ORANGEBURG, S.C. (Feb. 15, 2025)--The Morgan State women's basketball team traveled to Orangeburg, S.C. to begin the second half of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) slate on Saturday afternoon at the Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center.
 
Naya Ojukwu would shoot 9-of-18 to score a game-high 20 points and pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds with 10 boards coming on the offensive end to lead Morgan State past the host Lady Bulldogs, 60-55.
 
Jael Butler finished with 14 points and five boards and Gabrielle Johnson scored eight points in the victory, as Morgan State spoiled South Carolina State's basketball Homecoming festivities.
 
The Lady Bears (11-12, 4-4 MEAC) swept the season series with the win and earned their second straight MEAC victory for the first time since beginning league play with a 2-0 start.
 
Morgan State would shoot 39% (25-64) from the floor, including just 1-of-13 (7.7%) from three-point range. The Lady Bears connected on 9-of-15 (60%) at the charity line.
 
Butler got the Lady Bears started by scoring the game's first six points. Success Prysock then scored four straight points to cap off a 13-2 spurt by Morgan State to start the game. S.C. State countered with a 10-2 run to pull within 15-12, following a layup by Rakyha Reid with 1:47 left in the opening period. Morgan State would hold a 17-13 advantage at the end of the first period.
 
Angie Juste-Jean hit a jumper with 4:54 left in the second quarter to cap off a 12-8 run by the hosts and even the score at 25 all. But Morgan State would score eight straight points in the paint to take a 33-25 lead with 1:58 remaining in the period. The Lady Bears would hold a 33-29 lead at the break.
 
Tied at 42-42 heading into the fourth quarter, the Lady Bulldogs would take their first lead of the contest on a jumper by Jada Morgan with 9:22 left in the game. Morgan State reclaimed the lead for good (48-47) on a layup by Ojukwu at the six-minute mark.
 
The Lady Bears, who forced 20 S.C. State turnovers, relied on its defensive pressure to carry them through, as they recorded three consecutive steals. Nia Green came up with the first steal, which led to a jumper by Butler to put the guests ahead 50-47. On the next possession Tamaria Rumph recorded a steal and laid it in to increase Morgan's advantage to 52-47 with 4:02 remaining. Emily Jones then got in the act, collecting a steal and scoring on a layup to push the Lady Bears' lead to 54-47 with 3:49 left in the contest.
 
S.C. State was paced by Taniya McGowan's team-high 17 points and six rebounds. Juste-Jean finished with 11 points and Janiah Hinton added nine. Mekayla Lumpkin accounted for all seven of the Lady Bulldogs' assists, as S.C. State dropped its fifth straight game.
 
Morgan State will now travel to Durham, N.C., to visit North Carolina Central on Monday, Feb. 17. Tip-off is at 5:30 p.m. at McDougald-McLendon Arena. The Eagles (6-17, 3-5 MEAC), who are on a three-game losing skid, dropped a 63-53 decision at home to Coppin State on Saturday.  
 
  
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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.