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MOREHEAD, Ky. – Morehead State’s women’s basketball team shot a season-high 43 percent Saturday afternoon while hitting a season-best 11 three-pointers and forcing 26 turnovers in a 78-63 victory over visiting Wright State at Johnson Arena.
MSU halted a five-game losing streak, improved to 2-6, and handed former Eagle coach Mike Bradbury’s Wright State (4-2) team its second loss of the year.
“We felt like Wright State might be the second or third toughest team we’ve played, including Kentucky,” said MSU Head Coach Tom Hodges. "We executed the game plan almost flawlessly. We wanted to limit their three-point shots and we wanted to establish (junior forward) Ashar (Harris) inside. We also wanted to do some things for (senior guard) Linda (Dixon) and free her up and just have a more free flowing offense."
Harris posted her third double-double of the season with 16 points and a team-high 17 rebounds to go along with a career and team-best six assists. Dixon connected on five three-pointers and led the Eagles with 23 points, just one shy of her career high. Freshman forward Whitney Kyle registered a career-best nine points.
"Whitney was almost a product of necessity when we have all our post players out," said Hodges. "Through that process though, we gained Whitney Kyle. She came to practice every day and did what we asked her to. I was very proud of her. We couldn't have won this game without her and her solidarity out there today."
The Eagles were 11-of-23 beyond the three-point arc and also dished out a season-best 20 assists on 30 buckets. They also held the Raiders to only 12 three-pointers attempted and three made triples after WSU had averaged 26 attempts per outing in the last four. Senior guard Courtney Lumpkin totaled five assists, while Dixon added four helpers and a team-best four steals.
The visitors placed four in double figures in the scoring column, led by Kim Demmings’ 16 markers. Courtney Boyd tallied 12, Breanna Stucke chipped in 11, and Sarah Hunter notched 10. The Raiders out-rebounded MSU 47-37.
MSU forced 15 WSU (4-2) turnovers in the opening half and built a 40-30 heading to the break. The Eagles hit 49 percent (17-of-35) from the field, including half-a-dozen three-pointers.
The Eagles used a 12-0 first-half run following a Wright State three-pointer to gain a healthy cushion. Leading 6-5, Dixon capped the flurry with a three-pointer at the 13:55 mark to make 18-6. MSU went on later to construct as much as a 15-point advantage at 36-21.
In the final 20-minute period, Wright State trimmed the Eagle lead back under double digits at 49-41 with 15:17 left, but Dixon swished a three-ball that started a 24-8 run for the hosts. MSU held WSU without a field goal for eight minutes and built a 73-49 advantage following sophomore Tyler Ituen’s jumper at the 6:18 mark.
MSU finished with 27 points via Wright’s State’s turnovers.
The Eagles travel to Cincinnati on Tuesday to face Xavier at 7 p.m. ET at the Cintas Center.
