Games 13-14
Morgan State "Lady Bears" (9-3, 6-2 MEAC) vs. "Coppin State" (2-10, 2-8 MEAC)
Date: Saturday-Sunday, February 27-28, 2021
Site: Baltimore, Md. (Hill Field House)
Tip-off: 2 p.m.
Series Record: Series tied, 42-42
TV: N/A
Audio: HSRN.com
Live Stream: Here
Live Stats: Here
Websites: www.MorganStateBears.com | www.coppinstatesports.com
Gameday: Here
 
BALTIMORE, Md. (Feb. 24, 2021)-The Morgan State women's basketball team will play host to crosstown rival Coppin State in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Northern Division series this weekend (Feb. 27-28) at Hill Field House. Both games will tip-off at 2 p.m. Saturday will mark the Lady Bears' return to the court for the first time since earning a series split at Howard (Feb. 6-7). This will be the second installment of this season's four-game series, as the Lady Bears swept the first part of the series at Coppin (Jan. 30-31).
 
BEAR CLAWS: Morgan State (9-3, 6-2 MEAC) has been idle since a series split at Howard. After dropping the first game to Howard, the Lady Bears claimed the second contest 65-61 in Washington, D.C. (2/7). Dahnye Redd led Morgan State with 15 points and nine rebounds, while Adia Brisker finished with 11 points. Ja'Niah Henson added nine points, seven rebounds, a team-high six assists and had a game-high three steals in the win over the Bison. Redd has paced Morgan State with an average of 14.4 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Henson is scoring 12.3 points and leads the Lady Bears with 22 steals and 35 assists. Ashia McCalla is adding 10.4 points per game.     
 
BIRD SEEDS: Coppin (2-10, 2-8 MEAC), losers of two straight and eight of its last nine games, is coming off being swept by Howard (Feb. 20-21). Nailah Delinois scored a team-high 13 points, while Jalynda Salley pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds and had nine points in the finale loss to Howard. The Eagles are led by Aliyah Lawson, who is averaging 14.7 points per game. Salley is grabbing a team-best 9.3 rebounds and is scoring 8.9 points a game. Hope Evans leads the team in assists (28) and steals (16). Coppin State is averaging 50.8 points per game and is giving up 66.9 points to its opponents.
 
MORGAN VS. COPPIN SERIES NOTES: Morgan State and Coppin State will meet for the 85^th and 86^th times this weekend in the annual "East vs. West" game. The all-time series is tied, 42-42. Morgan State has won seven straight regular season contests and eight of the last nine games over the rival Eagles, following this season's series sweep at Coppin (1/30-31).
 
THE RIVALRY CONTINUES WITH A DOUBLE DOSE: With the MEAC going to a Northern and Southern Division format in basketball this season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, crosstown rivals Morgan State and Coppin State will get a double dose of their annual "East vs. West" season series in 2021. For the first time since the 1995-96 season, when they met three times, the two programs will meet more than twice during the regular season, as they will play a total of four times. Last year Morgan State swept the season series over Coppin State, earning a 47-42 road victory on (1/25), before defeating the Eagles, 68-42 at home (2/29). It was the second consecutive year the Lady Bears have won both regular season contests. This season the Lady Bears claimed the first half of the series, sweeping both games at PEC Arena (1/30-31). Heading into this weekend's series, Morgan State has won seven straight regular season match-ups and eight out of the last nine meetings against their rivals.

NEXT UP: Morgan State will close out the abbreviated 2020-21 season against Delaware State (March 3-4) in a makeup series that was originally slated for Feb. 20-21. The Thursday, March 4 contest will be Senior Night, as Morgan State will honor its five seniors prior to the 5 p.m. tip.
 
SAYING GOODBYE: The Lady Bears will say goodbye to a total of eight seniors, including three graduate transfers at the conclusion of the season. Two-year members Elaija Demeza, KaMaree Donald, Dahnye Redd, Sydney Searcy and Lana Skripkina who came to MSU a year ago as juniors, will be honored prior to the Lady Bears' season finale at Hill Field House for 'Senior Night' against Delaware State (3/4/21). First-year members and graduate students Desiree Allen, Nina Carpenter and Takara Wade will also be playing in their final home contest in a Morgan State uniform.
 
STAYING THE COURSE WITH COACH OWSLEY: Associate head coach Wanika Owsley stepped in while head coach Ed Davis was away, and the Lady Bears didn't miss a beat. After dropping the MEAC opener to Howard (1/2), the Lady Bears won a season-best five straight games with Owsley at the helm. Owsley, who went 6-3 and guided Morgan State to its 6-2 MEAC mark since stepping in, helped to guide the Lady Bears to back-to-back series sweeps on the road at Delaware State (1/16-17) and at Coppin State (1/30-31), before earning a split in their last series at Howard (2/6-7), which at the time put the Lady Bears a half-game ahead of Howard for the division lead.
 
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.
 
GIMME FIVE: The Lady Bears extended their season-long winning streak to five straight, following a 72-43 victory at Coppin State (2/2). The five-game streak is the program's longest since last season, when Morgan State had two five-game streaks (Jan. 18-Feb.1) and (Feb. 17-March 12) to close out the 2019-20 campaign.
 
HALFWAY THERE: Morgan State wrapped up the first half of the MEAC Northern Division schedule with a 5-1 mark and sat in first in the division standings. The Lady Bears' lone loss came to Howard in the MEAC opener in Baltimore (1/2). Since then, Morgan State ran off five straight wins, including back-to-back series sweeps on the road at Delaware State (1/16-17) and Coppin State (1/30-31).
 
ATMORE MAKES DEBUT: Senior guard Jayla Atmore made her Morgan debut on Jan. 30 at rival Coppin State. Atmore, who transferred from Arkansas-Pine Bluff, shot .500 from the floor on 3-of-6 shooting and went 3-of-4 from the free throw line for nine points. The Winterhaven, Fla. native, also pulled down five rebounds and recorded two steals in the win over the Eagles.
 
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).
 
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).
 
AN ABRUPT END: Moments after celebrating the program's first MEAC Tournament victory in two years, Morgan State's 2019-20 season came to a screeching holt, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On the court, the Lady Bears had just defeated Delaware State, 64-63 in the MEAC quarterfinal round (3/12) to advance to their first semifinal appearance since 2007. Once in the locker room, the team was told the remainder of the tournament had been cancelled. The Morgan State-Delaware State contest was the final NCAA Division I college basketball game played in the 2019-20 season.   
  
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.