Women's Basketball's Gritty Rally Falls Short at Austin Peay

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -- Behind an incredible second-half scoring outburst from junior guard Jazzmyn Elston, the Morehead State's Women's Basketball team erased as much as a 12-point deficit to take a late lead over host Austin Peay, but the advantage slipped away in the final minutes as the Eagles dropped a 70-65 decision to the Lady Govs at the Dunn Center Thursday.

Elston nailed 8-of-9 shots and scored all 21 of her team-high points after halftime, including a go-ahead three-pointer with 2:57 remaining. But, Austin Peay (17-11/8-9 OVC) was able to nail five free throws in the final two minutes and forced two turnovers in the last 30 seconds as the hosts thwarted MSU's gritty effort.

The Eagles also helped their cause by knocking down a season-best 23-of-24 (95 percent) from the free throw line.

The Eagles (10-19/6-11 OVC) drilled 54 percent (13-of-24) in the final half after trailing 37-27 at the halftime intermission. MSU was 7-of-9 in the third quarter alone. Elston registered 13 of her 21 markers in the third quarter when she hit 5-of-5 from the field.

Freshman forward Ariel Kirkwood notched her seventh career double-double with 16 points and a team-high 11 rebounds, while senior guard Breuna Jackson and sophomore forward Ellie Jo Johnson each scored 10. Both were perfect at the free throw stripe (6-of-6).

Morehead State found itself behind 39-27 with 9:54 left in the third period, but a pair of free throws by Jackson and a Kirkwood layup brought it back to 39-31. APSU scored the next field goal, but then MSU proceeded to outscore the Lady Govs 17-7 in the final seven minutes of the stanza to tie the game 48-all heading to the final period. Elston scored seven straight of the Eagles' points in the middle of the run.

Austin Peay pushed ahead 59-54 with just more than four minutes left before the Eagles went on a 6-0 run, capped by Elston's go-ahead triple.

The teams tied on the rebounding battle, 39-all. Johnson and senior Orlandra Humphries each corralled seven boards.

Ella Sawyer paced the home squad with 21 points as well.

The loss eliminates the Eagles from the Ohio Valley Conference Championship Tournament. It will be the first time since the 2015-16 season that MSU will miss the eight-team tournament. 
 
Morehead State puts the finishing touches on its 2019-20 season Saturday in a 4:30 p.m. ET tip-off at Eastern Kentucky.