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RICHMOND, Ky. -- The Eastern Kentucky women’s basketball team used a 19-1 run midway through the second half and a 50-18 advantage in paint points to register a 78-68 victory over Morehead State on Saturday afternoon at McBrayer Arena.
The Colonels improve to 12-12 overall and 7-6 in the Ohio Valley Conference, while the Eagles slip to 8-16 on the season and 5-7 in league play. Morehead State entered the day with 11 wins in the past 13 meetings against Eastern Kentucky.
Junior forward Alex Jones led EKU with 17 points on 7-of-10 from the field and 3-of-3 from the free-throw line. She also recorded team highs of five assists and three steals.
Junior guard Brittany Coles added 16 points and four rebounds in the victory, while junior center Jade Barber contributed 14 points and game-best 11 boards.
Senior guard Linda Dixon paced MSU with a career-high 31 points, including 20 in the first half. She drilled 11-of-20 from the floor and 8-of-16 from three-point range. Her eight treys were just one shy of the school record.
Dixon entered the day second on the team in scoring at 15.1 per contest. It was her eighth 20-point performance this season and her 21st in double figures.
Senior guard Courtney Lumpkin, the only other Eagle to record double figures, added 24 points on 9-of-12 from the charity stripe and a team-high four assists.
Junior forward Ashar Harris, who entered the contest with a conference-best 12.6 rebounds per tilt, was limited to two points and six boards in 38 minutes.
Morehead State pushed its advantage to 50-42 with 15:50 to play, but 10 consecutive missed field-goal attempts aided Eastern Kentucky’s big second-half spurt.
Lumpkin ended MSU’s field-goal drought of over 10 minutes at the 5:15 mark, but the Colonels had already moved into the driver’s seat with a double-figure lead.
Eastern Kentucky finished the affair with a 44-24 rebounding advantage. The Colonels also posted a 17-9 upper hand on the offensive glass, which led to a 13-2 clip in second-chance points.
EKU connected on 49 percent (30-of-61) from the floor and 83 percent (15-of-18) from the free-throw line. MSU made just 39 percent (22-of-56) and 74 percent (14-of-19) in those two categories.
Morehead State returns to Johnson Arena on Monday when it faces OVC opponent Jacksonville State at 6 p.m. ET. The Eagles posted a 68-52 road win over the Gamecocks on Jan. 9.
