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MOREHEAD, Ky. – After battling to the wire in a back-and-forth game in Nashville Thursday afternoon, Morehead State women's basketball returns home for one final game this week, hosting Bowling Green Saturday at Johnson Arena.

The game marks the Eagles' fourth game in six days, marking the first time since the 2018-19 season the Eagles have played four or more games in a seven-day period. In 2018-19, the Eagles played four games in five days as part of the Vinewood Farm Classic.

Morehead State enters Saturday's game after a furious comeback attempt came up short in a game of traded runs at Lipscomb. The Eagles used a pair of long runs in the game, including one in the second half, to regain the lead before the Bisons claimed victory at the final buzzer, 79-73.

Making her first start of the season, junior Ellie Jo Johnson led all Eagle scorers with 13 points, firing 5-of-6 from the floor while converting on 3-of-4 attempts from the free throw line. Sparking the Eagle bench to 26 total bench points in the game, senior Jazzmyn Elston joined Johnson in double-figures, scoring 12 points, draining a game-high four shots from long range.

Morehead State's defense helped ignite both of the Eagles' extended scoring runs (17-4 and 10-0) as the Eagles forced a combined 11 of the 15 Lipscomb turnovers in the two runs. Overall, the 15 Bisons' turnovers led the 14 points for Morehead State.

Saturday's game against Bowling Green is set for a 12 p.m. ET tip-off and will air on both ESPN+ and the Kentucky Office of Highway Safety Eagle Sports Network (MSUEagles.com and WIVY-96.3 FM).

INSIDE THE SERIES
Records: Morehead State (1-4; 0-2 OVC) | Bowling Green (4-1; 1-0 MAC)
Series: Bowling Green leads 5-2
Last Five Meetings: Nov. 9, 2019 (BGSU 79, MOR 65) | Dec. 30, 2003 (BGSU 65, MOR 51) | Nov. 27, 1999 (BGSU 88, MOR 76) | Dec. 7, 1989 (BGSU 79, MOR 43) | Dec. 20, 1986 (BGSU 81, MOR 60)

NOTABLE
With Saturday's game against Bowling Green being Morehead State's fourth game in six days, the 2020-21 season marks the first since 2018-19 that the Eagles have played four or more games in a seven-day or less span. In 2018-19, Morehead State played four games in five days as part of the Vinewood Farm Classic.

With six blocks in Thursday's game at Lipscomb, Morehead State has out-blocked its opponent in all five games this season and dating back to last season, has out-blocked its opponent in 15 or the team's last 16 games. The Eagles lead the Ohio Valley Conference and rank third and fourth in the NCAA, respectively, in blocked shots (42 total) and blocked shots per game (8.4 per game).

It's not just Morehead State that ranks third and fourth in the nation in blocked shots and blocked shots per game as sophomore Ariel Kirkwood also holds the distinction for Morehead State. This season, she's rejected 19 shots, averaging 3.8 blocks per contest, both total that also leads the OVC. For her career, Kirkwood has totaled 101 blocks, ranking sixth in program history in the category.

Despite reaching the free throw line only twice during Morehead State's game at Lipscomb, redshirt sophomore Gabby Crawford continues to lead the OVC in free throw attempts and free throws made. She ranks 19th in the country, having reached the charity stripe 37 times this season while her 27 conversions rank 27th in the nation.

Holding opponents to 26 makes in 108 attempts from behind the three-point line this season, Morehead State ranks 49th in the NCAA in three-point field goal defense, allowing opponents to shoot just 24.1 percent from behind the arc. The Eagles rank second in the OVC in the category, trailing league leader Belmont by two ten-thousandths of a percentage point.

After forcing 15 Lipscomb turnovers Thursday afternoon, Morehead State has forced 15 or more turnovers in four of its five games this season. The Eagles lead the OVC in turnover creation, forcing their opponents to commit 96 total turnovers, an average of 19.2 turnovers forced per game, a total that ranks third in the OVC.

This season, 53 percent of Morehead State's forced turnovers have come via the steal. The Eagles have swiped 51 steals this season, leading the OVC and ranking 51st in the nation in the category. With 12 steals this season, redshirt sophomore Lauren Carter ranks second in the OVC in the category while Kirkwood's 10 steals rank sixth.

Grabbing an average of 40.6 rebounds per game this season, Morehead State ranks third in the OVC in rebounding while the team's 203 total rebounds rank second in the league. The Eagles trail the league lead in both categories by only 1.2 rebounds per contest and six rebounds overall.

When it comes to rebounding, Morehead State is the only team in the OVC to have two players rank among the top-five in the conference in rebounding as Carter and Kirkwood, rank fourth and fifth in the league, respectively. Carter leads the Eagles, averaging 9.0 boards per game with Kirkwood averaging 8.4 rebounds per game.

Through five games this season, Morehead State has outscored its opponents in second-chance opportunities 77-43. The discrepancy is due, in large part, to the Eagles averaging 13.4 offensive rebounds per game, a total that ranks fourth in the OVC, having pulled down 67 total offensive rebounds.

With eight steals Tuesday night against Transylvania, Carter tied what is believed to be a Morehead State women's basketball program record. She joins the likes of Chyna Bozeman (Dec. 12, 2010, vs. Murray State), Almesha Jones (Feb. 24, 2014, vs. Murray State), and Eriel McKee (Nov. 14, 2015, vs. Kentucky Christian and Nov. 23, 2015, vs. Mount St. Joseph) with an eight-steal game.

Carter's eight steals against Transylvania tied for the sixth-most steals in a single game this season in the NCAA and are the most by an OVC player in a game this season. With seven blocks against Transylvania, Kirkwood recorded the second-most blocked shots by a player in the NCAA and the most by an OVC player in a game this season.

Morehead State women's basketball head coach Greg Todd enters Saturday's game seeking his 100th career coaching victory at Morehead State. In reaching 100 victories at Morehead State, he'd become the third coach in program history to reach the milestone, joining Mickey Wells (156) and Loretta Marlow (110) as the only Eagle coaches with 100 or more wins at MSU.