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MOREHEAD, Ky. – Sophomore guard Almesha Jones poured in 30 points, junior guard Terrice Robinson chipped in 21 markers, and the Morehead State women's basketball team shot a season-best 18-of-20 from the free throw line Monday night in defeating visiting SIU Edwardsville, 75-72, at Johnson Arena.
The Eagles improved to 5-11 overall and 1-1 in the league, while the Cougars fell to 7-8 and 1-2 in the conference. The last three games the two teams have played have been decided by a total of eight points. MSU led by as much as 17 early in the second half and withstood a gradual second-half rally by the visitors.
“We played with about a 10 or 12-point lead for much of the second half, but they turned up the pressure late and we did some things that were a little uncharacteristic of ourselves,” Head Coach Tom Hodges said. “But, we haven’t been in those situations too terribly much this season.”
Jones drained four three-pointers and 6-of-7 free throws, coming within one of the career-high 31 she set earlier this season. She also added a team-high five assists. In three career games against SIUE, she has scored 61 points. Robinson, who ranks fourth in the league in scoring average, connected on all three of her three-pointers and 8-of-8 from the charity stripe in registering her second straight 20-point output.
The Eagles also got career-high performances from their frontcourt duo of sophomores Casey Ryans and Mackenzie Arledge. Ryans grabbed a career-best 11 rebounds and added eight points, while Arledge scored a career-high 10 points and collected six boards.
“I am really proud of Almesha and Terrice for putting us on their backs, and the play of Mackenzie and Casey was so crucial. They are really probably the MVPs of this game,” Hodges added.
MSU led 41-24 at the start of the second half and held a 53-36 advantage at the 13:59 mark, but a 13-3 SIUE scoring spurt kept the game fairly close through the remainder. The Cougars trimmed their deficit all the way to 73-69 with 1:32 left, but a trio of missed three-pointers and pair of Cougar turnovers allowed the Eagles to hold on.
Michaela Herrod led SIUE with a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double. Raven Berry scored 12 and grabbed nine rebounds, and Valerie Finnin and Tierny Austin each tallied 16 points. Berry also had a game-high seven assists.
The Eagles opened the contest with two straight triples from Arledge and Robinson and led 8-2. SIUE tied the game at eight, but a 10-0 run, started with a Robinson three-pointer, pushed the Eagles’ lead to 18-8.
MSU canned 9-of-14 from long distance in the half, including a 4-for-5 effort by Jones, as it built its largest lead of the first 20 minutes at the break, 39-24.
The Eagles finished with 11 three-pointers, marking their fourth straight game with double digit triples. MSU now has 43 long-rangers in the last four outings. The Eagles shot a season-best 52 percent (23-of-44) overall. SIUE managed to hit 39 percent (27-of-69) and out-rebounded the hosts, 40-30.
Morehead State returns to action on Saturday at Eastern Kentucky. Tipoff time is set for 4 p.m. ET. The game can be heard live on WIVY-96.3 FM and on MSUEagles.com. Live video will be available via OVCDigitalNetwork.com.
