LORETTO, Pa. (Dec. 2, 2023)--Kendall Carruthers scored a game-high 20 points to lead four Saint Francis-Pa. starters in double figures scoring, as the host Red Flash defeated Morgan State, 69-59 on Saturday afternoon at Degol Arena.
 
The win was the first of the season for the Red Flash, who improved to 1-7 on the season and picked up their first victory over Morgan State in three tries. Morgan State fell to 3-5.
 
Red Flash starters combined to score 59 of the team's 69 points. Destni Ward added 16 points, Julianna Gibson finished with 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds and Yanessa Boyd scored 10 points.                                                                                             
 
Tamaria Rumph paced the Lady Bears with 12 points, a game-high four steals and a team-high three assists. Kaia Ponder scored 11 points and pulled down eight rebounds, while Jael Butler came off the bench to score 11 points and had five boards. Joelle Johnson grabbed a game-high nine rebounds to help Morgan State hold a 44-32 rebounding advantage over the Red Flash.
 
After a free throw by Sedayjha Payne evened the score at 18 all with 9:37 left in the second period, the Red Flash went on an 8-0 run over the next five minutes to take a 26-18 advantage. Ponder ended the end with a three-pointer to bring Morgan within 26-21 with 4:31 remaining. A fastbreak layup by Rumph at the 3:22 mark, cut the deficit to 29-25. Saint Francis responded with a three-pointer by Boyd and a jumper from Ward to close out the scoring and give the hosts a 34-25 lead at the half.
 
Trailing 43-39 heading into the fourth quarter, Morgan State used a 12-7 spurt, capped off by a layup from Butler to give the Lady Bears the 51-50 lead with 5:28 left in the contest. The guests maintained a one-point lead at 56-55 with 3:13 to play when Saint Francis scored 12 straight points to take a 67-56 lead with 27 seconds remaining and secure the victory.
 
The Lady Bears shot 30% (21-of-70) from the floor and was 4-of-20 (20%) from the three-point line. The Lady Bears did connect on 13-of-15 (86.7%) from the charity line.
 
Saint Francis shot 46% (23-of-50) for the game and 50% (5-of-10) from beyond the arc. The Red Flash went 18-of-23 (78.3%) from the line.  
                                                                                                               
Morgan State will now travel to Columbia, S.C. to face No. 1 South Carolina on Wednesday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. 
 

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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.