Davis_400Wins
MSU Head Coach Ed Davis, Jr. picked up his 400th career coaching victory in Thursday's win over Norfolk State.
55
Norfolk State NSUW 18-11, 12-4 MEAC
73
Winner Morgan State MSUW 16-13, 12-4 MEAC
Norfolk State NSUW
18-11, 12-4 MEAC
55
Final
73
Morgan State MSUW
16-13, 12-4 MEAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Norfolk State NSUW 16 16 15 8 55
Morgan State MSUW 14 25 14 20 73

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Kevin C. Paige, MSU Athletic Communications

Lady Bears Take Down Norfolk State In Season Finale, 73-55

Davis Records Career Coaching Victory No. 400

BALTIMORE, Md. (March 5, 2020) -- The 2019-20 Morgan State women's basketball team closed out the regular season in perfect fashion on Thursday evening, by avenging an early season loss to Norfolk State, following a 73-55 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) win on Senior Night at Hill Field House.
 
Tonight's victory over the Spartans, who entered the contest in sole possession of second in the league standings, was meaningful in so many ways. It helped the Lady Bears (16-13, 12-4 MEAC) finish the regular season tied with Norfolk State (18-11, 12-4 MEAC) for second-place, their highest regular season finish since the 2010-11 team finished second and earned the No. 2 seed in the tournament. This year's squad will be the third seed. Morgan State also finished this season going 10-1 at home, matching the most home victories since the 2017-18 team finished 10-3.
 
And then there's Morgan State head coach Ed Davis, who in his 24th season of coaching and fourth at the helm of the Lady Bears, recorded his 400th career coaching victory.
 
"To win 400, I really appreciate it and appreciate the support that was given here at Morgan to have that opportunity," said Davis.
 
Playing in the final home contest of their collegiate careers, senior guard Chelsea Mitchell scored a game-high 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting, while fellow senior guard Jihayah Chavis finished with seven points and totaled a game-high eight assists to give her 103 assists on the season. With her performance, Chavis, who entered the game in seventh all-time at Morgan State in assists, moved into fifth-place with 288 career assists, to pass both Tracy Lewis (285 from 1989-93) and Kaira Warfield (286 from 1993-97), who were sixth and fifth, respectively.   
 
Junior guard Dahnye Redd notched 14 points, two assists, two blocks and a steal, while freshman Ja'Niah Henson came off the bench to shoot 5-of-7, including 3-for-3 from three-point range to finish with a season-best 13 points, four assists and two steals.
 
"It means a lot. Since I've been here we haven't had a record like this," said senior guard Chelsea Mitchell. "So it's good to give him [Coach Davis] that win, because he's always talking about Delaware State when he was there. I wanted him to have something special, so he can say something about Morgan instead of Del. State."  
 
Morgan State broke a 28 all game with 3:03 left in the second quarter, by using the three-point shot to close out the half on an 11-4 spurt. The Lady Bears knocked down three treys during the stretch with Henson draining her second just before the half to give the hosts a 39-32 advantage at the intermission.
 
Redd scored six of Morgan State's eight points to start the third quarter to extend the Lady Bears' lead to 49-36. Norfolk State responded by scoring the next eight points to pull within 49-44 and trailed 53-47 after three quarters of play.
 
Ashia McCalla scored on a jumper and added the free throw to begin the fourth quarter and put the hosts in front 56-47, as Morgan State scored the first eight points of the quarter, which triggered an 18-2 spurt. McCalla capped off the run with a three-pointer to give the Lady Bears a 22-point (71-49) lead, their largest of the game with 1:49 remaining.
 
Morgan State held a 33-21 rebounding advantage over the Spartans and also outscored the guests, 18-4. The hosts shot 54.5 percent (30-of-55) for the game. Morgan State also forced 22 Norfolk State turnovers, which it converted into 22 points.
 
The Spartans shot 45.8 percent (22-of-48) from the floor and turned 19 Morgan State turnovers into 14 points.
  
Norfolk State's Chanette Hicks, who came into the game averaging 20.4 points, was limited to 11 points and tied a team-high five assists. La'Deja James totaled 10 points and had five assists, while Mikaela Jones shot 4-for-6 to score 10 points.
 
Morgan State will now prepare for next week's MEAC Tournament (March 10-14) at the Norfolk Scope Arena in Norfolk, Va. The Lady Bears enter the tournament as the No. 3 seed, while Norfolk State will be the second seed.

ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified doctoral research institution offering more than 126 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.

 
Print Friendly Version