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CHARLESTON, Ill.—Morehead State women’s basketball snapped a six-game losing streak to Eastern Illinois with a 77-73 win at Lantz Arena Saturday afternoon.
The MSU victory also stopped a 13-game home winning streak for the Panthers and gave the Eagles (13-5, 6-2 OVC) four wins in their last five games. EIU fell to 9-8 overall and 5-2 in OVC games.
Trailing by one with 1:45 remaining, freshman Allie Turner sunk a 3-pointer to give the Eagles a two-point lead. The MSU defense then stepped up, getting a stop and a defensive rebound by
Linda Dixon. Dixon was fouled after she pulled down the rebound and calmly nailed both freebies to make it a two-possession game. EIU’s Ta’Kenya Nixon tried a 3-pointer at the end of the game, but the shot was long, and
Ashar Harris pulled down the rebound to secure the win.
Senior guard
Chynna Bozeman scored a game-high 30 points on 9-of-16 shooting. She also had three assists and a team-high three steals, contributing to 10 team steals that resulted in 20 Eastern Illinois turnovers. Harris added 15 points and a game-high 15 rebounds for her 11th double-double this season. Dixon and Courtney Lumpkin each scored 13 points, and Lumpkin dished out five assists. Turner, coming off a career night at SEMO, scored all six of her points behind the three-point arc.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair with neither team gaining a large advantage until late in the period when EIU used a 10-2 run to take a five point lead and threatened to open a sizeable advantage, but missed four jumpers. That allowed MSU to cut into the Panther lead with a free throw by Lumpkin and a 3-pointer from Turner. The teams swapped points until the end of the half when Bozeman sunk a pair of freebies to tie it at 35. The Eagles then made a defensive stand to hold the tie heading into the locker room.
The second half was more of the same back-and forth action. Morehead State took a six-point lead midway through the half after a technical foul was assessed to EIU coach Brady Sallee, but the Panthers scored six straight to even the game back up. In all, there were 10 ties and 25 lead changes in the down-to-the wire game.
Nixon had 22 points and was joined by Chantelle Pressley with six assists. Kelsey Wyss and Jordyn Crunk each scored 12 points and Mariah King had 10. Sydney Mitchell pulled down 11 boards for the Panthers
The Eagles return to action, hosting incoming OVC member SIU Edwardsville Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Johnson Arena. MSU beat SIUE earlier this season in Edwardsville.
