PRINCESS ANNE, Md. (Jan. 3, 2026)--Morgan State opened the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) slate on Saturday afternoon on the road against Maryland Eastern Shore. The Lady Bears would end up falling to the host Hawks, 68-61 at Hytche Athletic Center. The win would be the fifth straight for UMES over Morgan State.
Morgan State (1-16, 0-1 MEAC), which entered the contest shorthanded, would have four players score in double figures, as all seven players available would score.
Tiyanna James led the way with a team-high 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while knocking down five three-point field goals. James would also record a game-high three steals.
Kailyn Nash finished with 11 points, five rebounds and two steals and
Jael Butler and
Maya Woodson each added 10 points.
Kimora Daly and Woodson each grabbed six rebounds to lead Morgan.
UMES (8-10, 1-0 MEAC) was led by Ashanti Lynch, who finished with a game-high 23 points to with eight rebounds and three steals. Kalise Hill and Brianna Barnes recorded 13 and 10 points, respectively, as the Hawks ended a two-game losing skid.
Led by Dakieran Turner's game-high nine rebounds, the Hawks would carry a 44-29 rebounding advantage over Morgan. UMES turned 19 Morgan State turnovers into 32 points and outscored the Lady Bears, 46-18 in the paint.
The Hawks, who led 17-15 after one quarter of play, used an 11-2 run in the second quarter to build their largest lead of the game at 10 points. Kaliya Perry capped off the run with a three-point play to give the hosts a 35-25 lead with 1:53 left until halftime.
The 10-point cushion proved to be all the Hawks would need. Morgan State would score its next four points at the free throw line to cut the deficit down to six points (35-29), but UMES would take a 38-31 lead at the intermission.
The two teams would play even the entire second half, as each team scored 16 points in the third and 14 points in the fourth for the seven-point win by UMES.
The Lady Bears came out in the third quarter and cut into the seven-point deficit by using a 9-4 run to pull within 42-40. That would be as close as the Lady Bears would get, as UMES responded with seven straight points to push its lead up to nine points (49-40). James ended the quarter by hitting a deep three-pointer from the top of the key as the shot clock expired to cut the UMES lead to seven (54-47) at the end of the third.
Morgan State got within five points four times in the fourth quarter, but each time the Hawks would come up with a key basket or get a defensive stop to halt the Lady Bears from posing a serious threat.
The Lady Bears will return home for their MEAC home opener on Thursday, Jan. 8 when they host North Carolina Central. Tip-off is at 6 p.m. at Hill Field House. The Eagles were dealt a 68-48 loss at home to defending MEAC regular season and tournament champion Norfolk 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.
