Morgan State defeates Seton Hall, 58-54
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J.-Corin Adams stepped to the charity stripe with 7.7 seconds remaining in the game and calmly knocked down two free throws to clinch Morgan's 58-55 non-conference victory over host Seton Hall in the opener of the Anaconda Sports "The Rock" Seton Hall Basketball Classic on Friday evening at Walsh Gymnasium. The victory, which spoiled the Pirates' home opener and gave them their first loss of the season, was Morgan's first over Seton Hall in three meetings and its second over a BIG EAST opponent, improving them to 2-11 all-time. Adams' free throws gave her a game-high 17 points and capped off what started out as an eventful day for Morgan State during an uninspired and lackluster morning shoot around.
Morgan State (2-1), which as a result of a poor morning practice, started the game with four reserve players and jumped out to quick 9-0 lead, following a jumper by Mahala Thomas (six points) with 17:20 left in the first half. After Seton Hall pulled within 9-8 with 14:04 left, the Lady Bears then countered with an 11-2 run, capped off by an Adams three-pointer to take their largest lead of the game (20-10) with over 11 minutes left in the half.
However a three-pointer by Terry Green capped off a 17-4 spurt by the Pirates over a seven minute span and gave them their first lead of the game at 27-24 at the 4:13 mark. Morgan State again would fight off a major run by Seton Hall, by using a 10-0 run to take a 34-27 lead. But the Pirates would score the final five points of the period to pull within 34-32 at the intermission. Seton Hall (2-1) appeared to finally take control of the game when they held Morgan to just one field goal over the next seven and a half minutes, while taking its largest lead of the night 51-43 (eight points) after a trey by Ebonie Williams with 7:25 left.
Morgan State's Brittany Dodson (eight points) responded with a three-pointer which triggered a 13-3 run by the guests, capped off by a reserve layup by Georgien William to put the Lady Bears back in front, 56-54 with .29 seconds left. The Lady Bears failed to grab the defensive rebound on the Pirates' next offensive possession and ended up fouling.
However, the Pirates would miss both free throws, but Morgan State again failed to secure the rebound and ended up fouling again. Nicole Emery would miss the first attempt before connecting on the second to make it a one-point game with 8.8 left in the game, but that's as close as Seton Hall would get, as Adams sealed the victory with her free throws.
For the complete story, visit www.morganstatebears.com
Lady Aggies Earn First Win Of The Season
TOWSON, Md. - Senior Lamona Smalley made an immediate difference by scoring 12 points, grabbing eight rebounds and recording three steals to lead the Aggies to a 62-57 win over Chicago State in the consolation round of the WNIT played at the Towson Center.
Senior Ta'Wuana Cook added 18 points on 6-for-11 shooting. The Aggies will play Towson Saturday night at 7:30 from the Towson Center.
"Lamona is an intelligent player who doesn't make many mistakes,'' said North Carolina A&T head coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs. "Lamona really has the skills of a guard, but her body makes her tough to handle in the post."
After trailing most of the first half and midway through the second half, the Aggies finally captured the lead at 51-49 with 9:02 to play on a Jaleesa Sams layup thanks to a pass from Smalley. The Aggies never relinquished the lead again. A Jael Pena free throw cut the Aggies lead to 53-52 with 5:50 remaining in the game.
For the complete story, visit www.ncataggies.com
Lady Rams Mount Super Effort in 76-63 Win Over Lipscomb
MOREHEAD, KY - The Winston-Salem State Lady Rams (1-2) picked up their first win of the season, Friday with a 76-63 win over the Lipscomb Bison (1-3) on the opening day of the 2009 MSU Invitational, hosted by Morehead State University. The Lady Rams had a breakout offensive effort in the game as the team shot a scorching 47.1% from the field and recorded 20 assists with only 16 turnovers.
"I think we did a great job, especially on defense, which was our game plan," WSSU head coach Dee Stokes said. "We hit a bunch of threes and when we're scoring, we feel good and we play better defense."
After scoring a combined 60 points in their first two games of the season, the Lady Rams broke out for 76 points against the Bison, the second most points in the last two seasons for the Lady Rams. The team's 76 points were the most that the Lady Rams have scored since last February's win at Norfolk State in February. It was the tandem of junior guards Nikki Kee and Rene Rector that powered the Winston-Salem State effort as the Rector led WSSU with 22 points, including 15 second half points, while Kee added 21 points, including 13 first half points.
For complete story, visit www.wssurams.com
Accurate Free-Throw Shooting Leads NSU over St. Paul's 78-74
NORFOLK, Va. - Norfolk State freshman center Marian Brooks connected on seven of her 10 free throws for the game, all in the second half, to help the NSU women's basketball team to its first win of the season, a 78-74 victory over St. Paul's on Friday night at Echols Hall. The win was also the first for interim head coach Debra Clark as the Spartans' head coach.
As a team, NSU (1-2) shot 75 percent (18-of-24) from the charity stripe in the second half alone and was 21-of-29 (72.4 percent) for the game.
The game was close the entire way. The largest lead St. Paul's (0-2) was able to accumulate was a six-point advantage, 27-21, with 6:33 left in the first half. But a three-point play by junior guard Raychele Payne put the Spartans up by two, 32-30 with 3:31 left in the opening period.
The Lady Tigers took the lead (34-32) on a jumper by Kiara Walton with 1:06 left and went into halftime with a 36-35 advantage.
NSU took the lead for good on a layup by sophomore guard Whitney Long with 12:51 left in the game. The Spartans went on a 19-7 run over the next 5:38 to take their largest lead of the game, 12, after a pair of free throws by sophomore guard Marquilla Evans to bring the score to 65-53.
But the Lady Tigers slowly chipped away at the lead and got within one, 75-74, on a layup by Tatiana Ellis with 33 seconds left in the game. Brooks and Long combined for 3-of-5 free throws in the last 25 seconds to preserve the win for the Spartans.
For the complete story, visit www.nsuspartans.com
Bethune-Cookman Falls to Central Florida
For the complete story, visit www.b-cuathletics.com