Women's Basketball | 11/17/2024 10:36:00 PM
BALTIMORE, Md. (Nov. 17, 2024)--Morgan State, which was coming off a win over Towson on Thursday, entered today's road contest at against UMBC looking to complete a sweep its local rivals in the second annual Charm City Hoops Classic.
UMBC had other plans, as the Retrievers had six players score in double-figures and account for all their points, as the hosts defeated Morgan State, 81-72 on Sunday afternoon at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena.
The 81 points marked the most by UMBC against a Division I opponent in its last 20 games against D1 opposition. Prior to today, the Retrievers last eclipsed 80 points in an 85-53 win over Saint Francis (12/29/23).
Morgan State dropped to 3-3 on the season and finished this year's classic with a 1-1 mark, like it did in last year's inaugural classic. UMBC (2-2) avenged its loss to Morgan State from a year ago and will look to go unbeaten when it visits Towson on Dec. 4.
Jordan Lewis scored a team-high 19 points to lead the Retrievers' offensive attack, which set a school record with six players in double-figures. Talia Davis and Carmen Yanez each tallied 14 points, while Jaliena Sanchez and Jaden Walker each scored 12 points and Tiara Bellamy added 10 points.
The Lady Bears were led by Laila Fair, who scored a career- and game-high 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting and pulled down a game-high eight rebounds. Success Prysock came off the bench to score 11 points, while Tamaria Rumph and Gabrielle Johnson also came off the bench and scored nine points apiece.
UMBC jumped out on Morgan State, scoring the first 12 points of the game with Lewis scoring eight straight points during the 12-0 run. Fair scored on a layup and added converted the free throw to end the run and cut the deficit to 12-3 with 5:42 remaining in the first quarter. The Retrievers held a 22-16 advantage after a quarter of play.
Morgan State scored the first six points to start the second quarter to trigger a 14-7 run. Nia Green closed out the run knocking down two free throws at the 2:09 mark to give Morgan its first lead of the game at 30-29. A three-pointer by Rumph with 16 seconds left in the quarter gave the Lady Bears a 35-34 lead heading into the locker room.
The Lady Bears began the second half with a 10-3 run, capped off by a layup by Fair with 5:56 left in the third quarter to give the guests their largest lead of the game at 45-38. UMBC responded with a 16-7 run to close out the quarter and take a 54-52 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Fair scored on a layup and connected on the ensuing free throw to put the visitors up 55-54 with 9:09 left in the game. But that would be the last lead of the game for Morgan State, as UMBC responded with a 12-2 run, capped off by a layup by Davis to put the Retrievers ahead to stay at 66-57 with 5:06 remaining.
UMBC shot 37 free throws and knocked down 32 for 86.5 percent. The Lady Bears went to the line 26 times and connected on 17 for 65.4 percent.
Morgan State returns home to host Washington Adventist on Wednesday, Nov. 20 for its second annual Education Day contest. Tip-off is at 11 a.m. at Hill Field House.