BALTIMORE, Md. – Junior Kierona Morton scored with 2.3 points second left to pull visiting North Carolina Central University within two points, but the Lady Eagles had two fouls to give and Morgan State University was able to run out the clock on three inbounds plays to escape with a 44-42 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference women's basketball victory Saturday afternoon in Hill Field House.
 
The Lady Bears, who did not have a player with more than eight points, used a balanced offense with 10 different scorers to earn their first MEAC win. Morgan State (3-19 Overall, 1-8 MEAC) ended a 13-game losing streak.
 
Sophomore Deja McCain paced the Lady Eagles with 13 points and six rebounds. Senior Morgan Jones netted 10 points and matched McCain with six boards. Morton tallied seven points and picked up a game-high seven rebounds.
 
With the scored leveled at 35-35, sophomore Chelsea Mitchell made a layup with 1:16 left in the third quarter to put Morgan State up by two heading in the final period.
 
Both teams were held to just three made field goals in the fourth quarter as the Lady Bears prevailed by that same two-point margin. A couple hoops by seniors Jayde Duncan and Ivy Harrington increased the Lady Bears advantage to five points, 43-38, before they hung on down the stretch.
 
Harrington and junior Braennan Farrar led MSU with eight points apiece. Mitchell and junior Tykyrah Williams each added seven points.
 
An 8-0 run provided NCCU with its largest lead at 10-6. The early surge featured five consecutive points by McCain. However, Morgan State closed the period on its own 6-nil run to take the lead 12-10.
 
An early layup by Jones deadlocked the score, but the Bears bucketed a pair of made 3-pointers to pull back ahead 19-14 and MSU never trailed from that point. Jones scored the final three points of the quarter on a free throw and a fast break layup to cut the midway deficit to one possession at 27-24.
 
Morgan State increased its lead to six points, 34-28, to start the third quarter before NCCU used a 7-1 rally to knot the score for a third and final time at 35 apiece. Two consecutive layups by Jones and freshman Erin House capped the equalizing run before Mitchell made her go-ahead layup.
 
The Lady Eagles shot 35.6-percent from the field and pulled down 37 rebounds, compared to 32.1% shooting and 35 rebounds by Morgan State. However, Morgan State forced the visitors into 21 turnovers and just one made 3-pointer.
 
NCCU (3-17 Overall, 2-6 MEAC) completes a three-game MEAC road swing at Coppin State University on Monday at 5:30 p.m.