Angelyne Brown's first month on the job as Morgan State's women's basketball coach has been anything but a joy ride.
The Lady Bears, who don't have a senior, went into yesterday's contest against Towson with an 0-9 record and had lost those games by an average of 34 points.
But all that was temporarily forgotten as Morgan State, thanks to 13 points from freshman Tamara Hauley, dug deep for a 43-40 win on Towson's home court. The victory ended a 19-game losing streak for the Lady Bears.
"We needed this one pretty bad," Brown said. "The monkey on my back was getting pretty heavy. For us to know what it feels like to win was pretty important."
It wasn't pretty, and it did not come easily. The Lady Bears shot only 31 percent from the field and trailed the Tigers (0-6) for most of the game. But several key plays in the final minute for Morgan State made the difference.
Hauley, the only player from either team to score in double figures, converted a crucial three-point play to tie the game at 39 with 1:08 to play, and then found teammate Lisa Turner open for a clutch jumper in the lane with 18 seconds left.
"Hauley is going to be a great player," Brown said. "She just needs time and experience."
Morgan State's Collea Carter closed the door on Towson by hitting two free throws with 5.3 seconds left.
"I think we just wanted it more," Hauley said. "We didn't shoot very well, but we made some big plays when we had to and they didn't."
For Towson, it was another frustrating loss in a season already full of them. The Tigers have lost three games this year by five points or fewer and shot just 28 percent from the field against the Lady Bears.
"Today was a major setback," said Towson coach Joe Mathews. "They outworked us, they outplayed us and they wanted the game more than we did. That's frustrating."
The Tigers were able to grab a 21-20 halftime lead in part because they snagged 13 offensive rebounds before the break.
But 21 turnovers and more bad shooting eventually did in Towson. Kelli Talbot led the Tigers with nine points and Tina Hopkins and Kyva Jones each grabbed nine rebounds.
Morgan State center Jennyffer Vargas helped the Lady Bears control things inside with 10 rebounds and four blocks.
MORGAN STATE-Williams 2-6 0-0 4, Carter 0-9 2-2 2, Henry 2-5 0-0 4, Hauley 4-6 4-5 13, Coleman 3-7 0-0 6, Vargas 2-8 1-4 5, Turner 3-9 0-0 6, Cox 0-3 1-2 1, Warrick 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 17-54 8-13 43. TOWSON-Talbot 3-9 2-4 9, Fazlic 1-4 0-0 2, Jones 3-8 1-2 7, Rose 0-5 0-0 0, Chapman 3-13 1-2 8, Haefner 2-5 0-1 5, West 0-5 0-0 0, Hopkins 2-3 2-2 6, Gaston 1-2 1-2 3. Totals 15-54 7-13 40. Halftime-Towson 21-20. 3-point goals-Morgan State 1-14 (Hauley 1-2, Cox 0-1, Coleman 0-2, Turner 0-3, Carter 0-6); Towson 3-12 (Haefner 1-1, Talbot 1-4, Chapman 1-5, Rose 0-2). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Morgan State 38 (Vargas 10); Towson 45 (Jones, Hopkins 9). Assists-Morgan State 7 (Carter 2); Towson 11 (Chapman 5). Total fouls-Morgan State 18; Towson 13. A-153.