MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY LADY BEARS (8-2, 6-1 MEAC) vs. HOWARD UNIVERSITY BISON (8-2, 5-1 MEAC)
Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021 • 2:00PM ET • Washington, D.C.
• BURR GYMNASIUM
Washington, D.C.: The Howard University Bison women's basketball team is set to face DMV rival Morgan State University Bears (8-2, 5-1 MEAC) with first place in the Northern Division on the line Saturday (Feb. 6) at 2 p.m. and Sunday (Feb. 7) at 2 p.m. at Burr Gymnasium.
The Bison (8-2, 4-1 MEAC) will celebrate Senior Jayla Thornton (Newark, N.J.) Saturday before the game, head coach Ty Grace will honor Thornton on her accomplishment on the court and off the court. Thornton was named MEAC Player of the Week for her performance last week versus Delaware State; she knocked in a season-high seven three-pointers in route to a game-high 23-point. Her performance versus DSU puts her at 256 3-point made, three shy from tying the All-time MEAC 3-point field goals made (259).
"...we know what is ahead of her, and we know she is going to get this great accomplishment; I am just proud of her." said coach Grace; Grace continued, "... it's a testament to all of her hard work over the last four years."
Saturday and Sunday's games will be streamed on hubison.com, and fans can also follow via live stats.
MATCHUP PREVIEW
SERIES
The two-game weekend series will be the 76 and 77 meetings between the Bears and Bison, with Howard leading the all-time series, 53-21.
HU split the early season contest versus Morgan. In-game one, Howard smothered the Bears just over 24-percent (17-of-70), including 9-percent (2-of-22) from downtown, rolling past MSU 73-48.
In-game two, turnovers proved too costly, as the Bison could not recover from their mistakes, falling 71-58 to the Bears.
HOWARD
Howard comes into Saturday's matchup on a three-game winning streak, defeating Delaware State last weekend.
Thornton leads the conference second rank offense, scoring 14.8 points per game (3rd in MEAC), sinking a league-high 28 3-pointers. Joining her in the top ten in scoring is Freshman Standout Anzhane' Hutton (Clear Creek, TX). Hutton is averaging 12 points a game (tied for 9th) and 8.3 rebounds per contest.
The duo racked up three MEAC weekly superlatives, Thornton was named MEAC Player of the Week, while Hutton was named Rookie of the Week and Defensive Player of the Week.
MORGAN STATE
The Bears is riding a five-game winning streak, their last loss coming at the hands of Howard. MSU swept Delaware State and Coppin State.
Dahnye Redd (13.9 ppg, 7.7 rpg) and Ja'Niah Henson (12.4 ppg) lead Morgan State offense. Henson is the floor general for the Bears, dishing out an MSU high 2.8 assists per game.
LAST TIMEOUT
Thornton knocked down a season-high seven three-pointers, while Iyanna Warren (Accokeek, Md.) dished out a career-high 14 dimes to defeat Delaware State, 71-60, Jan. 30 in Burr Gymnasium.
"...[Warren] is mentally tough, I put a lot of pressure on her, and I challenge her a lot, to take care of the basketball and to run this team..." said coach Grace on Warren performance; she continued to say, "...she did a great job, finding people, and they made their shots."
Hutton recorded a career-high 13 rebounds, what Makayla Minett swatted four shot attempts tying a season-high.
NEXT UP:
Howard will conclude their series versus Morgan State on Sunday. The Bison announced the Delaware State game's rescheduling that was postponed due to inclement weather in the DMV area; the game is set for Feb. 12, for a 4 p.m. tipoff. The Bison will wrap up the season on the road, playing their final four games of the regular season Feb. 20-21 versus Coppin and Feb. 27-28 versus Delaware State.
HOWARD BY THE NUMBERS:
- Ranks 2nd in scoring offense
- Ranks 4th in scoring defense
- Ranks 2nd in field goal percentage
- Ranks 2nd in field goal percentage defense
- Leads in Block Shots (6.5 bpg)
- Ranks 2nd in assists per game
- Warren's 14 were the second-highest output in the NCAA this season (Mayra Caicedo-Little Rock (17))
- Thornton's 256 three-point field goals rank 9th in the NCAA active career leader rankings
2021 MEAC TOURNAMENT: The 2021 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) men's and women's basketball tournament is scheduled for March 10-13, 2021. Before moving to the Norfolk Scope Arena in Norfolk, Va, first-round games will take place on campus sites. The annual MEAC Basketball Tournament moved to Norfolk in 2013 after spending the previous four years in Winston-Salem, N.C., from 2009 through 2012.
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