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MOREHEAD, Ky. – Sophomore forward Ashar Harris scored 18 points and grabbed 19 rebounds, including 12 on the offensive end, as the Morehead State women’s basketball team defeated Kentucky Wesleyan, 66-56, in an exhibition game at Johnson Arena Monday night.
First-year coach Tom Hodges debuted a new system that featured a tenacious defense. The Eagles forced 28 Panther turnovers and had 16 steals. The Eagles also had their difficulties handling the ball, finishing with 19 turnovers, but Harris, along with sophomore transfer Channing Hillman, combined for 30 of the Eagles’ 48 rebounds.
After a tough first half in which she only shot 1-for-10, OVC Preseason Player of the Year Chynna Bozeman found the range from long distance, hitting four 3-pointers, and concluded with 14 points. Junior guard Linda Dixon, who has seen very limited playing time in her first two seasons, got the start and responded with what would have been a career-high 15 points to go along with a team-best five steals. Courtney Lumpkin scored 11 points and tied with Hillman for the team lead in assists with five.
The Panthers, who didn’t have a player see more than 21 minutes of action, had an extremely balanced stat sheet. Bianca Barton came off the bench for a team high 10 points, while Kristen Rowe had eight. Three other players scored six. Katie Behrens grabbed seven of the Panthers’ 42 rebounds.
The Eagles found the offense difficult to come by in the opening half as they only shot 27 percent and led 28-27. MSU increased its efficiency to 36 percent in the final half as it outscored KWC 38-29. The Eagles were just 3-of-20 shooting from 3-point range in the first half but hit six long rangers in the second half.
Trailing most of the first half, the Eagles went on an 8-0 run from the 5:32 mark down to the 3:33 mark. Freshman Allie Turner ignited the run with a 3-pointer and Lumpkin finished with a trey. MSU led 28-21, but the Panthers ended the half on a 6-0 scoring flurry to creep to within one at the break.
The Eagles opened the second 20 minutes on a 10-2 run. Dixon nailed a 3-pointer to start the run and capped it with a free throw at the 16:41 mark. The Panthers climbed back into it and trailed by just two with 14:51 left. Bozeman got hot and hit a trio of 3-pointers to spark a 17-2 run that bumped the MSU advantage out to 55-38 with 8:51 remaining.
The Panthers did not go away easily and trimmed the MSU lead down to single digits. Up by eight with 1:20 left, the Eagles hit four of their final six free throws to set the final margin at 10 points.
The Eagles will have one more exhibition, hosting Lincoln Memorial on Monday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m.
