NORFOLK, Va. (March 13, 2024)--The defense of #7 seed Morgan State stepped up in a major way in this Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament Quarterfinal game vs. the #2 seeded Howard Bison. Too bad the Lady Bears couldn't capitalize, as they dropped a heartstopper to the Bison 49-44 at the Scope Arena Wednesday afternoon.
 
Morgan started terribly, not hitting a field goal for the first five plus minutes of the game. Limited to just three free throws from junior forward Laila Fair. Howard took advantage and was ahead 11-3 with 5:34 left.
 
Then the Lady Bears started rolling, scoring 11 unanswered points, which ended on a Kaia Ponder lay-up to put MSU ahead 14-11 with 1:56 remaining in the first quarter.
 
"Coach Davis preaches not to get too high or too low. So, when they get on their run, we can't get too low. We just got to start it up and go on our run," said Joelle Johnson, who led all Lady Bears with 14 points on the afternoon. "When we go on our run, we can't get too high. We got to stay levelheaded."
 
The game would be tied at 15 at the end of the first quarter.
 
Howard (14-15) would have a strong start again in the second quarter as they scored the first eight points of that stanza capped by Kaniya Harris' lay-up in the paint with 6:44 left. That run gave the Bison a 23-15 advantage at the time. Then Morgan State would answer late in the quarter again, outscoring Howard 9-3 capped by a short jumper from Jael Butler with four seconds left.  Morgan State would only trail Howard 26-24 at halftime.
 
The Bison would pull away in the third quarter, outscoring the Lady Bears 13-5. Morgan State (8-22) would have numerous opportunities to really get back in the game in that quarter. However, the shots wouldn't fall for the Lady Bears as they made only two of their 12 shot attempts. Most of them were second shot attempts that couldn't fall through for them at critical times.
 
The struggles continued for the Lady Bears in the fourth quarter as Howard held Morgan State without a field goal during a key 5:12 stretch of that stanza. However, Morgan State's defense was stronger than the Bison, holding them to just one field goal the entire quarter.
 
They tried to capitalize late though. Cutting a 12-point deficit (41-29) to just four twice down the stretch. But an attempted pass from Tamaria Rumph was stolen by Howard's Iyanna Warren with 29 seconds left, which led to free throws.
 
The key stat in that quarter was the attempts from the free throw line. Howard had a stunning 14 attempts (which they converted eight of them) from the line while MSU had only one in that quarter.
 
Johnson drew the Lady Bears within 48-44 by splashing a three with five seconds left. However, it was too late for Morgan State to creep any closer and their season ended in the Scope Arena.
 
Coach Ed Davis stated, "All in all, it was a great game. I was extremely proud of these girls at the end. They've been through a lot. We played one of the top schedules in the nation. We've played South Carolina, Oregon State, Stanford. We weren't afraid of anything. We just didn't capitalize on some little things like free throws. Making clutch shots in the third quarter. That kinda hurt us. If we made a couple of those shots, it would be a different ballgame."
  
 
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