NORFOLK, Va., – Shakeyrra Morrison had 19 points, 11 rebounds and five steals as 12th-seeded Florida A&M eliminated fifth-seeded Howard 69-64 at the 2018 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament.
After trailing by as many as much as 10 points early in the third quarter, Howard went on a 14-4 run to tie the game 43-all on a layup by Imani Bryant with 4:09 left in the quarter. The Rattlers pushed the lead back up to 53-47 on a free throw by De’Ayra Davis with 66 seconds left. A Curstyn Moore free throw and jumper by Tariah Johnson made the margin 53-50 after three.
That run continued to start the final quarter as three Moore free throws tied the game 53-all with 8:02 left. The lead never grew above three points for the next four minutes as a Sarah Edmond jumper gave Howard a 62-59 lead with 4:02 remaining.
A 3-pointer from Dawn King gave Florida A&M a 64-62 lead with 2:54 left and the Rattlers iced the win with five free throws in the final 26 seconds. The last two came after Howard called a timeout that they didn’t have which resulted in a technical foul. Florence Ouattara hit two free throws in the final second to provide the final margin.
FAMU (7-23) had King with 18 points, Ecenur Yurdakul with 16 points, five rebounds and three assists, and Ouattara with 10 points to lead in scoring.
Howard (12-18) saw Sarah Edmon lead them with 24 points, six assists and five rebounds, while Imani Bryant added 11 points and eight boards.
FAMU now advances to a Thursday quarterfinal matchup with 13th-seeded Savannah State at 2 p.m.
Courtesy: MEAC
