The Morgan State women’s basketball team hopes to break a two-game slide in Saturday’s home meeting with Howard.

The Lady Bears, who dropped an overtime decision to Delaware State at home and suffered a 20-point loss to Coppin State last week, are looking to regain their footing in their match with the Lady Bison.

“We are prepared to play our game, we won’t let them speed us up,” said sophomore guard Gabriella Johnson, the team’s third leading scorer. “I know they [the Lady Bison] are going to come out hot since they just had an upset when they played Norfolk State University.”

The Lady Bears (6-12 overall; 1-2 in the MEAC) enter Saturday’s game tied for fifth in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference), but just one game behind Howard (5-12; 2-1) in the league standings.

The teams split their two games last year, with Morgan beating Howard 71-49 in Washington, before losing 64-56 a month later at Hill Field House.  

Morgan notched their lone conference win with a 48-45 decision over UMES, though they have played improved defense of late, surrendering more than 70 points just once, in the loss to Delaware State.

“We are coming out aggressive on defense and listening to what Coach Ed Davis tells us,” said Johnson, who is also third on the team in steals.

The 2024 MEAC conference season began for the Lady Bears on Jan. 6 when they bested the University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks 48-45. Senior guard Sedayjha Payne finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. Laila Fair, a junior forward, had 14 rebounds.

Saturday’s tip off at Hill Field House is scheduled for 2 p.m. Fans are encouraged to wear white, as the contest is a “White Out” game.