Erin Hawkins scored a game-high 14 points, including two free throws with 3.4 left to play.
Morgan State 53, South Florida 51
TAMPA, Fla. (Nov. 20, 2010)-Morgan State's Erin Hawkins stepped to the free throw line and calmly knocked down both attempts with 3.4 left in the contest to give the Lady Bears a 53-51 victory over host South Florida in a non-conference game on Saturday night at the Sun Dome.
Hawkins finished with a game-high 14 points and made 10-of-11 from the free throw line, while Brittany Dodson added 12 points. Whitney Southerland came off the bench to score 10 points to help, Morgan State (3-1) defeat a Bulls team which in 2009 won the WNIT championship.
The win was the Lady Bears second straight over a Big East opponent in as many tries in the last two years and was their second consecutive win over Mid-Major conference. The Lady Bears also defeated Atlantic 10 foe, Saint Bonaventure on Wednesday.
The Lady Bears trailed host South Florida, 27-25 at halftime. During the intermission, former Lady Bear, Corin “Tiny” Adams, who is the school's all-time leading scorer (male or female) went into the locker room to give the Lady Bears some words of encouragement.
Morgan State shot 13-of-49 from the field, including 4-of-17 from three-point range and was 23-of-25 from the free throw line, including 14-of-14 in the second half.
South Florida (2-2) was led by Tiffany Cooner, who tallied a game-high 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 4-for-7 from three-point range. Andrea Smith finished with 10 points and Porche Grant grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds.
The Lady Bears return to action on Friday, Nov. 26 when they travel to Chicago, Ill. to take on UC Riverside in the opener of the DePaul Tournament. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. The Lady Bears will conclude the tournament on Saturday against either host DePaul or Northwestern State at 5 or 7 p.m.
