Morehead, Ky.-- The Morehead State women's basketball team used a hot start on the offensive end and an opportunistic defense to upend Jackson State 87-57 Saturday in the Spartan Shootout Thanksgiving Tournament in Spartanburg, S.C.
Morehead State (3-4) had three players end in double figures, led by Kate Novik and Harley Paynter. Novik had an efficient afternoon, going 6-9 from the floor, 1-1 from three-point range and made all four of her free throw attempts.
Paynter shot 6-11 from the field, including 5-8 from three-point land. Aileen Marquez, playing only 21 minutes, added 14 points on 6-12 shooting from the floor including 2-5 from behind the arc.
Michelle Ugwah just missed her first career double-double with nine points and a career-high 11 rebounds.
Less than 24 hours after missing their first 16 three-point attempts yesterday against USC Upstate, Morehead State turned it around Saturday, hitting 9-18 from long range for the game. The Eagles shot 49% from the field for the game.
Morehead State was red-hot in the first quarter. After a JSU bucket tied it at 10 at the 5:48 mark, the Eagles closed out the frame outscoring Jackson State 18-7 to make it 28-17 at the first break.
The Eagles went 13-18 (72%) from the floor in the first period. Jackson State shot 54%, but eight turnovers proved to be crippling, leading to 16 Morehead State points.
Morehead State opened the second quarter with a five-point run, and Paynter's three-pointer at 8:43 gave the Eagles a 36-19 lead. JSU responded with a seven-point run of their own, capped by a Taleah Dilworth driving layup to cut the lead to 10 at 36-26.
The Eagles outscored the Tigers 9-4 through the end of the quarter and led 45-30 at the intermission.
MSU came out of the half and picked up right where they left off. Three-pointers by Paynter and Marquez got the scoring started, and the Eagles ran off to a 15-5 run to start the third quarter. Ugwah's hook shot at 6:20 put the Eagles up 60-35.
The Eagles poured it on; Paynter's fifth made three-ball of the day put MSU on top 71-42 with 1:29 to go in the quarter. MSU went to the fourth quarter leading 72-47.
Morehead State outscored JSU 15-10 in the final frame, cruising to the 30-point win.
The Tigers (1-5) were led by Taleah Dilworth with 16 points.
Morehead State will return to action Wednesday when it host Alice Lloyd College in Johnson Arena. Tipoff for the Education Day tilt is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. ET.
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