Morgan State overcame a 10-point second half deficit, by using a 32-10 run over the final 13 minutes of the game to end American’s three-game home winning streak, following an 80-65 defeat of the Eagles in a non-conference game at Bender Arena on Thursday evening.
The Lady Bears, who extended their season-long winning streak to three games, also ended a two-game losing skid to American, while improving to 4-2 all-time against the Eagles.
Morgan State (4-2) was led by Corin Adams, who scored a team-high 16 points and dished out a game-high nine assists and had seven rebounds. Fellow starters Theresa Davis, who fell a rebound shy of a double-double with nine, Britney Griffin and Brittany Dodson all contributed 10 points apiece.
Although the Lady Bears received a combined 54 points from their starters, it was the bench players who played the biggest role in the victory. American, which led by as much as 41-31 early in the second half, held a 55-48 lead, before Morgan State got back-to-back jumpers by Tamara Rogers and reserve guard Aaries Reed, which cut the Eagles’ lead to 55-52 and triggered an 18-0 run by the Lady Bears.
Thirty seconds later Adams hit a three-pointer from left elbow, tying the score at 55. On the next possession, the Lady Bears reclaimed the lead for good on a steal by reserve forward Jasmine Sellers, who found fellow reserve guard Omega Boddie for a layup. Sellers got into the scoring act on the next possession after grabbing a rebound and later pulling up at the top of the key for a three-pointer to make it a 60-55 game.
Morgan State wasn’t done yet, as Adams grabbed the rebound off a missed three-point attempt by American’s Talicia Jackson, and found Boddie, who hit a trey from the left baseline. A second straight missed three-pointer by Jackson, resulted in Sellers knocking down a trey from the right corner on the next possession to make it a 66-55 advantage with 9:01 remaining.
The Eagles’ Liz Hayes, who finished with a game-high 19 points, including five three-pointers to give her 101 for her career, ended Morgan’s run with her fifth three-pointer of the game to cut Morgan’s lead to 66-58 with 8:13 remaining. However, the guests would respond with a mini 7-0 run, capped off by Sellers’ third and final three-pointer, to put Morgan State up by 15 points at 73-58 with 6:54 left in the contest.
Liz Leer came off the bench and added 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds for American, which fell to 5-4 on the season. Jackson added six rebounds and had a team-high five assists for the Eagles.
Morgan State, which entered the contest ranked third in the nation in steals per game (16.2), collected 13, with Adams recording a game-high three steals. The Lady Bears held a commanding 49-32 rebounding advantage over the taller Eagles. Boddie, who went 4-for-4 from the field, including a three-pointer and Sellers, who finished 3-for-3, all from beyond the arc, both finished with nine points each to lead the Lady Bears bench production, while Reed added eight points.
The Lady Bears will be off until Friday, Dec. 21, when they host Saint Francis-Pa., in a non-conference game at 5:30 p.m. at Hill Field House. It will be the first meeting between the two teams. The men will follow with a non-conference game against Longwood at 7 p.m.
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