NORFOLK, Va. (March 13, 2025)--The Morgan State Lady Bears (13-17) gave it all the effort they could muster at the Norfolk Scope Arena this Thursday afternoon. But in a game of runs, the third-seeded Lady Hawks had just enough to outlast the sixth-seeded Lady Bears, 74-67 to advance and end Morgan's season in the MEAC Tournament quarterfinals. 
 
One huge factor in the Lady Bears' decision was the rebounding. The Lady Hawks dominated in that department, out rebounding Morgan State 49 to 29 in the game.
 
Morgan State head coach Ed Davis, Jr. said about it, "I mean. Look at it," said Davis at the press conference. "We go through the last five or six games. Even at Coppin last week, they out rebounded us (51-34). It's because of the injuries. To have these guys go down and play with the bigs, Naya [Ojukwu] is banging (with them) every game. I'm giving big props to them. (Naya) is triple teamed and still getting rebounds."
 
"So, my kudos go out to her and so I told her that without her, we might not be in the position that we would be in anyway. So rebounding is one end of it, where as a team, we left too many offensive rebounds for the other team to step up. That's what killed us today. And what killed us in the other games during the season."
 
UMES (14-16) ran off to an 18-8 start with 1:26 left in the first quarter. But Morgan fought back, outscoring the Hawks 16-6 to tie the game at 24 on a Nia Green lay-up with 5:08 remaining in the second quarter.
 
However, the Lady Hawks would finish the first half on a 15-7 run which was capped off with a Zamara Haynes lay-up with seven seconds left. Haynes led the Hawks' scoring with 19 points. That gave them a 39-31 advantage the Lady Hawks would take to the locker room at halftime.
 
UMES built on that advantage in the third quarter, increasing its lead to 18 points at 49-31 on a Mahogany Lester jumper with 7:46 remaining in the quarter.
 
However, the Lady Bears mounted a charge and reached within eight at 58-50 on a steal and lay-up from Green with two seconds left in the quarter.
 
The Lady Hawks attempted to put this game away, starting the fourth quarter by scoring nine of the first 12 points. Dakieran Turner's jumper helped extend the Lady Hawks lead to 67-53 with 4:54 left in regulation.
 
Morgan State responded with a 14-6 run, capped by an Ojukwu jumper with 41 seconds remaining in regulation to draw them within 73-67. Ojukwu led all scorers with 26 points. They attempted to get closer than that. However, after a UMES turnover, three-point attempts from Gabrielle Johnson and Dakota Alston came up short for the Lady Bears.
 
A free throw from the Lady Hawks' Aleah James capped the scoring in the game with 14 seconds left. 


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 Bear 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.