NCAA Women's Basketball: Howard Women’s Hoops’ Comeback Falls Short at Morgan State Presented on US Sports Net by Perform Better

Bison unable to overcome deficit

(Photo Credit – Carroll Smith)

BALTIMORE (January 18, 2020) – Howard University women’s basketball team fell on the road at Morgan State (MSU), 67-74, inside the Hill Field House. With the loss, HU dropped to 10-8 (2-3 MEAC) on the season.

Offensively, the Bison struggled to find its rhythm, shooting just over 33-percent (19-of-57) from the floor.

“They [Morgan State] played a lot tougher than we did tonight,” said Howard women’s basketball head coach Ty Grace. “I thought they did a good job rebounding and getting into transition, which helped them take good shots.”

Despite the squad’s shooting woes, HU continued to attack the rim at will. Overall, the Bison shot nearly 82-percent (27-of-33) from the charity stripe.

Senior guard Ayonna Williams (Washington) led the Bison attack, scoring a team-best 23 points while recording seven boards and four steals. Second-year forward Krislyn Marsh (Duncanville, Texas) notched her third double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

Howard trailed after one, 12-18, but fought their way back in the second period. With less than two minutes before intermission, junior guard Jayla Thornton (Newark, N.J.) found Williams in transition and gave the Bison a three-point lead, 27-24.

HU’s lead was short-lived as MSU regained the upper hand and momentum with an 8-0 run to finish the first half, 27-32.

After halftime, the Lady Bears extend their advantage to double-digits and held a 13-point lead going into the fourth, 43-56.

Howard connected on all 13 freebies in the fourth and cut the deficit as low as five, thanks to a pair of free throws from freshman Iyanna Warren (Accokeek, Md.), but the comeback bid would fall short.

For Morgan State (7-11, 3-2 MEAC), Jihayah Chavis led all scorers with 26 points while Dahnye Redd produced a double-double (22 points and 12 boards) in the victory.

Senior forward Imani Bryant (Berkeley, Calif.) missed today’s contest due to injury while fellow classmate Sarah Edmond (Freeport, N.Y.) exited the game before intermission because of an apparent lower body injury.

“Obviously, it impacts the game tremendously,” Grace stated on not having her star seniors. “They lead our team in multiple categories [statistically] and their presence on the floor gets us going. But when you’re shorthanded, others need to step up and there’s no excuses.”

With their absence, HU missed the league’s top shot blocker (Bryant; 1.8 bpg) and third-leading scorer (Edmond; 13.9 ppg).

“We need to get healthy,” Grace added on the upcoming week of rest. “We need some time to heal from these nagging injuries. We’ll take some time and get better.”

After a week away from the hardwood, HU returns home to face Florida A&M. Saturday's (Jan. 25) tipoff is slated for 2 p.m.

Two nights later (Jan. 27), the Bison travel back to Baltimore to meet Coppin State. The action starts 5:30 p.m. inside PEC Arena.