wbb22
Nick Sutton
Ja'Niah Henson was named to the 2022-23 MEAC Preseason Second Team.

Women's Basketball Kevin C. Paige, MSU Athletics Communications

Women’s Basketball Picked Fourth In MEAC Preseason Poll

Henson, Addison, Shepherd named to preseason teams.

2022-23 MEAC Preseason Poll/Teams

NORFOLK, Va. (Oct. 20, 2022)--The Morgan State Lady Bears basketball team was picked to finish fourth in the 2022-23 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Preseason Poll, presented by TowneBank as announced by the league office on Thursday morning.
 
Last season, Morgan State was picked to finish second for the second consecutive year and ended up finishing tied for first for the MEAC regular season crown with Howard and Norfolk State. It marked the program's first-ever MEAC regular season title.
 
Individually, Morgan State had three players named to MEAC Preseason Teams. Senior guard Ja'Niah Henson was named to the MEAC Preseason second team, while graduate players Taylor Addison and Charlene Shepherd were named to the third team.
 
 
The MEAC Preseason Poll and Teams were announced during the MEAC's Virtual Basketball Coaches Preseason Video Conference, which was held Thursday. The event was held digitally across Zoom for the third year in a row.
 
Defending MEAC Tournament champion Howard was picked to finish first. Coppin State graduate guard Jaia Alexander was named MEAC Preseason Player of the Year.
 
All predicted order of finish and preseason all-conference awards were voted on by the conference's head coaches and sports information directors.
 
Howard, which won its first MEAC Basketball Tournament title since 2001 last season, was selected as the preseason favorite, racking up eight of a possible 16 first-place votes and notching 119 points. Norfolk State (four first-place votes) and Coppin State (two first-place votes) were picked second and third, respectively, and Morgan State was picked to finish fourth.
 
Maryland Eastern Shore (two first-place votes), North Carolina Central, South Carolina State and Delaware State rounded out the predicted order of finish.
 
Joining Alexander on the Preseason All-MEAC First Team are Howard's Destiny Howell and Iyanna Warren, as well as Norfolk State's Camille Downs and Deja Francis.
  
A preseason first-team selection a year ago, Henson helped the Lady Bears capture their first-ever MEAC regular season crown last season. The Baltimore native averaged 9.5 points, 2.15 rebounds and a team-leading 1.70 steals per game. Henson shot a team-best 79% (50-of-63) from the charity line, while totaling 34 assists, 31 steals and a block. She would lead the MEAC in free throw percentage, ranked ninth in steals (1.6), ninth in three-point percentage (.267), 12th in three-pointers made (1.0), 13th in scoring and 15th in assists.
 
"Making second team after having a rough year last year shows me that coaches in the MEAC respect me as one of the leaders coming back this season, and I appreciate that," said Henson. "I feel great about this upcoming season. I believe that if everyone buys in, we will be a hard team to stop. Even though the odds are against us, I love our chances."
  
Addison averaged 7.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game last season as Morgan State captured its first-ever MEAC regular season crown. The Columbia, Md. native was named the team's MVP and earned a MEA Defensive Player of the Week selection in Week 3. She ranked third on the team in rebounding and led the team in three-point shooting at 41%. Addison totaled 33 steals and 12 assists. She ranked 2nd in the MEAC in offensive rebounds (3.0), 13th in steals (1.4), 28th in scoring and was 17th in rebounding.
 
"Making third team after suffering an injury mid-season was definitely very nice. It is an exciting achievement," said Addison. "This is my senior season at Morgan State and this was definitely a good start to my last season."
 
"I am feeling excited for this upcoming season! We have a new team. We are working together to build on top of the success we had last year. We tied for regular season champions, but this year we want to win the conference title!!"
 
Shepherd earned the team's most improved award after averaging 10.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.33 assists per game during Morgan's run to its first-ever MEAC regular season title. She also added 21 steals and 28 assists in 21 games. A native of Killeen, Texas, Shepherd led the team in blocks with 23 and rebounding (5.4). She would rank fifth in the MEAC in blocked shots (1.1), ninth in scoring, ninth in field goal percentage (.387), 12th in offensive rebounds (2.0), 14th in free throw percentage and 15th in rebounding.
 
"For starters I'm thankful to have my name in the mix, but I'm honestly not satisfied with being nominated for third team," said Shepherd. "I feel I have a lot to prove this season so I'm going to work towards doing just that."
 
"I feel we have a lot to prove just based off how last season ended and just the simple fact that we aren't necessarily the same kind of team Morgan is known to be like in the past. However, I feel this is a group of individuals who really understand what's on the table and I feel it's a team full of dogs who are going to be ready to eat when the time comes."
 
The Lady Bears, who begin the season playing their first six games at home, will kick off the 2022-23 campaign against Shepherd on Monday, Nov. 7 at 5:30 p.m. inside Hill Field House.
 
The 2023 MEAC Basketball Tournament will take place March 8-11 at the Norfolk Scope Arena in Norfolk, Va.
 
The MEAC Media Relations Office contributed to this release.

 
FOLLOW MORGAN STATE ATHLETICS IN CYBERSPACE 
There are many ways to keep up with MSU athletics online and on the go:
• Visit www.morganstatebears.com, the official web site of Bears athletics, for news, schedules, stats, bios and more. 
• Follow us on social media:
 Facebook: /MorganStateBears
 Twitter: @MorganStBears
 Instagram: /MorganStateBears

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.
 
 
 
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Taylor Addison

#30 Taylor Addison

F
5' 10"
Graduate Student
Ja

#3 Ja'Niah Henson

G
5' 3"
Senior
Charlene Shepherd

#21 Charlene Shepherd

F
6' 2"
Graduate Student

Players Mentioned

Taylor Addison

#30 Taylor Addison

5' 10"
Graduate Student
F
Ja

#3 Ja'Niah Henson

5' 3"
Senior
G
Charlene Shepherd

#21 Charlene Shepherd

6' 2"
Graduate Student
F