Morgan State 56, North Carolina A&T 67
GREENSBORO, N.C. (Feb. 1, 2010)-On this day 50 years ago, four North Carolina A&T students would became a part of history when they sat down at a “whites only” Woolworth’s lunch counter and asked to be served. Tonight, the Lady Aggies of North Carolina A&T may have moved a step closer to securing their own mark in school history in their quest to claiming a third straight Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference regular season championship.
Amber Calvin scored a game-high 20 points and had a game-high six assists, while Nikia Gorham and Lamona Smalley each recorded double-doubles to lead N.C. A&T to a 67-56 MEAC victory over Morgan State on Monday evening at the Corbett Sports Center.
Gorham recorded 14 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, while Smalley added 12 points and a game-high 14 rebounds for the Lady Aggies, who extended their winning streak to eight games and have now won 11 of the last 13 meetings over Morgan State. For Morgan State, the loss ended the Lady Bears’ season-long winning streak.
Morgan State (10-10, 6-2 MEAC) was led by Corin Adams, who finished with a team-high 16 points and Georgien Williams, who added 12 points. Adams, who also had a team-high seven rebounds and a team-high three assists, tallied a game-high four steals, giving her 359 career steals to become the school’s all-time steals leader.
Both teams struggled early on, as the Lady Aggies held a 14-6 lead, following four straight free throws by Calvin with 11:32 to play in the opening half, before Adams scored eight straight points, including back-to-back three-pointers in part of an 8-2 Morgan run to bring the guests within 16-14 with 9:42 left in the opening half.
Four minutes later, Adams became Morgan’s all-time steals leader when she recorded her 356th steal and scored on a layup. Adams would miss the free throw and the Lady Bears trailed 20-18.
N.C. A&T (14-7, 8-0 MEAC) then used a 7-0 spurt to take a 27-18 lead and took a 31-20 advantage into the locker room at the break.
The Lady Bears began the second half with a quick 7-2 run to pull within six points at 33-27 less than two minutes into the period. However, Morgan State would get no closer than six, as six different times in the half the Lady Bears would pull within six.
The Lady Aggies extended their cushion to 12 points (49-37), but Morgan State countered with six straight points in part of an 8-2 run with Rosario scoring four points during the spurt, bringing the guests within 51-45 with 7:41 to play.
That would be the closest Morgan would get, as the Lady Aggies closed out the game and Morgan’s upset bid with a 16-11 run to secure the 67-56 victory.
N.C. A&T finished the game with 20 assists, while Morgan State had only five. The Lady Bears committed 16 turnovers and forced 20 turnovers out of the Lady Bears. The host Lady Aggies held a 54-39 rebounding advantage over Morgan State and totaled six blocked shots to Morgan State’s one. Gorham led N.C. A&T with a game-high three blocks, while Smalley added two.
Morgan State, which is off to its best MEAC start ever at 6-2, returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 6, when it plays host to Florida A&M at 2 p.m. at Hill Field House.