BALTIMORE, Md. (Nov. 19, 2023)--The Lady Bears fell to the Davidson Wildcats, 62-48 in a non-conference game on Saturday afternoon at Hill Field House. With the loss, Morgan State concluded its four-game homestand to start the season with a split.
 
Davidson improved to 4-1 on the season, while Morgan State fell to 2-2.
 
Joelle Johnson led the Lady Bears with a team-high 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds to record her second double-double of the season. Johnson also had a game-high four assists and tied for game high honors with three steals. Jael Butler also scored a team-high 12 points, coming off the bench to shoot 4-for-4, including 4-for-5 from the free throw line and grabbed three rebounds. Kaia Ponder added 10 points, a game-high two blocks, a rebound and a steal.
 
Neither team protected the ball, as the Lady Bears committed 24 turnovers, while the guests had 22 turnovers. Morgan State recorded 11 steals and Davidson had 10 thefts.
 
Davidson held a 16-15 lead after a quarter of play and carried a 31-27 advantage into the locker room.
 
The Wildcats put the game out of reach in the third quarter by outscoring the hosts 20-7 to increase their lead to 51-34 at the end of the third.
 
After Davidson's Issy Morgan hit a free throw to complete a three-point play, Morgan's Brooklyn Jones responded by hitting a trey to pull the Lady Bears within 40-34 with 3:17 left in the third period. But that would be as close as Morgan State would get. The Wildcats would use an 11-0 run to close out the period and extend their lead to 17 points heading into the fourth.  
 
The Wildcats shot 41.5% (22-of-53) from the floor and 31% (5-of-16) from the free throw line. Morgan State connected on 15-of-41 (36.6%) and was 2-of-6 (33%) from the charity stripe.
 
Davidson was led by Morgan, who finished with a game-high 17 points. Morgan shot 5-of-7 with, including 2-for-2 from beyond the arc and knocked down all five of her free throw attempts. She would also add four rebounds, a team-high three assists a block and two steals. Millie Prior added 14 points and grabbed a team-best eight rebounds.
 
Morgan State will take to the road for the first time this season when it travels to San Juan, Puerto Rico to participate in the Puerto Rico Clasico (Nov. 23-24). The Lady Bears begin the tournament on Thanksgiving Thursday against Campbell, before closing out with a contest against UNC Ashville on Friday. Both games will take place at 5 p.m. at Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez.
 
The Lady Bears will be making their sixth appearance in the Puerto Rico Clasico tournament and fifth trip to Puerto Rico. Morgan State, which is 0-9 all-time in the tournament, first competed in the event during the 2016-17 season and attended four straight years from 2016-20. The 2017 tournament was moved to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. due to the damage of Hurricane Maria.
 
"When we go to Puerto Rico our whole objective is to win one game," said Morgan State head coach Ed Davis. "We have never won down there. We've played tuff, but never won."

 
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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.