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MOREHEAD, Ky. – After outlasting Tennessee Tech in a back-and-forth battle at Johnson Arena Thursday, Morehead State women's basketball returns home for a weekend contest versus Jacksonville State.

The Eagles enter the contest after defeating Tennessee Tech 65-62 behind a career-high double-double from redshirt sophomore Gabby Crawford. The Munford, Tenn. native led Morehead State with a career-high-tying and game-high 17 points while corralling a career-best 18 rebounds, 14 of which she pulled down in the first half. She added to her career night with a career-high five blocks, leading the Eagle defense to 10 total blocks in the contest.

Joining Crawford in double-figures were junior Ellie Jo Johnson, redshirt sophomore Lauren Carter, and sophomore Ariel Kirkwood who added 13, 11, and 10 points respectively, giving Morehead State its first game with four players with 10 or more points since February 27, 2020, versus Austin Peay.

Heading into Saturday's game with Jacksonville State, Morehead State enters as the top blocking team in the Ohio Valley Conference and one of the top shot-blocking teams in the NCAA. The Eagles lead the nation in blocks per game, averaging 8.9 blocks per contest, with the team's 62 total blocks ranking third in the country. Kirkwood leads the OVC in both total blocks (27) and blocks per game (3.86), ranking seventh and third in the NCAA, respectively, in the two categories.

The Eagles are also the only team in the OVC to hold the distinction of placing three or more players in the top-10 of the league's leaderboards for rebounding and shot-blocking. Morehead State ranks four players in the top-10 in the OVC in shot-blocking while three players find themselves in the league's top-10 in rebounding.

The Eagles also are the only program in the OVC with three players averaging eight or more rebounds per game with the team ranking second in the conference in rebounding, grabbing 41.71 boards per contest. Morehead State also ranks third in the league in rebounding margin with a +3.1 margin.

Saturday's game tips off at 1 p.m. ET and airs 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 (2-5; 1-2 OVC) | Jacksonville State (5-2; 2-1 OVC)
Series: Morehead State leads 23-15
Last Five Meetings: Jan. 25, 2020 (MOR 69, JSU 55) | Jan. 02, 2020 (MOR 67, JSU 48) | March 6, 2019 (MOR 77, JSU 60) | Feb. 21, 2019 (JSU 68, MOR 57) | Jan. 26, 2019 (MOR 77, JSU 56)

NOTABLE
With a victory Thursday against Tennessee Tech, Morehead State head coach Greg Todd earned his 100th career victory at Morehead State. In reaching 100 victories at MSU, Todd becomes the third coach in program history to reach 100 victories as the Eagle head coach, joining Mickey Wells (156) and Loretta Marlow (110) with the honor.

For the second time this season, Gabby Crawford recorded a double-double in which she tied or set career-highs in scoring and rebounding, having also done so against Dayton to open the season. Against Tennessee Tech she tied her career-high with 17 points while grabbing a career-best 18 rebounds, 14 of which she corralled in the first half.

Crawford's double-double versus Tennessee Tech was her third double-double this year, ranking her second in the OVC in the category and 43rd in the country. She trails only Eastern Illinois' Abby Wahl (four) for the conference lead in double-doubles.

With eight offensive rebounds against Tennessee Tech, Crawford tied a Morehead State team season-high for offensive rebounds. She joins Ariel Kirkwood, who grabbed eight offensive boards versus Bowling Green on Dec. 19, as the two Eagles that have grabbed the season-high single-game high for offensive boards.

It wasn't just points and rebounds where Crawford tied or set career-highs as she led the Eagles with a career-best five blocks, bettering her previous high of two blocks which she tallied on three occasions this season, including against Bowling Green on Dec. 19.

Three other players joined Crawford in double-figures Thursday as Ellie Jo Johnson added 13 points, Lauren Carter chipped in 11, and Ariel Kirkwood scored 10. The game marked the first with four players scoring in double-figures for Morehead State since February 27, 2020, versus Austin Peay.

Scoring 13 points against Tennessee Tech, Johnson has now scored 10 or more points in each of the last three games—all starts. The 13 points tied a season-high scoring mark for the junior while also making her the only Eagle with three consecutive contests with double-digit scoring figures.

Rejecting 10 Golden Eagles shots Thursday, Morehead State has out-blocked its opponent in each game this season while reaching double-figure block totals in four of seven games during the 2020-21 campaign. On the season, the Eagles rank third in the NCAA in total blocks while the team's 8.9 blocks per game lead the nation.

Under Todd, Morehead State has consistently been the top blocking team in the OVC, being the only team to exceed 100 or more blocks a season in each of the past six seasons and finishing lower than the league's leader in total blocks and blocks per game once apiece, in 2014-15 and 2017-18, respectively. In the Greg-Todd era, the Eagles have blocked 1,115 shots, averaging 5.7 blocks per game.

With 27 blocks in seven games, an average of 3.86 blocks per contest, Kirkwood leads the Ohio Valley Conference in both total blocks and blocks per game, ranking seventh and third in the categories, respectively.

With four players amongst the top-10 in the OVC in blocks per game, Morehead State is the only team in the league to feature three or more players ranked in the top-10. Kirkwood (3.86) leads the OVC while Crawford (1.9) ranks second, Carter (1.29) ranks seventh, and Johnson (0.9) ranks 10th.

Morehead State also the only team in the OVC to have three players rank in the top-10 in the league in rebounding while also being the only team in the league with two or more players averaging eight or more rebounds per contest. Kirkwood (8.9), Crawford (8.7), and Carter (8.1) rank third, fourth, and seventh in the conference, respectively, in rebounding.

As a team, Morehead State ranks second in the OVC in rebounding, having pulled down 292 rebounds in seven games for an average of 41.71 boards per contest. The Eagles trail league leader Southeast Missouri by four-hundredths of a rebound per game and ranks third in the conference with a +3.1 rebounding margin.

After reaching the free throw line 21 times Thursday versus Tennessee Tech, Morehead State continues to lead the league in average attempts at the free throw line, averaging 21.29 free throw attempts per game. The Eagles have reached the charity stripe 149 times this season, a total that ranks second in the OVC.

Crawford leads Morehead State and the OVC in reaching the free throw line, reaching 53 total times this season. Including her nine free throw attempts Thursday, she has reached the free throw line six or more times in six of seven games this year. In addition, her 40 free throws made this year leads the OVC.