BALTIMORE, Md. (Jan. 31, 2026)--The 95^th installment of the annual "East vs. West" game took place Saturday afternoon at Coppin State's Physical Education Complex (PEC) Arena. Both teams were looking to end the first half of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) slate on a high note and put an end to their current losing skids.
 
Host Coppin State would jump all over the Lady Bears in the first half enroute to a 69-45 victory to claim Round 1 of the annual series. The two teams will close out the regular season on Thursday, March 5 at Hill Field House on the Morgan State campus.
 
Coppin State (5-18, 3-4 MEAC) ended its four-game losing skid with the win and now trails the all-time series against Morgan State, 47-48. The Lady Bears, who have dropped their last three contests, fell to 3-20 overall and 2-5 in the MEAC.
 
Paris McBride led the Eagles with a game-high 17 points, while adding four rebounds, four assists and two steals. Skylar Barnes came off the bench to score 15 and Khila Morris finished with 14 points. Syndey Burris and Patricia Sosa Lora each pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.
 
The Lady Bears were paced by Sierra Headquist, who scored a season-high 10 points. Kailyn Nash nearly recorded a double-double with nine points and a team-high nine rebounds.
 
Morgan State held a brief 6-4 lead on a layup by Gabrielle Johnson with 6:38 to play in the first quarter. That would be last lead for the Lady Bears, as Coppin State responded by scoring the next nine points and closed out the quarter on a 14-1 run to take an 18-7 advantage.
 
The Eagles would put together a 14-2 spurt in the second quarter to extend their cushion to 24 points (35-11), their largest lead of the first half. Morgan State got a layup from Headquist to end the run, but the Lady Bears found themselves trailing Coppin State, 36-13 at the half.
 
The 13 points marked the lowest first half scoring output for Morgan State this season. The previous low was 15 points against Wake Forest (11/26/25) in the opener of the Puerto Rico Shootout.
 
Morgan State would play even with the Eagles in the second half, being outscored by just one point in the third quarter (16-15), as Coppin held a 33-32 advantage in second half scoring.
 
Both teams committed 20 turnovers in the game. Morgan scored 12 points off of the Eagles' turnovers, while Coppin State scored 17 points off of the Lady Bears' turnovers.
  
Next Up: The Lady Bears will begin the second half of the MEAC schedule at home when it welcomes league leader Maryland Eastern Shore to Hill Field House on Saturday, Feb. 7 at 2 p.m. on ESPN+. The Hawks (12-10, 5-0 MEAC) remained unbeaten in MEAC play, following their 58-47 victory at Delaware State on Saturday.
 
 
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.