BALTIMORE, Md. (Feb. 28, 2021)-For the second consecutive day, the Morgan State women's basketball team found themselves having to play from behind against their crosstown rival, Coppin State. This time the Lady Bears trailed by double digits in the second half of Sunday's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) contest, and as they did the day before, found a way to pull out the victory.
 
Morgan State came from 13 points down in the third quarter to defeat Coppin State, 63-54 at Hill Field House. The win capped off a weekend series sweep of the Eagles, as well as a 4-0 season mark against Coppin.
 
The Lady Bears improved to 11-3 overall and 8-2 in the MEAC, while Coppin State fell to 2-12 and 2-10 MEAC.
 
Jayla Atmore came off the bench to score a game- and season-high 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting, while grabbing four rebounds and recording two steals. Atmore fell three points shy of tying her career high of 22 points, which she scored at Mississippi Valley State (1/4/20) during her junior year at Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
 
Ashia McCalla scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting and grabbed a team-best five rebounds, while Ja'Niah Henson added 10 points and had a team-high four assists. With the victory, Morgan State improved to 6-1 at home this season and 17-2 in its last 19 home contests dating back to the 2018-19 campaign.
 
Coppin State was led by Jalynda Salley, who scored 14 points and grabbed a game-high seven rebounds. Nailah Delinois finished with 11 points. Eagles' leading scorer Aliyah Lawson, who entered the game averaging 15.4 points per game, was held to six points one day after scoring a game-high 24 points.
 
Defensively, the Lady Bears wore Lawson down by putting three different defenders on her. Lawson would finish the game shooting 1-for-9 from the floor, including 0-for-6 from three-point range, while going 4-for-4 from the free throw line and three turnovers.
 
Coppin State began the game on fire from three-point range. After missing their first attempt, the Eagles connected on three straight to jump out to a quick 9-2 lead. Coppin held an 11-5 advantage, before the Lady Bears went on an 8-0 spurt to take a 13-11 lead. The Eagles ended the quarter the way they began it, as Roni Richardson this time drained a three-pointer to give Coppin a 16-15 lead after a quarter of play.
 
Atmore hit a jumper to give the hosts a 24-22 lead with 4:19 left in the second quarter. Coppin State responded with back-to-back treys from Marley Grenway to trigger a 10-0 run, giving the guests a 32-24 advantage with 1:23 left until the intermission. Henson ended the run with a jumper at the 1:02 mark, as the Lady Bears trailed 32-26 at the break.
 
The guests came out of the intermission and scored the first seven points of the second half, capped off by a three-pointer by Delinois, giving the Eagles their largest advantage of the afternoon at 39-26 (13 points) with 8:29 to play in the third.
 
Morgan State would close out the period on a 21-4 run to take a 47-43 lead at the end of three quarters. Henson knocked down back-to-back baskets from the three-point arc and McCalla added a free throw, as the Lady Bears began the comeback with a mini 7-0 run to pull within six points at 39-33. Trailing 43-36, Morgan State then used an 11-0 run to end the quarter. Atmore's steal and layup at the 1:24 mark, gave the hosts a 44-43 lead, their first since a 24-22 advantage in the second quarter. Khaliah Hines ended the scoring with a three-pointer from the right corner to give Morgan a 47-43 lead.
 
Atmore opened up the fourth quarter with a layup and free throw and capped off a 10-2 Morgan State run by hitting a three-pointer from the left corner to extend the Lady Bears' lead to 57-45 with 5:54 left in the game. Morgan State would lead by as much as 14 points (61-47), following a jumper by McCalla with 3:55 remaining in the contest.
 
Morgan State shot 44 percent (25-of-57) for the game, including 47 percent (9-of-19) from beyond the arc. The Lady Bears connected on just 4-of-11 free throws for 36.4 percent.
 
Coppin State shot 20-of-52 (39 percent) for the game and hit 8-of-25 (32 percent) from three-point range. The Eagles connected on 6-of-7 (86 percent) from the free throw line.  
 
Morgan State will close out the regular season with a two-game series against Delaware State on Wednesday-Thursday, March 3-4. Both games tip-off at 5 p.m. at Hill Field House.
   
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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.