BALTIMORE, Md. (Dec. 9, 2021)-Dahnye Redd scored a team-high 15 points, Ashia McCalla added 14 and Charlene Shepherd came off the bench to add 10 points and a game-high six rebounds, as the Lady Bears picked up their sixth consecutive victory of the season, by defeated Loyola Maryland, 64-55 in a non-conference game at Reitz Arena.
 
Wednesday evening's contest marked the series renewal after a 35-year hiatus. It was the first meeting between the two schools separated by 2.7 miles, since the 1985-86 season. The Lady Bears now lead the all-time series, 12-2.
 
Morgan State (6-4) jumped all over the host Greyhounds, by using an 18-0 run capped off by a layup from Taylor Addison to give the Lady Bears a 20-3 with 2:37 left in the opening period. Ja'Niah Henson would knock down a three-pointer and connect on the ensuing free throw to complete a four-point play and give the guests their largest lead of the game at 20 points (26-6) with 1:13 left in the first. Morgan State led 26-8 after a quarter of play.
 
Trailing 34-23 at the intermission, Loyola put together a 19-7 run to start the third quarter and briefly reclaimed the lead when Laura Salmeron hit a three-pointer to give the Greyhounds a 42-41 lead with 2:27 left in the third quarter. The lead was short lived, as 36 seconds later Shepherd responded with a three-pointer of her own and the Lady Bears would take a 48-44 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
 
Shepherd knocked down another trey to start the final period to increase Morgan's lead to 51-44. But the hosts responded and erased the seven-point deficit when Salmeron hit a three to even the score at 51 all with 6:58 remaining in the contest.
 
The Lady Bears scored the next six points to create some distance and take a 57-51 lead. Morgan State, which shot 78.6 percent (11-of-14) on the evening from the free throw line, closed out the game hitting five straight free throws for the win.
 
Loyola (3-6) was led by Salmeron's career-high 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 4-for-7 from three-point range. Lex Therien came off the bench and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds to go with eight points for the Greyhounds.
 
Morgan State will be off until Friday, Dec. 17, when it travels to Lexington, Ky. to face Kentucky at noon.
 
ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering nearly 140 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, 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.