Central (7-15, 4-5 MEAC) earned a 58-44 victory at Coppin State on Saturday. Kieche White scored a game-high 20 points and Paulina Afriyie had a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds in the win. Anissa Rivera also pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds for the Eagles. NCCU has been paced by Paulina, who is scoring 13.6 points and grabbing 8.5 rebounds per game. White is averaging 12.4 points and Rivera is nearly averaging a double-double with 11.7 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.
 
NEXT UP: Morgan State will take to the road when it visits current co-league leader Norfolk State on Saturday, Feb. 15 at Echols Hall in Norfolk, Va. The Spartans (14-8, 8-1 MEAC), who are idle Monday, are currently tied with defending MEAC Tournament champion Bethune-Cookman for first-place in the league standings.
 
CHAVIS TIED FOR FIFTH ON STEALS CHART: Senior Jihayah Chavis totaled three steals against Maryland Eastern Shore (2/8) to give her 208 steals for her career to tie Monique Liddell (208 from 1996-00) for fifth.
 
LADY BEARS SUFFER FIRST HOME LOSS: Morgan State was a dealt its first home loss of the season, when Maryland Eastern Shore defeated the Lady Bears, 71-61 this past Saturday at Hill Field House. The loss dropped the Lady Bears to 6-1 at home this season and ended their seven-game home court winning streak dating back to last season.
 
THIRD QUARTER DOMINANCE: Morgan State has outscored its opponents in the third quarter by a whopping 58 points (377-319). In the win over Howard (2/1), the Lady Bears limited Howard to just three points in the third period. In Saturday's loss to Maryland Eastern Shore, the Lady Bears were outscored by the Hawks, 14-7 in the third period.
 
MITCHELL MOVES INTO NINTH ON STEALS CHART: Chelsea Mitchell tallied two steals in the loss to Maryland Eastern Shore (2/8) to give her 168 steals for her career and move her past Moneshia Davis (166 steals from 2009-13) for ninth all-time at Morgan State.
 
MITCHELL RANKS THIRD NATIONALLY IN STEALS: Chelsea Mitchell ranks third in the nation in total steals (89) and is fifth in steals per game (3.87). She leads the Lady Bears in steals this season with 168 for her career.
 
RUN ENDS AT FIVE: Morgan State's season-long five-game winning streak came to an end, following a 71-61 loss at home to Maryland Eastern Shore (2/8). It's the first five-game winning streak for the program since 2016-17. 
 
MAKE IT A DOUBLE: Chelsea Mitchell picked up her team– and MEAC-leading 11th double-double of the season in a loss to Maryland Eastern Shore (2/8). Mitchell scored a game-high 18 points and grabbed a  game-high 16 rebounds.
 
STREAK ENDERS: When the Lady Bears defeated North Carolina A&T, 42-38 at Hill Field House (1/20), the win put an end to the Lady Aggies' 28-game regular season winning streak over MEAC opposition. It would not be the first time that the women's basketball program was responsible for ending a lengthy MEAC winning streak. During the 2007 MEAC Tournament (3/9), Morgan State came-from-behind to defeat defending champion Coppin State, 69-67 in overtime in the semifinal round. The win ended a 14-game losing slide to Coppin State, as well as put to rest a 49-game winning streak against MEAC opponents by the Eagles.
 
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.