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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Morehead State women's basketball team erased a 16-point deficit at Belmont Saturday night, but Jordan Luffman-Hartsfield sank a pair of free throws with 15 seconds left to push the host Bruins past MSU 57-56 at the Curb Event Center.
Belmont evened the season series with Morehead State and improved to 11-15 overall and 8-5 in the Ohio Valley Conference. MSU dropped its second consecutive league contest, slipping to 11-14 overall and 7-5 in the conference.
Morehead State fell behind 38-22 with 30 seconds left before halftime but gradually rallied in the final 20 minutes, holding Belmont to just 25 percent (8-of-32) accuracy from the field.
Senior guard Almesha Jones put MSU on top 56-55 with 2:04 remaining. Luffman-Hartsfield was fouled with 15 seconds left and hit both free tosses. Jones' 10-foot runner came up empty as time expired.
"I was very pleased with our second half after being flat in the first half," Head Coach Greg Todd said. "Obviously we are disappointed the ball didn't fall in for Almesha at the end. You can't be flat at all against the team that was picked to win the OVC, but we were happy with the valiant comeback effort. We have four games left and a great chance still to earn a high seed for the OVC Tournament. We have to regroup and be ready to get back at it this week."
MSU, which ranks in the top three in the OVC in field-goal percentage, managed just 30 percent (8-of-27) in the opening half and fell behind 38-23. Belmont nailed 46 percent (16-of-35) in the first half, including five three-pointers.
Trailing by 14 with 17 minutes remaining, the Eagles outscored Belmont 20-9 during an 11-minute span. Junior guard Natalie Greenwell's three-pointer at 6:24 brought MSU to within 49-46.
Katie Carroll led Belmont with 11 points, while Luffman-Hartsfield netted 10. Lauren Thompson grabbed nine of the Bruins' 45 rebounds. The hosts out-rebounded MSU 45-39.
Sophomore forward Shay Steele was the lone Eagle player to reach double-figure points, scoring 12. Jones had nine points, six rebounds and six assists, and freshman forward Eriel McKee collected a team-best eight rebounds.
Morehead State returns home to host Tennessee Tech on Wednesday at 6 p.m. ET. It will be a "Pink Night" for the contest. All fans are encouraged to wear pink in support of women's cancers research, and pink "MSU Cares" t-shirts will be on sale for only $10.
