BALTIMORE, Md. (Dec. 9, 2023)-The Lady Bears, coming off a road loss to #1 South Carolina on Wednesday, defeated the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), 65-42 on Saturday afternoon in the finale of the Charm City Hoops Classic at Hill Field House.
 
Morgan State concluded the inaugural Charm City Hoops Classic, featuring Towson, Morgan State and UMBC, with a 1-1 record. UMBC fell to 0-2 and Towson finished 2-0.
 
The win ended a season-long three-game losing streak for Morgan State, which improved to 4-6 on the season and now trails the all-time series against UMBC by one at 15-14. The Retrievers fell to 2-8.
 
The Lady Bears were led by Joelle Johson, who had a team-high 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting to lead three Morgan players in double figures scoring.
 
"I haven't been shooting well in games, so I'm just focusing on the bunny shots that I need to make," said Johnson. "Also, my teammates just put me in a good position to score today."
 
Gabrielle Johson finished with 11 points, Sedayjha Payne added 10 and Anyssia Gibbs came off the bench and tallied eight points and a game-high eight rebounds.
 
"I'm just playing aggressive and being aggressive," said Johnson.
 
Johnson would also record a game-high six steals, while Payne finished with five to help Morgan State record 20 thefts as a team.
 
UMBC was paced by Jaliena Sanchez, who finished with a game-high 14 points. Anna Blount added 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Jaden Walker pulled down a game-high eight rebounds and Trinity Palacio came off the bench to record a team-high five steals.
 
Tied at 12-12 after one quarter of play, the host Lady Bears scored the first 10 points of the second quarter to take a 24-12 advantage with 5:01 left in the half, following a layup by Gibbs. Morgan State would hold UMBC to five points, while scoring 19 to take a 31-17 lead at the intermission.
 
Morgan State head coach Ed Davis, Jr. stated how the defense has grown, but it could be better.
 
"Going forward we want to make the defense hard as we play teams like UCF, Stanford, Oregon State and Stetson," said Davis. "Overall, the defense is improving, but it is a systematic thing with this team with all the newness and new people."
 
The Lady Bears will be off until Sunday, Dec. 17, when they travel to DeLand, Fla. to face Stetson. Tip-off is at 2 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.
 
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