MOREHEAD, Ky. – Facing the defending Ohio Valley Conference champion and the team that sat atop the conference standings entering the evening didn't deter Morehead State women's basketball. The Eagles (5-8; 4-5 OVC) fended off a late rally attempt from Southeast Missouri (7-5; 5-2 OVC) to claim a 58-57 victory Thursday at Johnson Arena.
Trailing by two at the half, Morehead State blitzed the Redhawks in the second half, opening the half on a 9-5 run to take a lead it'd never relinquish. The Eagles led for the final 17:54 of the game, seeing the score tied five times during the second half.
Sophomore
Ariel Kirkwood and redshirt senior
Tyler Moore led the way offensively for the Eagles, combining to score 30 of the team's 58 points, pouring in 16 and 14 points, respectively. Moore connected four times from deep, including three clutch treys in the second half to tie the game, put the Eagles up by four, and put the team up by five heading into the later minutes of the game.
On the boards, junior
Ellie Jo Johnson pulled down 11 crucial boards for Morehead State to lead the team, including five rebounds in the fourth quarter, three of which came in the final three minutes of the game. Her biggest rebound came with 18 seconds remaining in the game, collecting the deflection of a Nyrobi Pillers' shot attempted blocked by redshirt sophomore
Lauren Carter with the Eagles holding the final one-point advantage.
Defensively, Morehead State turned up the pressure, rejecting 13 Southeast Missouri shots. Redshirt sophomore
Gabby Crawford led the Eagles with a career-high seven rejections as she's now blocked 17 shots in her last three outings—all Morehead State victories.
Morehead State returns to Johnson Arena Saturday for an afternoon meeting with UT Martin. The Eagles and Skyhawks get underway at 1 p.m. ET with the game airing on ESPN+ and the Kentucky Office of Highway Safety Eagle Sports Network (MSUEagles.com or WIVY-96.3 FM).
KEY MOMENTS
- With the game knotted at 3-3, Southeast Missouri used a 7-0 run to open up a first-quarter lead, growing the lead to as much as eight, the largest lead for the Redhawks in the game.
- Morehead State trimmed the lead throughout the latter half of the first quarter behind a pair of three-pointers from Jazzmyn Elston and Tyler Moore and a lane jumper from Gabby Crawford.
- Both defenses tightened in the second quarter as the two teams combined for just 18 total points in the period. The two teams traded points to open the quarter before the Eagles went on a 4-0 run—aided by a presence in the paint—to pull within two.
- Morehead State captured the momentum heading into the half as Ariel Kirkwood canned a three-ball with two seconds remaining in the second quarter, trimming the halftime lead to two.
- The Eagles came out of the locker room and jumped on Southeast Missouri, using a 9-5 advantage to open the quarter to take the lead for good. The Redhawks would tie the game at 35-all before a timeout by Southeast Missouri head coach Rekha Patterson.
- After the timeout, Morehead State wouldn't look back the remainder of the game, seeing just four ties, as the team led for the final 17:54 of the game.
- Morehead State would extend its lead to as large as five in the second half, reaching the advantage twice, both times aided by treys from Tyler Moore.
- Southeast Missouri would attempt to claw back from the deficit in the fourth quarter, but Morehead State answered each Redhawk spurt to maintain the final one-point advantage.
- With 18 seconds remaining in the game, Lauren Carter recorded the team's 13th block, turning away a Nyrobi Pillers' layup attempt. Ellie Jo Johnson corralled the rebound for Morehead State—her 11th of the game and fourth of the quarter—to earn Morehead State the possession.
KEY STATS
- Morehead State's victory Thursday pushes its Ohio Valley Conference winning streak to three games, the team's longest conference win streak since winning the final three games of the 2018-19 regular season and the first game of the 2018-19 OVC Tournament.
- Ellie Jo Johnson's 11 rebounds, including five in the fourth quarter, marked a season-high for the junior. For her career, the game marked her fourth career game with a double-digit rebounding total.
- Turning away seven shots Thursday, Gabby Crawford established a career-best mark in blocked shots for the second time in the last three games. During the Eagles' three-game winning streak, she's rejected 17 opponent attempts.
- Over the last five games, Ariel Kirkwood has dished out 25 assists for Morehead State, including a game-high five Thursday night. The 25 assists are the most for an Eagle in a five-game stretch since Darianne Seward dished out 26 in five games from Nov. 20, 2018, to Dec. 12, 2018.
- Morehead State committed just 11 turnovers against Southeast Missouri, the team's lowest turnover total of the season.
