Games 9-10
Morgan State "Lady Bears" (6-2, 3-1 MEAC) at Coppin State "Eagles" (1-5, 1-3 MEAC)
Date: Saturday-Sunday, January 30-31, 2021
Site: Baltimore, Md. (PEC Arena)
Tip-off: 12 p.m.
Series Record: Coppin State leads, 42-40
TV: N/A
Audio: HSRN.com
Live Stream: Coppinstatesports.com
Live Stats: Coppinstatesports.com
Websites: www.MorganStateBears.com | www.coppinstatesports.com
Gameday: Here
 
BALTIMORE, Md. (Jan. 29, 2021)-Morgan State returns to the court after having its second 13-day layoff of the season, when it travels to crosstown rival Coppin State this Saturday, Jan. 30 in the opener of a two-game Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) series. The two programs will wrap up the first installment of this year's annual "East vs. West" game on Sunday, Jan. 31. This season Coppin and Morgan will meet four times due to the MEAC going to divisional play due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both games this weekend tip-off at 12 p.m. and will be played at the Physical Education Complex on the Coppin State campus. The contests will stream live on Coppinstatesports.com and will be carried live on the Heritage Sports Radio Network at HSRN.com and on WEAA 88.9 FM.
 
BEAR CLAWS: Morgan State (6-2, 3-1 MEAC) enters this weekend riding a three-game winning streak, following its two-game road sweep of Delaware State (Jan. 16-17). The Lady Bears claimed the first contest 49-48, before winning the second game, 72-65. Dahnye Redd scored a game-high 20 points, while Ja'Niah Henson and Ashia McCalla each added 10 points in the Game 2 victory over the Hornets. Adia Brisker came off the bench to add nine points and tied Redd with a team-high seven rebounds. The win marked the fourth straight over Delaware State. The Lady Bears, who led from start to finish, scored the first seven points of the game and went up by 11 points (23-12) on a three-pointer by Elaija Demeza with 8:24 left in the second quarter. Morgan shot 39 percent (24-of-61) for the game and was 3-of-12 (25 percent) from three-point range. Morgan State took advantage of Delaware State inside, scoring 40 points in the paint, while also finishing with 17 second chance points. Defensively, the Lady Bears forced 17 Delaware State turnovers and scored 22 points off them. Morgan State is led by Redd, who is averaging 15.4 points per contest and has a team-leading 7.1 rebounds per outing. Henson is averaging 11.6 points and leads the team in assists and is tied for the team lead with 14 steals. McCalla is adding 11 points per outing.

A LOOK AT COPPIN STATE: Coppin State (1-5, 1-3 MEAC) is currently on a three-game losing skid, following back-to-back losses at Howard (1/16-17). The Eagles dropped the second game by a score of 60-51, after falling 60-52 the day before. Jalynda Salley came off the bench to record a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Alexandria Hamilton scored 13 points and Aliyah Lawson added 11. The Eagles are led by Lawson, who is averaging 14 points per contest. Salley is averaging a team-leading 8.3 points to go with 8.0 points per game. Coppin State is scoring 49.67 points per outing, while surrendering 65.5 to its opponents. Coppin State is coached by Laura Harper, who is in her first season at the helm.
 
MSU VS. COPPIN STATE SERIES NOTES: Coppin State leads the all-time series, 42-40. Morgan State has won five straight regular season contests and six of the last seven games over the rival Eagles, following last season's series sweep.
 
NEXT UP: The Lady Bears will travel to Washington, D.C. to take on the Howard Bison in a two-game series (Feb. 6-7) at Burr Gymnasium. Tip-off is at 6 p.m. both days.
 
REDD NAMED MEAC CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Senior guard Dahyne Redd was named MEAC Co-Player of the Week (1/19), presented by Coca-Cola. It was the first MEAC weekly honor of the season for Redd, who averaged 14 points and 6.5 rebounds to help Morgan State to a 2-0 weekend. On Sunday (1/17), the Darby, Pa. native totaled a game-high 20 points on 6-of-14 shooting, including 8-of-9 from the free throw line, while also tying a team-high seven rebounds in the win at Delaware State.
 
REDD HONORED BY COLLEGE SPORTS MADNESS: Dahnye Redd was named Madness MEAC Player of the Week (1/4) by the staff of College Sports Madness. It was her second honor this season for Redd, who was also named on Nov. 30, 2020. The Darby, Pa., native averaged 15.5 points on a combined 12-of-26 shooting and added 6.5 rebounds and two steals in two games. She nearly recorded a double-double in the win over Howard (1/3), finishing with 15 points, nine rebounds and two steals.
 
HENSON MATCHES CAREER HIGH: Ja'Niah Henson matched her career high of 19 points to lead Morgan to a MEAC win over Howard in Game 2 of their series (1/3). Henson, who shot 6-of-13 for the game and was 6-of-8 from the charity stripe, also added three assists and three steals.
 
TURNING UP THE PRESSURE: Morgan State forced an opponent season-high 31 turnovers out of Howard in its 71-58 victory over the Bison (1/3). The Lady Bears converted those 31 turnovers into a season-best 35 points. The 31 turnovers surpassed the previous opponent high of 26 by Saint Peter's (12/5).
 
ALLEN MAKES MORGAN DEBUT: Graduate student Desiree 'Dez' Allen made her Morgan debut in the MEAC opener against Howard (1/2). A native of Neptune, N.J., Allen, who graduated from New Jersey Institute of Technology in 2020, stepped on the floor with 7:09 remaining in the first quarter. She recorded her first rebound as a Lady Bear at the 3:55 mark of the first period and scored her first points in a Morgan uniform on a layup with 9:13 to play in the second quarter. Allen would finish the day with a team-high eight rebounds, six points and two steals off the bench.
 
OFF TO A GREAT START: Morgan's 3-1 start matched the 2010-11 and 2008-09 teams. Both of those squads finished the season with identical 17-13 records. Like this season, the 2008-09 team started off winning its first three contests, while the 2010-11 edition ended the season advancing to the first round of the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) where they lost at Virginia 69-56 on March 17, 2011.
 
SIX DIVISION I TRANSFERS ON ROSTER: The 2020-21 Morgan State roster will feature a total of six Division I transfers, including three graduate players. Headlining the list is senior Sydney Searcy (University of Florida), who transferred to Morgan State prior to the 2018-19 season. Senior newcomer Jayla Atmore (University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff) and sophomore newcomer, Adia Brisker (Niagara University) are also joined this season by graduate transfers Nina Carpenter (Cal State Bakersfield), Desiree Allen (New Jersey Institute of Technology) and Takara Wade (Houston Baptist University).
 
PROTECTING THE 'HOUSE': MSU has picked up right where it left off last season, by defending its home floor, winning its first three home games to start this season. After dropping its MEAC opener to Howard (1/2), thus ending a seven-game home winning streak, the Lady Bears bounced back to win Game 2 against Howard (1/3) to improve to 4-1 at home. Morgan State has now won 15 of its last 17 home games dating back to a 70-47 win over rival Coppin State in the season finale during the 2018-19 season. Morgan closed out last season with a 10-1 record at Hill Field House. The Lady Bears' 10-1 record was the program's best home court mark since the 2017-18 team finished 10-3.
 
MSU SECURES NON-CONFERENCE WINNING RECORD: The Morgan State Lady Bears secured their first non-conference winning record since the 2017-18 campaign (7-6), following a 67-63 victory over the Naval Academy (12/18). MSU improved to 3-0 on the season with the win, before dropping its lone non-conference loss at Towson (12/20).
 
CARPENTER RECEIVES MEAC DEFENSIVE HONOR: Graduate center Nina Carpenter was named MEAC Defensive Player of the Week (Dec. 8). Carpenter was a defensive force in her second game as a Lady Bear in the victory over Saint Peter's (12/5). The Las Vegas, Nev. native recorded a game-high five blocked shots, scored eight points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds (seven on the defensive end).  
 
MORGAN PICKED SECOND IN MEAC NORTH: Morgan State was picked to finish second in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Northern Division preseason poll, as voted by the league's head coaches and sports information directors. The MEAC will move to division play for the 2020-21 season. The Lady Bears were picked to finish seventh last season and went 17-13 overall and finished 12-4 in the MEAC to finish the 2019-20 regular season tied for second and earned the No. 3 seed in the league tournament.
 
REDD, MCCALLA EARN PRESEASON ALL-MEAC HONORS: Senior guard Dahnye Redd was selected to the MEAC Preseason All-MEAC first team and junior guard Ashia McCalla was named to the second team. Redd averaged 13.4 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game last season. A third-team All-MEAC selection a year ago, Redd ranked seventh in the MEAC in scoring, fifth in rebounding, fifth in offensive rebounding (3.0), eighth in defensive rebounds (4.5), ninth in field goal percentage (.437), 10th in free throw percentage (.694) and 14th in blocked shots (0.8). A native of Darby, Pa., Redd reached double figures in scoring 21 times and had five double-doubles. She scored 24 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had a steal in the MEAC quarterfinal win over Delaware State (3/12) and added a career-high 26 points, six rebounds, two assists and two blocks at Saint Peter's (11/26). McCalla averaged 11.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game last season. She ranked 14th in the MEAC in scoring, fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.343) and fourth in three-point field goals made (58). McCalla reached double figures in scoring 17 times and was also second on the team in free throw shooting at 80% (56-of-70). The Greenbelt native set a career-high 31 points on 5-of-7 shooting from three-point range, hauled in a season-high eight rebounds and had two steals and an assist in the home opener against Notre Dame Maryland (11/8).
  
2021 MEAC TOURNAMENT: The 2021 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) men's and women's basketball tournament is scheduled for March 10-13, 2021. First-round games will take place on campus sites, before moving to the Norfolk Scope Arena in Norfolk, Va. 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.
 
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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.