BALTIMORE, Md. (March 7, 2024)--The Morgan State Lady Bears faced rival Coppin State in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) regular season finale at Hill Field House on Thursday evening.
 
Behind a game-high 30 points from Laila Lawrence, the visiting Eagles defeated Morgan State, 65-45 to spoil the Lady Bears' Senior Night and sweep the season series. Coppin State improved to 11-17, 8-6 MEAC, while Morgan State fell to 8-21, 3-11 MEAC.
 
Lawrence shot 11-of-16 from the floor and knocked down 8-of-15 from the free throw line, while pulling down a game-high 17 rebounds to record a double-double. Faith Blackstone scored 17 points and had a game-high five steals and Angel Jones finished with nine points, seven rebounds and had a game-leading five assists.
 
Morgan State was led by Laila Fair, who finished with 11 points, a rebound and a block. Joelle Johnson scored seven points and grabbed five rebounds. Amari Smith had a team-leading six boards.
 
Coppin State held a 41-33 rebounding advantage over the Lady Bears. 21 of Morgan's rebounds came on the defensive end.
 
The Eagles shot 43% (23-of-53) for the game, including 3-for-10 (30%) from three-point range and was 16-of-29 (55%) from the free throw line. Coppin State scored 34 points in the paint and 24 points came off of 23 Morgan State turnovers.
 
Morgan State shot 30% (16-of-53) from the floor, including 5-of-14 (35.7%) from beyond the arc and connected on 8-of-12 (66.7%) from the charity stripe.
 
Prior to tip-off, the Lady Bears honored their four seniors Brooklyn Jones, Sedayjha Payne, Anjanae Mueck and Joelle Johnson, who were playing their final game at Hill Field House.
 
The Lady Bears will now head to Norfolk, Va. to compete in the 2024 MEAC Tournament (March 13-16) at the Norfolk Scope Arena. Morgan State will enter as the seventh seed and will face No. 2 Howard, while fourth-seeded Coppin State will take on No. 5 Maryland Eastern Shore in quarterfinal action.
 
 
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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