BOX SCORE
CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO -- Morehead State fell victim to a 12-2 to end the first half, and never regained the lead, falling 69-55 to the SEMO Redhawks on the road Saturday.
The Eagles had two players score in double figures, led by Valentina Saric, who matched her career-high that she set earlier this season against SEMO with 12 points. Veronica Charles added 11 points and six rebounds and Sandra Lin added nine points and two steals.
Morehead State forced 14 Southeast Missouri State turnovers. The Eagles turned those takeaways into 17 points on the offensive end of the floor. Lin's two steals led the way for Morehead State.
The Eagles return to Johnson Arena Thursday for a matchup against Tennessee State. Tip-off is slated for 6:00 PM.
How It Happened
After falling behind 9-4, Morehead State went on an 8-0 run with 4:57 left in the first quarter, culminating in a bucket from Lin, to take a 12-9 lead. The Eagles then surrendered that lead and entered the second quarter down 14-12.
Morehead State then started off the second quarter by going on a 5-0 run, highlighted by a bucket from Tolisha Walker, to take a 17-14 lead. The Redhawks then came roaring back to take a 32-23 lead heading into halftime.
SEMO continued to increase its lead after halftime, building a 50-31 advantage before Morehead State went on a 9-0 run, punctuated by a basket from Lin, to trim its deficit to 50-40 with eight seconds to go in the third, a score which remained until the end of the third quarter. Morehead State's bench made the most of its minutes in the period, as non-starters totaled seven of the team's 17 third-quarter points.
SEMO kept widening its lead in the fourth, constructing a 58-42 advantage before Morehead State went on a 6-0 run, finished off by Melissa Secchiaroli's three, to shrink the deficit to 58-48 with 7:00 to go in the contest. SEMOÂ responded and outscored the Eagles the rest of the way, ending the game with a final score of 69-55. Morehead State fired away from deep in the quarter, knocking down two shots to account for six of its 15 points.
Game Notes
» The Eagles held the Redhawks to only 37.5 percent shooting from the field.
» The Morehead State bench came alive by scoring 21 points to its scoring output.
» The Morehead State defense forced 14 turnovers.
» Valentina Saric led the Eagles with 12 points.
» Morehead State got a team-high six rebounds from Veronica Charles.
