Morgan State shot nearly perfect from the free throw line and took advantage of Florida A&M turnovers to knock off the Lady Rattlers, 76-64 in a MEAC game in Gaither Gymnasium Saturday evening.
Morgan State (11-5, 3-1 in MEAC) hit 20 of 22 charity tosses, including 14 of 16 in the second half, and was aided by 27 FAMU turnovers (17 in the second half alone), which led to 31 points for the visiting team Saturday evening.
The game started out like a three-point shooting contest, with FAMU hitting five of its’ first six long range shots, led by Stephanie Foster, who hit three of four during that early stretch. The Lady Rattlers finished the half six of nine from beyond the arc, while Morgan hit seven of 15 three-pointers.
Then the turnover bug bit FAMU, as they committed 10 turnovers in the opening half, which allowed the Lady Bears to take control and build a 10-point lead, 37-27, on a Corin Adams layup with 2:13 left.
The Lady Rattlers then went on an 8-0 run, capped by Antonia Bennett’s jumper with 12 seconds left, to cut the Morgan lead to two points, 37-35 at the break.
In the second half, Morgan State led by as much as nine points three times in the first seven minutes, holding a 53-44 edge with 13:15 left, before FAMU staged another 8-0 run, led by Melissa Daniels who scored four points during the rally, which was capped by a Foster three-point, making the count, 53-52 with 10:18 left.
But the Lady Bears answered with a 7-0 run, rebuilding their lead to eight points, 60-52 with 8:02 left, only to have FAMU outscore them 7-1 over the next three minutes, pulling within two points, 61-59 on a Taniyah Dawson jumper with 4:56 left.
Morgan State then closed out the game with a 15-5 run, with 10 of those points coming from the free throw line.
FAMU shot 40.4 percent from the floor on the night and was dialed in from three-point range, hitting 10 of 14 shots for a 71.4 percent worksheet.
The two schools combined for 22 three-pointers (Morgan State 12, FAMU 10), but the free throw difference may have been another one of the deciding factors as Morgan went to the line 22 times to just 12 for FAMU, making eight.
FAMU was led by Stephanie Foster’s 19 points, which included a five-of-six performance from the three-point line, followed by Deidra Jones with 13 points, as she cashed in on three of four 3-pointers. Taniyah Dawson and Antonia Bennett each added nine points, while Melissa Daniels scored eight points and pulled down a team-high nine
rebounds.
Morgan State was paced by Erin Hawkins, who led all scorers with 21 points, followed by Moneshia Davis with 18 and Corin Adams with 17. Aaries Reed pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds for the Lady Bears.
Saturday’s loss dropped Florida A&M (7-7, 3-1 in MEAC) into a three-way tie for third with Morgan State (11-5, 3-1) and Hampton (5-9, 3-1). The trio trails North Carolina A&T (10-5, 4-0) and Delaware State (7-9,3-0) after Saturday’s action.
WHAT’S NEXT: FAMU will host Coppin State Monday evening at 5:30 p.m. in Gaither Gymnasium.