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MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Sophomore forward Mackenzie Arledge hit a free throw with less than a second remaining Saturday night to give the Morehead State women's basketball team a 50-49 victory over Kennesaw State in the Preseason Women's National Invitation Tournament at Johnson Arena.
The Eagles won their first game of the 2012-13 season, improving to 1-1, and also secured the program's 500th all-time win. The Owls fell to 0-3.
KSU’s Chelsea Mason fouled Arledge in the paint with 0.3 seconds left as she was going up to attempt the potential winning basket for the Eagles. She converted the first of the two free throws to seal the victory.
Junior guard Terrice Robinson came off the bench and led the Eagles with 19 points and a career-high seven rebounds. Freshman forward Kailee Howe chipped in seven points also off the bench. MSU held Kennesaw State to just a 1-of-14 effort from the three-point line and caused 25 KSU turnovers in the game. The Eagles came away with 13 steals.
“I’m very proud of our result today. We played with a lot of defensive intensity, and it’s clear our energy picks up when we face adversity,” Head Coach Tom Hodges said. “Defensively we played better than we did at Illinois State last weekend”
The Eagles fell into an early 8-0 hole before Howe hit a jumper at the 15:13 minute mark of the first half. Over the next two minutes, MSU scrapped back into the game with a 10-2 run. Sophomore guard Almesha Jones led the charge with seven points on a 3-of-4 effort from the field in the opening half to help her team trail just 25-22. She finished with nine markers.
MSU took the lead on a jumper by Arledge at the 18:20 mark of the game and held the advantage over the next six minutes. KSU rallied back and led by as much as five with eight minutes left. MSU eventually pulled back out 48-47 following a jumper by Robinson at the 1:11 mark before Kennesaw State’s Mason hit a shot to tie the game at 49 with just six seconds left.
Howe turned the ball over with four ticks remaining, but the Eagles forced a KSU mistake right after and set up the half-court offense for the winning margin.
The Owls were led by sophomore guard Kristina Wells with 10 of her team-best 14 points coming in the second period. Mason totaled 13 points.
“The more reps we can get will help us find our niches on the court,” Hodges added. “It will make our players more confident on the ball. That’s a game that we wouldn’t have won last year, but winning speaks to the maturity of our team.”
Morehead State returns to action on Sunday at 5 p.m. at Johnson Arena in the final of the Preseason WNIT consolation round against Northern Illinois. The Huskies won their consolation game Saturday night against the Davidson, 64-61.
