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MOREHEAD, Ky. – The Morehead State women’s basketball team outscored visiting UAB by one in the second half Wednesday night, but a 24-point halftime deficit proved too much to overcome as the Eagles dropped a 70-47 decision to the Blazers at Johnson Arena.
MSU falls to 1-6, while UAB moves to 4-2. The game marked the first meeting between the teams since 1988-89.
“For whatever reason starting games, we’ve not been real sharp,” said MSU Coach Tom Hodges. “But I think we might have had a little breakthrough in the second half. If we bring that kind of defensive intensity and pressure the whole game, the pace is different. I think we relaxed too much and let them control the pace of play early, and that was certainly to our detriment.”
The Eagles trailed only 10-6 following an Allie Turner three-pointer at the 14:16 mark of the opening half, but UAB went on a 14-2 run over the next eight minutes and proceeded to bust out to a 38-14 lead at the half. The Eagles shot only 25 percent in the opening frame.
But, the home team caused 11 Blazer turnovers in the final half and outscored the visitors 33-32 as MSU improved its field goal accuracy to 38 percent. The Eagles also got to the free throw line 19 times in the second half. Overall, the Eagles forced 18 UAB mistakes. The visitors entered the night leading the nation in fewest turnovers per game at just 10.8.
Turner, a sophomore guard, finished with a trio of triples and scored a season-high 12 points to go along with a team-best three assists. Senior guard Linda Dixon canned a trio of three-pointers as well and led the team with 13 markers, three steals and two blocks.
“I was really proud of Allie tonight,” said Hodges. “She gave us a great spark and a great effort. That is what we gotta have out of her. One thing we can build on tonight is the defensive intensity. I think that will help us in trying to get the running game going again.”
Amber Jones led the Blazers with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Karisma Chapman chipped in 13 points, and Michaela Kleist and Meagan Brown each had eight of UAB’s game-best 40 rebounds. MSU pulled down 30 rebounds.
MSU finished with a 32 percent shooting efficiency, including 7-of-17 on three-pointers. The Eagles did make 28 turnovers, leading to a 22-15 UAB advantage in points via miscues. MSU limited UAB to just nine successful field goals in the final half as well.
Morehead State hosts Wright State on Saturday at 2 p.m. Live stats will be available on www.MSUEAGLES.com, and the game can be heard live on the Eagle Sports Network.
