Game 26
#3 Morgan State (18-7, 11-3 MEAC) vs. #2 Norfolk State (16-10, 11-3 MEAC)
Date: Friday, March 11, 2022
Site: Norfolk, Va. (Norfolk Scope Arena)
Tip-off: 2 p.m.
Series Record: Norfolk State leads, 24-18
T/V: ESPN+
Audio: HSRN.com
Live Stats: Here
Websites: MorganStateBears.com | nsusports.com | meachoops.com
Notes: MEAC | Norfolk State | Morgan State | MSU MEAC Tournament History | 2022 Tournament Bracket
 
NORFOLK, Va. (March 10, 2022)-The third-seeded Morgan State Lady Bears will look to get a step closer to capturing program's first-ever MEAC Tournament championship when they face the second-seeded Spartans of Norfolk State in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament semifinal game on Friday, March 11 at 2 p.m. at the Norfolk Scope Arena.
 
This will be the third all-time meeting between the two teams in the MEAC Tournament with the series tied at 1-1. Morgan State and Norfolk State last met in the tournament during the 2008 quarterfinals, which the Lady Bears won, 86-65 on March 11, 2008. Norfolk State won the first meeting, 90-84 in double overtime in a semifinal game during the 2000 Tournament.
 
Two years ago Morgan State and Norfolk State appeared to be heading toward the beginning of a non-traditional rivalry. The Spartans defeated Morgan State 64-57 in the first meeting in Norfolk (2/15/20), then Morgan State returned the favor in the season finale, with a 73-55 victory over the Spartans for the 400^th career coaching victory for Morgan State head coach Edward Davis. The win also helped Morgan State finish tied for second with Norfolk in the league standings. The Lady Bears would be the No. 3 seed, while Norfolk State earned the No. 2 seed.
 
Eight days later after their regular season finale, they were scheduled to meet in the semifinals of the 2020 MEAC Tournament after the Lady Bears held off Delaware State, 64-63. However, moments after celebrating their victory, in what would be the last collegiate game played that season, as the remainder of the MEAC Tournament would get canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
 
With the MEAC moving to northern and southern division play last season, the two teams did not meet each other. This season, they would split the series, each winning on their home floors. Norfolk State won, 64-52 (1/24) and Morgan State won, 51-48. The Lady Bears' win was overshadowed by a total of nine combined ejections with 6.2 seconds left in the game.
 
So, here we are two years later and Morgan State and Norfolk State will finally get to settle their differences in the semifinal round of the MEAC Tournament. As was the case for the 2020 tournament, the Spartans will be the #2 seed and Morgan State will be the #3 seed.
 
"In 2020 we were tied with Norfolk 1-1 and we couldn't wait to play them in the semifinal game," said Morgan State's Dahnye Redd, who is one of three Lady Bears remaining from that 2019-20 season. "Having that game taken away from us was heartbreaking, so seeing how everything is coming right back around full circle is exciting!"
 
"This is the team we wanted to see again, just so we can make another statement," added Redd. "For me, Ashia [McCalla] and Ja'Niah [Henson], this game tomorrow is very, very personal. And the win tomorrow is going to be a special one."
 
"I definitely think it's destiny that we play them to get to the championship," said McCalla. "With the scenario being almost identical to two years ago, it seems like Norfolk is the only thing in the way of winning it all and we are ready for the challenge."
 
"Especially with everything that went on at the end of the game (this year), we know it's going to be a high aggression game. I'm expecting everyone from the players to the refs to be uptight, but I'm excited. Either way, we are picking up where we left off March 2020 and it's going to be a good one."
 
BEAR CLAWS: Morgan State (18-7, 11-3 MEAC), winners of five straight and 11 of its last 12 games, will be playing in its third consecutive semifinal contest, following a 66-53 victory over South Carolina State on Thursday in the quarterfinal round. Ja'Niah Henson scored a team-high 13 points and Charlene Shepherd added 12 points in the win. Jayla Atmore came off the bench to add 12 points and recorded a game-high five steals, while Ashia McCalla led the Lady Bears with a game-high eight rebounds to go with nine points.
 
SPARTAN LEGION: Norfolk State (16-10, 11-3 MEAC) advanced to the semifinals, following a 58-52 victory over No. 7 North Carolina Central on Wednesday. Mahoganie Williams led the Spartans with 12 points, five steals and five blocks, all game highs. Crystal White came off the bench to score 11 points and Deja Francis recorded 10 points, two steals and game-high five assists. Camille Downs, Makoye Diawara and Danaijah Williams each grabbed seven boards.
 
MSU VS. NSU NOTES: Morgan State trails the series, 18-24 after splitting this season's series. Norfolk State won the first meeting, 64-52 in Norfolk (1/24) and Morgan won the second game, 51-48 in Baltimore (2/21). The teams have split their two MEAC Tournament meetings with the Spartans winning, 90-84 in double overtime in a semifinal game during the 2000 MEAC Tournament, before Morgan evened the score in 2008 with an 86-65 quarterfinal victory on March 11.
 
NEXT UP: The winner of Friday's semifinal contest will face the winner of Friday's earlier game against top-seeded Howard and No. 5 Maryland Eastern Shore in the championship game on Saturday, March 12 at 3:30 p.m.
 
MCCALLA MOVING UP SCORING CHART: Senior guard Ashia McCalla scored nine points in Morgan State's 66-53 victory over South Carolina State (3/10) to give her 1,045 career points and move her past former Lady Bear Tracy Lewis (1,039 points from 1989-93) for 15^th all-time in scoring.
 
REDD RETURNS: Graduate guard Dahnye Redd entered Thursday's game against South Carolina State with 5:08 to play in the first quarter. It was her first action since Jan. 31 at Maryland Eastern Shore. The Darby, Pa. native would score on a layup and hit the free throw at the 5:18 mark in the second quarter for her first points in 11 games. She finished with seven points on 3-of-5 shooting, three rebounds and an assist in her return.
 
CHASING HISTORY: Morgan State heads into Friday's MEAC Tournament semifinal with an 18-7 overall record, just one win shy of tying the program's record for wins in a season on the Division I level at 19, set by the 2007-08 team, which went 19-12.
 
PICKPOCKETS: As a team, Morgan State has recorded 289 steals on the season in 25 games, which ranks No. 1 in the MEAC. Jayla Atmore leads the team with 47 steals and Adia Brisker is second with 42. Ashia McCalla has totaled 35 thefts and Taylor Addison has 33. Atmore is averaging 2.0 steals per game, while Brisker is averaging 1.7 steals per game, which ranks fifth and seventh, respectively in the MEAC. Taylor Addison is averaging 1.5 steals a game, which is 13th and McCalla, who is averaging 1.5 steals per outing ranks 14th.
 
TURNING UP THE PRESSURE: To date, Morgan State has forced 553 opponent turnovers (289 by way of steals), while collecting 11.6 steals per game, which ranks second in the MEAC. Morgan State forced an opponent season-high 40 turnovers out of Washington Adventist (11/24) and turned those turnovers into 40 points. 30 of the turnovers were by way of steals with Adia Brisker and Jayla Atmore leading the way with five steals apiece. The 40 turnovers surpassed the previous season high of 36 by Notre Dame of Maryland (11/19). The Lady Bears scored a season-high 48 points off Notre Dame.  
 
BRISKER NAMED TO ALL-MEAC TEAMS: Junior guard Adia Brisker was named to the All-MEAC Second Team and garnered All-MEAC Defensive Team honors. Brisker led the team in total points (237), total rebounds (110) and assists (36), while finishing third on the team in scoring at 9.9 points and averaged 4.6 rebounds per game, which was fourth. Defensively, she was second on the team in steals with 41 and had four blocks. 80 of her 110 rebounds came on the defensive end. A native of Pittsburgh, Pa., Brisker played in all 24 games, making 22 starts. She led the Lady Bears in scoring six times, including a season-best 22 points on the road against #3 Stanford (11/11/21). She also led the team in rebounding six times, pulling down a season-high nine rebounds at South Carolina State (2/7). She led the MEAC in three-point field goal percentage (.320). She also ranked among MEAC leaders in several categories, including scoring (12th), rebounding (20th), sixth in free throw percentage (.731), seventh in steals (1.7) and 13th in three-pointers made (1.0) per game.
 
MCCALLA EARNS ALL-MEAC TEAM HONORS: Senior guard Ashia McCalla, who led Morgan State in scoring twice this season, connected on a team-high 30 three-pointers made, finishing fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 8.8 points, while grabbing 3.2 boards per game. She totaled 212 points, which was second most this season, pulled down 76 rebounds, finished second on the team in assists (35), third in steals (35) and added three blocks, while starting 23 of the 24 games played. A native of Greenbelt, Md., McCalla recently became the 16^th member in program history to reach the 1,000-point club at Morgan State. She enters the MEAC Tournament having scored 1,036 career points, four points shy of passing former Lady Bear Tracy Lewis (1,039 points from 1989-93) for 15^th all-time in scoring. She ranks among MEAC leaders in scoring (18^th), field goal percentage (12^th), steals (14^th), sixth in three-point field goal percentage (.300) and ninth in three-pointers made (1.3) per game.
 
LADY BEARS GET THE THIRD SEED: Morgan State, which concluded the regular season in a three-way tie for first-place in the league standings with Howard and Norfolk State, will enter this week's MEAC Tournament as the No. 3 seed. MEAC Preseason favorite Howard will be the No. 1 seed, while Norfolk State will enter as the No. 2 seed due to tiebreak scenarios.  
 
IT'S SHEPHERD TIME: Charlene Shepherd scored a game-high 17 points, eight rebounds, two steals and a block in the season finale win at Coppin State (3/3). With Morgan State clinging to a 43-42 lead with 4:21 remaining in the game, Shepherd put the Lady Bears on her back, scoring six straight and eight of the Lady Bears' final 10 points down the stretch to help Morgan capture a share of its first MEAC regular season title.
 
LET'S SHARE: Morgan State concluded the regular-season in a three-way tie with Howard and Norfolk State for a share of the MEAC crown. All three teams split the season series against one another going 1-1 and finished with identical 11-3 MEAC records. It is the Lady Bears' first MEAC regular season title in program history.

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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.