TOLEDO, Ohio (Dec. 2, 2025)--Morgan State traveled to the Buckeye State for a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) vs. Mid-American Conference (MAC) match-up on Tuesday evening at Savage Arena. It was the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
 
The Lady Bears would give Toledo all it could handle, but in the end the Rockets had just enough to prevent a Morgan State comeback to earn a 79-66 victory.
 
Kendall Carruthers scored a game-high 27 points on 10-of-13 shooting to lead the Rockets, who improved to 3-3 on the season and 2-1 at home. Faith Fedd-Robinson added 10 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, while Miriam Diala finished with 10 points. Patricia Anumgba tallied three of the Rockets' six steals and also led the team with five assists to go with her eight points.
 
The Lady Bears were paced by Ja'la Bannerman who finished with a team-best 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Kailyn Nash came off the bench to score 13 points and Gabrielle Johnson tallied 11 points. Johnson would knock down all seven of her free throw attempts, as the Lady Bears shot 81.8 percent (18-of-22) from the charity line. Jael Butler hauled in a team-high six rebounds and led the team with two steals to go with eight points.
 
Morgan State scored the first points of the game on a layup by Bannerman, but the Rockets responded with seven straight points. Trailing 7-2, the Lady Bears regrouped and went on an 8-0 run to take a 10-7 lead at the first media timeout with 3:32 left in the first quarter.
 
The guests would not score again until the 1:21 mark when Jael Butler scored on a layup to end a 12-0 spurt by Toledo and cut the deficit to 19-12. The host Rockets would hold a 23-14 lead at the end of the first quarter.
 
The Rockets began the second period using an 8-2 run to increase their lead to 31-16. Morgan State would not go away, using 7-0 run, capped off by a three-pointer by Tiyanna James, to cut the deficit to 31-23 with 4:03 to play in the period. Toledo closed out the half on an 8-2 spurt to take a 39-25 lead into the locker room.
 
Morgan fell behind by 20 points, as the Rockets scored the first six points to begin the third quarter. The Lady Bears responded by going on a 13-2 run, including 11 straight points to pull within 47-38, following a put back by Gabrielle Johnson with 4:38 left in the period. Nash scored eight points during the run.
 
The Lady Bears got a little closer when Bannerman knocked down and three-pointer from the right wing and added the free throw for a rare four-point play to bring the guests within 56-48 with .42 seconds left in the quarter.
 
Trailing 65-51, Morgan State made one last push, scoring five straight points to get within 65-56. But that would be as close as the Lady Bears would get, as the host Rockets held off Morgan State for the 79-66 victory.
 
"I think we just continued to put the pieces together," said Morgan State head coach Nadine Domond on Morgan's third quarter performance. "Like I said, we are under construction and the record doesn't show it, but the girls continue to believe in themselves and continue to do the things we ask them to do."
 
"But I'm really proud of them. I'm really, really proud of them. That third is just a glimpse of what we are capable of doing when we're locked in and able to do the things we are capable of doing."
 
Morgan State returns home to host UMBC in the first game of the 2025 Charm City Hoops Classic on Saturday, Dec. 6. Tip-off is at 2 p.m. from Hill Field House.
 
UMBC (3-5) ended a four-game losing skid, following a 68-48 victory over Presbyterian on Sunday, Nov. 30 in the finale of the FIU Thanksgiving Classic.


FOLLOW MORGAN STATE ATHLETICS IN CYBERSPACE 
There are many ways to keep up with MSU athletics online and on the go:
• Visit www.morganstatebears.com, the official web site of Bears athletics, for news, schedules, stats, bios and more. 
• Follow us on social media:
Facebook: /MorganStateBears
Twitter: @MorganStBears
Instagram: /MorganStateBears
 
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.