Morgan State dropped a 69-56 decision to host Virginia in the first round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) at John Paul Jones Arena on Thursday night. 

Playing in their first postseason game in school history as a Division I program, Morgan State's Erin Hawkins knocked down a deep 3-pointer giving the visiting Lady Bears a 3-0 lead. 39 minutes later Brittany Dodson would hit a bank-shot 3-pointer for the final points of the game and her collegiate career.

Dodson would lead all scorers with 18 points. Jamie Smith came off the bench to score 12 points, while Hawkins, who was also playing in her final collegiate game, added 11 points for the Lady Bears who finish the season 17-15 overall.

Virginia (17-15) was led by Whitney Edwards and Ariana Moorer, who both came off the bench and scored 11 and 10 points, respectively for the Cavaliers.

Morgan State finished the game shooting 21-of-64 for the game, including 9-of-33 from 3-point range. The Lady Bears went 6-for-8 from the free throw line.

Virginia finished the game shooting 22-of-54 from the field and 5-of-13 from 3-point range. The Cavaliers out rebounded Morgan State, 51-27. But despite the rebounding advantage, Virginia connected on 20-of-24 free throws, which was the difference in the game.

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