Morehead, Ky.-- The Morehead State women's basketball team battled hot-shooting and a tenacious defensive effort from Southern Indiana and fell 79-65 Tuesday night in Liberty Arena in Evansville, Ind.
The Eagles (6-7, 1-2 OVC) were led in scoring by Aileen Marquez, who tossed in a career-high 23 points. The senior guard, who had been struggling a bit as of late, shot 8-18 from the floor, including 5-12 from three-point range. This is her third 20+ performance on the season and her sixth game in double figures.
Freshman Maia Rosarion recorded her first career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 11 rebounds, which was also a game high. Sophomore Kate Novik finished with 11 points on 4-9 shooting from the field and 3-4 from the free throw line.
Southern Indiana (10-3, 3-0 OVC) was led by Meredith Raley with 20 points. Vanessa Shafford had 12 and Sophia Loden finished with 10.
Southern Indiana opened with an eight-point run to start the game. Novik hit a driving layup on the left side to finally get the Eagles on the board at the 7:48 mark, and Marquez hit her first three-pointer of the game to make it 8-5. USI ended the quarter up 30-17, largely on the strength of a 12-0 run down the stretch of the quarter.
In the second quarter, USI used a 14-2 run down the stretch to extend their lead to as much as 22 before taking a 48-30 lead into halftime. In the first half, the Screaming Eagles shot 19-38 from the floor and out-rebounded Morehead State 27-15.
Southern Indiana's hot shooting continued into the third quarter, with the Screaming Eagles shooting 8-13 (61.5%) in the frame, outscoring MSU 21-13 to take a 69-43 lead into the fourth quarter.
USI finally cooled off in the final frame shooting just 3-12 (25%) from the field and MSU outscored Southern Indiana 22-10 in the final ten minutes.
BY THE NUMBERS
