NORFOLK, Va. (Feb. 15, 2020)-La'Deja James scored a game-high 22 points and Blaire Thomas added 16 to lead Norfolk State to a 64-57 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) victory over visiting Morgan State on Saturday at Echols Hall.
Chanette Hicks finished with 13 points, had a game-high six assists and a game-high five steals, as Norfolk State improved to 15-8, 9-1 in the MEAC.
Morgan State fell to 12-13 overall, 8-4 in the MEAC with the loss.
The Lady Bears were led by Chelsea Mitchell, who tallied team highs in points (18) and rebounds (8), while recording a game-high five steals. Mitchell moved into eighth-place on the Morgan State career steals chart with 178 to pass Lisa Mickens (174 steals from 1997-01). Jihayah Chavis and Ashia McCalla each finished with 12 points.
In a battle between second-place Norfolk State and third-place Morgan State, the two teams went into the fourth quarter tied at 48 apiece. The host Spartans struck first when James hit a three-pointer to put the hosts ahead, 51-48 with 9:21 left in the contest.
Less than a minute later Ja'Niah Henson evened the score at 51 all with a trey of her own. A jumper by Mitchell with 3:25 remaining in the game gave the Lady Bears a 56-54 advantage. Unfortunately, that would be the last lead for Morgan State, as the Spartans would score the next eight points and closed out the contest with a 10-1 run for the win.
After back-to-back layups by Norfolk State's James and Hicks increased the Spartans lead to 59-56, Morgan State turned the ball over a second consecutive possession. The Lady Bears further hurt their chances when Dahnye Redd fouled out after picking up back-to-back fouls, including a technical, giving the Spartans two shots and the ball.
Thomas hit one free throw and James, who was fouled on the ensuing possession, added two more free throws to extend the Spartans' lead to 62-56 with 32 seconds remaining. Mitchell hit the second of two free throw attempts to end the Spartans run and make it a 62-57 game. That would be Morgan State's final point.
The Spartans held a 40-23 rebounding advantage over Morgan State.
Morgan State shot 22-of-52 (42 percent) from the floor and was 6-for-14 (43 percent) from three-point range. The Lady Bears finished the contest going 7-for-11 (64 percent) from the charity stripe.
Norfolk State shot 44 percent (23-of-52) for the game, including 3-for-12 (23 percent) from beyond the arc. The Spartans went 15-for-20 (75 percent) from the free throw line.
Morgan State will travel to Orangeburg, S.C. to take on the Lady Bulldogs of South Carolina State on Monday, Feb. 17 at 5:30 p.m. at Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center. S.C. State was a 61-42 loser at home to Coppin State on Saturday.
