DURHAM, N.C. (Feb. 5, 2022)-
Adia Brisker scored a game-high 21 points to lead three Lady Bears in double figures scoring, as Morgan State defeated North Carolina Central, 79-63 on Saturday afternoon at McDougald-McLendon Arena.
Morgan State improved to 9-6 on the season and 3-2 in the MEAC, while the Eagles fell to 2-14, 1-6 MEAC. The two teams will meet again next Saturday, Feb. 12 at 2 p.m. in Baltimore.
Brisker, who also recorded a game-high seven rebounds, shot 6-of-12 from the floor, including 5-of-7 from three-point range.
"I feel like today's game was a prime example of what it's like to truly win as a team," said Brisker. "The contributions from everyone on and off the bench were amazing. This is what it takes for us to win every game. Everyone did exactly what they needed to. Players were filling in spots in different positions and making great efforts in meeting the end goal to win."
"Coming into this game was just another test to see who we really are and how special we can be. Personally, it's a test for me since it is the month of my brother's death. Having that in the back of my head just motivated me in today's game to truly lock in and understand my why. My sister reminded me of some of my brother's words to me at my last game, telling me to "shoot my shot" and that's what I did."
Ashia McCalla recorded 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting and
Charlene Shepherd added 14 points.
Ja'Niah Henson chipped in with a game-high six assists and a game-high of five steals to go with eight points in the win.
"Today we continued our two-game winning streak. It was a big team effort," said McCalla. "We had big games from Adia [Brisker] and Charlene [Shepherd]. And we also had good energy coming off the bench which also contributed to the win."
"I was able to get my season high tonight and it was a very efficient game for me," added McCalla. I am happy about that and happy about being able to contribute to the win today."
The Lady Bears, who were without the services of two key players (
Dahnye Redd and
Jayla Atmore), began the game scoring 12 of the first 14 points and took a 12-2 lead on a layup by Shepherd with 4:53 left in the opening quarter. Morgan's lead would grow to 11 points (16-5) in the first, but the host Eagles went on a 9-2 run, capped off by a three-pointer from Diamond Thomas to pull NCCU within 18-14 with 1:09 left.
A fast break layup by Brisker put the Lady Bears in front 31-19 with 7:34 remaining in the second quarter, but North Carolina Central countered with a 12-6 run to pull within 37-31 at the intermission.
Morgan's lead would bloom to 18 points (74-56), its largest of the game, following a jumper by
Sunshine McCrae with 3:34 left in the contest.
The Lady Bears forced 23 turnovers, 15 by way of steals. Morgan State would finish the game scoring 25 points off of NCCU turnovers. The Lady Bears however committed 19 turnovers themselves, as the Eagles turned them into 18 points.
Thomas led the Eagles with 19 points and Kira Lowery added 16.
"Naturally I'm happy. I mean you're not going to win a championship at home and it shows the strength of your team being away from school and pulling out a win," said Morgan State head coach Ed Davis on the road victory. "So when you're on the road it gives you an opportunity to understand that you have an opportunity to win on foreign court and win. When you have two games on the road you have to win at least one, but it's great if you win two."
The Lady Bears will now travel to Orangeburg, S.C. to visit South Carolina State on Monday, Feb. 6 at 6 p.m. The Bulldogs were dealt an 84-55 home loss to Coppin State on Saturday.
