BOX SCORE (HTML) | BOX SCORE (PDF) | REPLAY OF GAME BROADCAST
MOREHEAD, Ky. – Three players set career highs, and the Morehead State women’s basketball team forced 21 Jacksonville State turnovers Monday night on the way to a 79-60 victory at Johnson Arena.
The Eagles won their fourth straight game over JSU and improved to 9-16 overall and 6-7 in the Ohio Valley Conference. JSU dropped its seventh consecutive game to dip to 4-22 overall and 1-12 in the league.
“We needed this win in the worst way,” said MSU Head Coach Tom Hodges. “I was very anxious about the game because Jacksonville State had a week off to prepare. I was really proud of our energy and rebounding, and I thought defensively we played well and stuck to the game plan.”
Senior guard Linda Dixon led MSU with 17 points and a career-high six assists, while freshman forward Mackenzie Arledge registered career highs in points (9), rebounds (9), assists (4) and minutes played (35). Freshman guard Almesha Jones tied her career high with 14 points.
MSU also got 14 points from senior guard Courtney Lumpkin and 10 points and nine boards from junior forward Ashar Harris. Harris eclipsed the 300-rebound plateau for the season for the third straight year, becoming just the third player in school history to accomplish that feat.
The Eagle defense forced 17 first-half mistakes as MSU built as much as a 15-point lead before leading 31-22 at the break.
The Gamecocks committed just four second-half turnovers, but the hosts shot 61 percent from the floor (17-of-28) and cruised ahead by as many as 20 on three occasions.
MSU nailed 11-of-26 from three-point range and had a 21-to-11 assist-to-turnover ratio. The 21 helpers were a season high.
Briana Morrow and Brittany Manning paced the visitors with 14 points apiece, while Danielle Vaughn notched a double with 11 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. JSU topped the Eagles on the boards, 37-34, but the Gamecocks hit only two of their 12 three-point shots.
The Eagles hit the road for their final OVC contest away from home on Saturday at Austin Peay. Game time is set for 6:15 p.m. ET.
