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MOREHEAD, Ky. – In a game where both teams grabbed 38 rebounds, it was the final offensive board for Eastern Illinois that ultimately helped decide the final margin Saturday at Johnson Arena. EIU’s Chantelle Pressley grabbed a rebound, was fouled, and hit two free throws with 2.3 seconds left as the Panthers survived a tremendous Morehead State women’s basketball rally to win 62-60.
MSU fell to 13-7 and 6-2 in the OVC, while EIU slipped past the Eagles in the Ohio Valley Conference standings at 6-1 and 10-8 overall.
The Panthers opened up a 14-7 lead with 10:06 remaining in the first half after a Kelsey Wyss transition jumper. With EIU ahead 21-14 five minutes later, the Eagles went on to score the next seven points and tie it up 21-21. Bozeman drained a three-ball from the left corner after the ball was moved all the way around the key, and she buried a 15-footer from the right side. Ashley Martin hit a 15-foot shot to tie the game.
The Eagles ultimately trailed 24-23 at the break. MSU held EIU to only 30 percent from the floor while shooting 37 percent itself.
The Panthers opened the second half on a 17-4 run to push out ahead 41-27 with 13:13 left. Ashley Thomas drilled two straight three-pointers from the right side to push the margin to 14.
EIU continued to lead by double digits until Tiffany Hamilton tallied a steal and a basket to cut the deficit to 49-40 with 8:55 left. The Eagles continued to make a furious comeback and completed it at 3:32 when Bozeman knocked down a three-ball to tie the game at 52-52. The Panthers proceeded to score the next four to push ahead 56-52, but Martin drained a triple with 2:07 remaining to cut it back to 56-55.
Courtney Lumpkin made pair free throws to give the Eagles a 57-56 lead, but Wyss came down and knocked down a jumper to swap the lead again in favor of EIU. Kloak got open for another layup to set the EIU lead at 60-57. EIU had a steal and a chance to seal the game off an MSU turnover with 19 ticks left, but Wyss missed a layup.
On MSU’s end, Hamilton knocked down a trey from the right side to again tie the game, but on the other end, Pressley grabbed an offensive rebound, was fouled, and hit both free tosses.
Morehead State was led by Bozeman with 22 points and nine rebounds, while Lumpkin tallied 14 points and seven assists. Hamilton had 10 points and eight boards.
Kloak dominated the inside game, scoring 20 points along with eight rebounds. She was 10-of-16 from the free throw line. Ashley Thomas and Pressley had 10 each. As a team, the Panthers shot 30 free throws compared to 18 for MSU. The Eagles finished shooting 33 percent and were 9-of-32 from three-point range.
Morehead State travels to Eastern Kentucky on Saturday, Jan. 23 for a 4 p.m. game.
