NORFOLK, Va. — The Morgan State women’s basketball team was outscored in only one quarter of their Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament quarterfinal meeting with Maryland-Eastern Shore, Thursday at the Norfolk Scope.
Despite that, the Bears lost for a third time to UMES this season, a 74-67 setback that ended Morgan’s 2024-25 season.
“The thing that I’m very proud of as I told the kids was that they didn’t give up,” said head coach Ed Davis, who had announced his retirement.
The Hawks carved out a nine-point lead to end the first, and led by eight at halftime. However, UMES (14-16) launched a 10-0 run out of the dressing room at halftime to break the game open.
In the fourth quarter, the Bears (13-17) would narrow the UMES lead to six with 41 seconds remaining, on a jumper in the lane from redshirt freshman Naya Ojukwu.
However, two missed 3-pointers from Morgan State guards Gabrielle Johnson and Dakota Alston that could have cut the UMES lead to three in the final 30 seconds provided the punctuation.
“Our game…was a game of runs,” said Davis. “We have to every game figure out who is going to be that hot person. We have to figure out who’s going to step up, what perimeter kid is going to step up.”
Ojukwu led Morgan with 26 points, her second highest total of the season. Thirteen of Ojukwu’s points came in the fourth quarter. The Meridian, Idaho native, who transferred from Gonzaga and Utah also posted eight blocks, three rebounds and a steal.
Davis said that Ojukwu and Johnson were two of the players trying to will the team back into the game with their attitude on the sideline.
“This one (Ojukwu) kept saying “we’re not going to lose, we’re not going to lose,’” said Davis. “So for me as a coach that’s great words to hear and it makes me feel comfortable to coach through those pressure moments.”
Thursday’s decision was the closest of the three meetings between the two schools this season, the most recent, a 70-59 UMES win, coming March 1 in Princess Anne. Morgan guard Ja’la Bannerman, who had 11 points, transferred from UMES in the offseason.
“Yeah I think it (Bannerman’s transfer) gave us a little bit more push,” said UMES graduate guard Zamara Haynes. “Every win from this year all the way back to when we beat Dayton, That was a push for the rest of the season. Every win is a push for real.”
The Bears were outrebounded 42-29, which Davis attributed to injuries and lineup adjustments.
