Games 11-12
Morgan State "Lady Bears" (8-2, 5-1 MEAC) at Howard "Bison" (8-2, 4-1 MEAC)
Date: Saturday-Sunday, February 6-7, 2021
Site: Washington, D.C. (Burr Gymnasium)
Tip-off: 2 p.m.
Series Record: Howard leads 53-22
TV: N/A
Audio: N/A
Live Stream: hubison.com
Live Stats: hubison.com
Websites: www.MorganStateBears.com | www.hubison.com
Gameday: Here

BALTIMORE, Md. (Feb. 4, 2021)-Morgan State begins the second half of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) season this weekend when it travels to the Nation's Capital to face Beltway rival Howard (Feb. 6-7). This will be the Lady Bears' third consecutive road series. Tip-off for both games is 2 p.m. at Burr Gymnasium.
 
The Lady Bears (8-2, 5-1 MEAC), who sit in first place in the MEAC Northern Division standings, enter the weekend series riding a season-long five-game winning streak, following a series sweep of rival Coppin State (1/30-31).
 
Howard (8-2, 4-1 MEAC) is riding a three-game winning streak after defeating Delaware State in its last contest (1/30).
 
Morgan State, which has one game up on Howard in the win column, will look to create some distance between its rival, in a series that could very-well give the winner an inside track to the division title.
 
When the two programs meet this weekend, something will have to give. Howard is 6-0 at home this season, including 3-0 against MEAC competition. Morgan State is a perfect 4-0 on the road against MEAC foes. The Lady Bears' lone home loss came to Howard (1/2) in the MEAC opener, so Morgan would like nothing more than to return the favor if not twice.
 
BEAR CLAWS: Morgan State (8-2, 5-1 MEAC) is coming off a series sweep of crosstown rival Coppin State last weekend (1/30-31). The Lady Bears defeated the host Eagles, 69-51 in the first meeting, then handed Coppin State a 72-43 loss in their last contest against the Hornets (1/31). Ja'. Ja'Niah Henson scored a game-high 12 points, while Elaija Demeza scored 11 points and Ashia McCalla finished with 10. Moran State is led by Dahnye Redd, who is averaging 13.9 points and a team-best 7.6 rebounds per game. Henson is averaging 12.4 points and McCalla is scoring 10.7 points and ranks second on the team in rebounding at 4.2 per game.
 
BISON HOOVES: Howard (8-2, 4-1 MEAC) defeated Delaware State, 71-60 in its last contest (1/30). Jayla Thornton scored a game-high 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including a season-high seven three-pointers. Anzhane' Hutton scored nine points and pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds, while Iyanna Warren finished with a career-high 14 assists. The Bison are led by Thornton, who is averaging 14.8 points per game. She has accounted for 256 career three-pointers and is three shy of tying the MEAC record of 259. Hutton is recording 12.3 points and a team-best 8.3 rebounds per outing. Howard will honor its lone senior, Thornton prior to Saturday's game.
 
MSU VS. HOWARD SERIES NOTES: This weekend will mark the 76^th and 77^th all-time meeting between the two Beltway rivals. Howard leads the all-time series, 53-22 after splitting the first weekend series in Baltimore (1/2-3). The Bison claimed the MEAC opener, 73-48 and Morgan won Game 2, 71-58.
 
NEXT UP: Morgan State will return home to close out the abbreviated 2020-21 season with its final four games being played at home. The Lady Bears will first welcome Delaware State to Hill Field House (2/20-21) and will end the regular season hosting rival Coppin State (2/2/28). 
 
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 its 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 sits 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 has run 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).
  
STAYING THE COURSE WITH OWSLEY: Associate head coach Wanika Owsley has stepped in while head coach Ed Davis has been out and the Lady Bears haven't missed a beat. After dropping the MEAC opener to Howard (1/2), the Lady Bears have won a season-best five straight games with Owsley at the helm. Owsley, who is 5-2 since stepping in, has 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).
 
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).
 
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.