DOVER, Del.  - It took overtime, but the Delaware State University women's basketball team prevailed, 67-60, over Morgan State for the second time this season as redshirt freshman Tierra Hawkins (Clinton, Md.) led all scorers with 18 points and 14 rebounds at Memorial Hall Monday evening.

With just over 10 minutes remaining in the game, the Lady Bears held an 11 point lead that the Lady Hornets immediately cut and eventually tied things up to force overtime.

 A 3-pointer from freshman Alexis Thornton (El Paso, Texas) tied things at 53-53 at the 1:48 mark before Omara Parker knocked down her own trey to give Morgan State a 56-53 lead.  The Lady Bears were still up by three with 33-seconds left in the game before sophomore Tasia Bristow (Baltimore, Md.) drained a three from the left corner to tie things at 58-58 with five seconds remaining to send the game into overtime.

Bristow took the overtime tip and turned it into an immediate layup.  The guard proved to be clutch during the extra period as she scored six points in overtime, four coming off of free throws.

The Lady Hornets held Morgan State to just two points in the extra minutes, a layup from Amarah Williams at the 4:28 mark.  The Lady Bears went 1-for-7 from the field and 0-of-2 from the charity stripe en route to their eighth straight loss of the season.

Delaware State started the game with a 7-0 lead before the Lady Bears rattled off three straight baskets from behind the arc to go up, 9-7.  MSU would go up by as much as three with over 10 minutes left in the half.  With things tied at 15-15, DSU went on a 6-0 run, including four points from Thornton.

In the waning seconds of the first half, Parker scored on a put-back rebound layup to give the Lady Bears a 30-27 halftime advantage.

Hawkins led all scorers at halftime with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field.  Hawkins and fellow freshman Keyanna Tate (Beltsville, Md.) each had five rebounds at the break.

Morgan State opened the second half and almost immediately went up by 13 at 44-31 with 15:50 on the clock.  Led by Thornton's five points, the Lady Hornets responded on a 9-0 run to come within four at 44-40 before the Lady Bears would go on another run of their own. 

Tracey Carrington single-handedly put MSU up by 11 at 11:31 with seven points of her own.  Once again, Del State responded with their own run, rattling off 10 straight points to come within one at 51-50 before tying the game at 53-53.

The game marked just the second time this season Delaware State played in overtime.  The Lady Hornets lost, 78-73, at Norfolk State on Feb. 18.  With Monday's win, DSU improves to 6-22 on the year and 3-12 in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play.  Earlier this month, the Lady Hornets defeated the Lady Bears, 67-53, in Baltimore.  With the season sweep, DSU owns all tie-breakers over Morgan State (6-22; 3-12 MEAC) in MEAC seedings for the post-season tournament.

Hawkins was joined in double figures by Thornton and Bristow, who each tallied 12 points of their own.  Thornton's 12 points sets a new career-high.  The guard previously recorded eight points three times this season.  Bristow also posted five steals and four assists in the victory.

Sophomore Uchechi Ahaiwe (Riverdale, Md.) contributed 10 rebounds, tying a career-best set in a win over Wesley College on Nov 15, and three blocked shots, which ties a career-best that was set at North Carolina Central on Jan. 28.

Earlier Monday afternoon, Hawkins was named the MEAC Rookie of the Week for the third time this season.

The Lady Bears were led in scoring by Dekisha Mathis' 16 points while Amarah Williams recorded a double double of 15 points and 11 rebounds.  Omara Parker contributed 12 points in the loss for Morgan State.

The Lady Hornets wrap up the regular season as they host South Carolina State at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.  The two teams have not met yet this season. 

Thursday's contest will be broadcast via 1290 The Ticket and 1410 WDOV with Scott Klatzkin on play-by-play.

---DSU WBB---