TALLAHASSEE, Fla. | The Florida A&M University women's basketball team enjoyed a brief taste of success only to have it fade down the stretch as they dropped a 59-47 Mid-Eastern Athletic Confrence (MEAC) decision to visiting Morgan State at the Al Lawson Center Saturday afternoon.
 
Saturday's setback was the ninth in a row for FAMU (2-12 overall, 0-3 MEAC), which jumped out to a 20-11 lead late in the first period, before the Bears (6-10, 2-1 MEAC) closed to within five, 20-15 at the end of the period.
 
FAMU, which in recent years has been plagued by cold shooting and untimely scoring droughts, fell victim to that  bugaboo again Saturday, scoring just four points in the second stanza on 11 percent (1-of-9) shooting, while Morgan took the lead with a 14-point surge, taking a 29-24 halftime edge.
 
The Bears came out of the locker room to shoot 58.3 percent (7-of-12), splashing 3-of-4 shots from distance, to outpace the Rattlers, 19-9, extending their advantage to 48-33.
 
In the final period, FAMU edged out Morgan State, 14-11, closing from a 20-plus point deficit to 10, 57-47 with two minutes left, but they could not get any closer.
 
SATURDAY'S LEADING LADIES: FAMU graduate center Shalunda Burney-Robinson just missed her fourth double-double this season, finishing with a game-high 18 points to go with nine rebounds. Freshman Alaina Rice added 10 points and eight rebounds for FAMU, which also got nine points, two assists and three steals from junior Kailya Jackson.
 
Leading the way for Morgan State was Lana Skripkina with 15 points, including a trio of three-pointers, and Chelsea Mitchell, who had a double double with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Dahnye Redd pulled down 10 rebounds  for the Bears Saturday.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
> Morgan State held a 43-41 edge in rebounding over FAMU, and had the lead in turnovers, 23-20.
> The Bears also shot a bit better than the Rattlers, hitting 38.9 percent (21-of-54) from the floor, splashing 5-of-16 three-pointers for 31.3 percent. FAMU finished the game shooting 31.1 percent (19-of-61), while hitting just two of their 20 three-point tries.
 
WHO'S ON DECK: FAMU will host Coppin State Monday at the Lawson Center. Tip-off against the Lady Eagles for Faculty and Staff Appreciation Night is set for 6 p.m.
 
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