BALTIMORE, Md. (Feb. 25, 2023)--The Delaware State Hornets playing without their head coach, came into Baltimore on Saturday afternoon and stunned the Lady Bears, 55-54 in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) contest at Hill Field House.
 
The loss was Morgan State's third consecutive after winning a season-best nine straight and was its second defeat in a row at home after winning the first 10 and setting a school record 16 wins in a row at Hill Field House.
 
Jessica Martino scored a team-high 17 points and Alexis Moragne finished with 13 for the visiting Hornets, who improved to 6-17, 4-8 MEAC and ended a seven-game losing skid to Morgan. Savannah Brooks, the reigning MEAC Rookie of the Week the last two weeks, scored 11 points, grabbed a game-high seven rebounds and finished with three steals and three assists.
 
Trailing 55-54, Morgan State (16-9, 9-3 MEAC) had one last gasp with 1.8 seconds remaining and the ball under its basket. Ja'Niah Henson received the inbound pass and shot a three-pointer from the left corner, which went halfway down, came out and bounced off the front of the rim, before falling off to the floor.
 
Delaware State finished the game shooting 47.9% (23-for-48) from the floor and hit 50% (5-for-10) from the free throw line. Morgan State was 23-for-58 (39.7%) and went to the line five times, connecting on four for 80%.
 
Morgan State, which trailed by as much as 11 points (30-19) in the second quarter, reclaimed the lead at 47-46 on a layup by Gabrielle Johnson with 6:27 left in the game. It was the Lady Bears' first lead since holding a 15-14 advantage in the first quarter. Morgan increased its lead to 52-49 on a basket by Charlene Shepherd, but the guests responded with four points to reclaim a one-point advantage.
 
Shepherd gave the Lady Bears the lead back at 54-53 with 2:09 to play, but that would be the final points of the game for Morgan State. Martino scored on a layup with 1:47 left, giving the visitors the lead for good at 55-54.
 
The Lady Bears were led by Shepherd and Henson, who each finished with a game-high 19 points. Gabrielle Johnson dished out a game-high seven assists.  
 
Shepherd's sixth point of the contest, which came at the 9:42 mark in the third quarter gave her a combined 1,000 points (428 at North Texas, 572 at Morgan State) for her collegiate career.  
 
Morgan State will travel to Princess Anne, Md. on Monday, Feb. 27 for its final road contest of the season, when it takes on the Hawks of Maryland Eastern Shore. Tipoff is slated for 5:30 p.m. at Hytche Athletic Center.
 
 
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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.