Game 2 (Non-Conference Contest)
Morgan State (1-0) vs. Sacred Heart (0-1)
Date: Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023
Site: Baltimore, Md. (Hill Field House)
Tip-off: 2 p.m.
Series Record: Sacred Heart leads, 1-0
T/V: N/A
Audio: Heritage Sports Radio Network (HSRN.com)
Live Stream: Here
Live Stats: Here
Websites: MorganStateBears.com | sacredheartpioneers.com
 
BALTIMORE, Md. (Nov. 9, 2023)-The Morgan State Lady Bears will look to improve to 2-0 on the year, as they continue their four-game homestand with a non-conference game against Sacred Heart on Sunday, Nov. 12 at 2 p.m. at Hill Field House. The women, in a rare occasion will follow the men's game against Penn State Wilkes Barre scheduled for 12 p.m. at Hill Field House.
 
HOW TO WATCH GAMES: All men's and women's basketball home games will be video streamed for free through the MorganStateBears.com website. The latest broadcast and video stream information will always be listed on men's and women's basketball schedule pages at MorganStateBears.com.
 
MEN'S & WOMEN'S BASKETBALL RADIO: All home games and select away games for MSU men's and women's basketball will once again be available through Heritage Sports Radio Network (HSRN.com). Lamont Germany will handle play-by-play responsibilities and will also host pre-game and post-game shows. Including exclusive interviews with members of the teams and women's coach Ed Davis and men's coach Kevin Broadus. Fans can download the HSRN app for free and listen to the MSU broadcasts from anywhere. Simply search for HSRN when using the iHeartRadio app.

BEAR CLAWS: Morgan State (1-0) enters Sunday's contest coming off a 59-57 non-conference win over Washington Adventist (11/6). Sophomore Kia Ponder, who missed last season with an injury, returned to the floor for the first time in over a year and scored a game-high 18 points and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds to record a double-double. Joelle Johnson scored 11 points and had eight rebounds, while Gabrielle Johnson finished with 10 points.
 
A LOOK AT THE PIONEERS: Sacred Heart (0-1), which opens the season playing its first three games on the road, enters Sunday's contest coming off a 91-40 season-opening loss at Rhode Island (11/7). The Pioneers were led by Baltimore native Ny'Ceara Pryor, who finished with a team-high 11 points. Amelia Wood grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds to go with seven points. Sacred Heart a year ago captured the NEC Championship and reached the NCAA Tournament, its first appearance since 2012. The Pioneers defeated Southern in the NCAA First Four, before falling to No. 1 Stanford in the first round. Pryor, who was a high school teammate of Morgan State's Gabrielle Johnson, became the first player in program and league history to earn NEC Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Years honors in the same season, while also earning First Team All-NEC and NEC All-Rookie Team accolades.
 
MSU VS. SACRED HEART SERIES NOTES: This will be the second meeting between the two programs with Sacred Heart holding a 1-0 lead. Morgan and the Pioneers last met during the 2000-01 season with Sacred Heart winning 67-66.

NEXT UP: Morgan State will continue its four-game homestand when it welcomes its third opponent to Hill Field House this season in Notre Dame of Maryland on Thursday, Nov. 16 at 11 a.m. for Education Day.
 
LAST WHISTLE: Morgan State avoided a season-opening scare by Washington Adventist, as the Lady Bears came from behind to defeat the Shock, 59-57 on Monday, Nov. 6. Kia Ponder scored a game-high 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to record a double-double. Joelle Johnson scored 11 points and had eight boards, while Gabrielle Johnson finished with 10 points, six rebounds and had a team-high four assists. Johnson, who went 8-for-10 from the free throw line, knocked down 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to preserve the comeback.
 
DAVIS PICKS UP WIN NO. 100: Morgan State head coach Edward Davis recorded his 100th career coaching victory at Morgan, following the Lady Bears' 59-57 victory over Washington Adventist (11/6) in the season opener. Davis, who took over the helm of the Morgan State women's program for the 2016-17 season, currently ranks third all-time on the career coaching victories chart.
 
PROTECTING THE 'HOUSE': Last season Morgan State went 11-2 at Hill Field House to set the school record for most home wins in a season, passing the previous mark of 10 wins set by both the 2017-18 and 2019-20 teams. Morgan State has now won 38 of its last 43 home games dating back to the 2018-19 campaign. The Lady Bears went 9-1 at Hill Field House during the 2021-22 season. During an abbreviated 2020-21 season due to the Covid-19 pandemic, MSU went 6-1 at Hill Field House. The season before that the Lady Bears concluded the 2019-20 campaign with a 10-1 home record, which was the program's best home court mark since the 2017-18 team finished 10-3.
 
MORGAN PICKED THIRD IN MEAC: The Morgan State Lady Bears were picked to finish third in the MEAC Preseason poll. The Lady Bears, who finished second a season ago, received one first-place vote and 86 points. Defending MEAC regular season and tournament champion Norfolk State was picked as the preseason favorite. The Spartans earned 12 of 16 first-place votes and 115 points. Howard was second with two first-place votes and 114 points.
 
JOHNSON NAMED TO MEAC PRESEASON 2ND TEAM: Sophomore guard Gabrielle Johnson was named to the Preseason All-MEAC Second Team. A MEAC All-Rookie Team selection last season, Johnson played in all 29 games, making six starts. She averaged 5.4 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 19.6 minutes per game. Johnson reached double figures in scoring six times, including a career-high 21 points twice at North Carolina Central and at Maryland Eastern Shore. The Baltimore native finished third on the team in assists (56) and was fifth in steals (33). Johnson ranked 12^th among MEAC leaders in assists and 20^th in steals.
 
MORGAN IN SEASON OPENERS: The Lady Bears are 14-33 all-time in season openers, openers dating back to 1977, following their 59-57 victory this season over Washington Adventist (11/6). The win was the second straight season-opening win for the Lady Bears. Morgan State at one point had lost 23 straight season openers prior to winning three straight from 2006-08.
 
WELCOME HOME: A familiar face joined the Morgan State sideline this season with the addition of Janelle Silver-Martin as an assistant coach. Silver-Martin, who is no stranger to Morgan State, was a two-year letterwinner for the Lady Bears playing in 41 games from 2014-16. Silver-Martin graduated from Morgan with a degree in public relations in 2016.
  
TOURNAMENT EXPOSURE: Morgan State will face five opponents this season that reached postseason play a year ago. South Carolina, Stanford, Sacred Heart and MEAC foe Norfolk State all reached the Women's NCAA Tournament, while Towson, like Morgan State, played in the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT).
 
MORGAN IN THE PUERTO RICO CLASICO: Over the Thanksgiving holiday break the Lady Bears will make their sixth appearance in the Puerto Rico Clasico event and fifth trip to Puerto Rico. Morgan State will face Campbell on Thursday, Nov. 23 in San Juan, and will face UNC Asheville on Friday, Nov. 24. Both games tip-off at 5 p.m. The Lady Bears, who are 0-9 all-time in the tournament, first competed in the even 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.
 
WELCOME TO THE CAVE: Morgan State welcomes the addition of nine newcomers to the 2023-24 program this season. Two graduate transfers in Joelle Johnson and Anyssia Gibbs; two senior transfers, Brooklyn Jones and Anjanae Mueck, two junior transfers in Laila Fair and Nakilah Johnson and three freshmen, Dakota Alston, Tamaria Rumph and Amari Smith.
 
SAYING GOODBYE: The Lady Bears will say goodbye to a total of five players including two graduate players at the conclusion of the home schedule. Graduate players Anyssia Gibbs and Joelle Johnson along with two-year member Sedayjha Payne and senior transfers Brooklyn Jones and Anjanae Mueck will all be honored. Morgan State will honor its seniors on 'Senior Night' when the Lady Bears host rival Coppin State on Thursday, March 7 in the home and season finale at Hill Field House.
   
2024 MEAC TOURNAMENT: The 2024 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) men's and women's basketball tournament is scheduled for March 13-16, 2024 at 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 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.