Women's Hoops' rally comes up short vs. TSU, 68-60

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MOREHEAD, Ky. - Morehead State women's basketball outscored Tennessee State in the final three quarters, but a nine-point first quarter deficit was too much to overcome as the Eagles fell 68-60 to the Tigers on Wednesday night at Johnson Arena.

Morehead State fell to 9-20 on the season and 3-11 in Ohio Valley Conference play, while the Tigers improved to 12-16 and 7-8 in league play.

"I'm always proud of our team when we keep fighting. I think you can see the pride that we have in our team, we just need to improve our experience level a bit and I'm excited about the future," said Head Coach Greg Todd.

Early in the first quarter with the score tied at two, Tennessee State went on a 13-0 run to open a 15-2 lead and Morehead State trailed 21-12 after the first quarter.

But, the Eagles never went away as they remained in striking distance for the majority of the second and third quarters. With six minutes to go in the fourth quarter, senior guard Natalie Greenwell knocked down one of her three three-pointers in the game to trim the lead to 51-48.

TSU extended the lead back to seven at 57-50 with just over three minutes to go, and the Eagles tried to mount another rally. Sophomore guard Eriel McKee connected on a three-pointer from the corner to cut the lead to four with just over three minutes to go, and then Greenwell's final three with 30 seconds to go trimmed the lead to 61-57.

But, the Eagles could not get any closer as the Tigers hit four late free throws to seal the game.

Morehead State shot just 29 percent from the floor, while limiting TSU to 35 percent. After failing to knock down a three-pointer in the first half, the Eagles shot 5-of-13 from deep in the second half, finishing 5-of-20 for the game. 

The Eagles shot 79 percent from the charity stripe and pulled down 18 offensive rebounds to account for 10 second-chance points. The hosts accumulated 11 blocks and had eight steals.

Freshman guard Miranda Crockett finished with 15 points and tied a career-high with 12 rebounds to lead the team in both categories. Greenwell dropped in 13 points, while junior Shay Steele added 12 points and recorded a game-high five blocks. Junior Brianna McQueen scored 10 points.

Jayda Johnson led the way for the Tigers with 23 points and 12 rebounds. 

The Eagles finish off the regular season on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET as they visit Jacksonville State.