Eagle Women Top Upstate 78-64 in Home Opener

Morehead, Ky. -- Morehead State got off to a quick start in their home opener, weathered a USC-Upstate rally and cruised to a 78-67 victory Saturday afternoon in Johnson Arena.

"We're still fighting the battle of putting together four good quarters," said MSU head coach Ashton Feldhaus.  "We got off to a good start and then they made a run. We responded and I think that's a sign of a team with poise."

Morehead State (2-3) was led by Laura Toffali with 20 points, matching her season high. Kate Dike posted her second career double-double with a career-high 18 points and 10 rebounds. Violet McNece finished with 13 points.

The Eagles jumped out of the gates quickly with a 13-0 run from the opening tipoff, highlighted by two Dike three-pointers. Dike paced Morehead State with 10 points in the opening 10 minutes.

"I think Kate is just scratching the surface of what she can do," said Feldhaus. "She is not used to be relied upon. She'll disappear for a couple of minutes and we have to remind her to assert herself down in the post. She's such a sweet kid and we are just trying to instill some of that killer mentality.

MSU stretched the lead to 23-4 on an Anja Ekstrom three-pointer, and led 25-10 after the first ten minutes. 

The Eagles' offense ramped up in the second quarter; MSU shot 10-15 (67%) and 5-8 (63%) from three-point range. Morehead State extended their lead to 26 with Circe Rubio Remolar's layup with 2:29 left in the half. The Eagles went into the intermission ahead 51-30.

USC-Upstate (2-5) mounted a comeback out of the half. Led by Cassie Gallagher's 15 points, the Spartans outscored the Eagles 20-11. Gallagher hit five of her nine field goal attempts and three of her four three-point attempts. Upstate outscored MSU 20-11 in the frame and trailed 62-50 going into the final quarter.

Gallagher finished with a career-high 35 points. Center Aijah Palmore recorded a 10-10 double-double.

The Eagles went cold in the third quarter, hitting just three of their 21 shots from the floor and went 1-12 from behind the arc. Gallagher scored Upstate's last 15 points of the quarter.

The teams played evenly in the fourth quarter, Upstate cut the Eagle lead to nine on two occasions, but Morehead State but a 10-2 run capped by Laura Toffali's three-pointer with 4:10 left turned the Spartan rally.

Morehead State returns to the Johnson Arena court Wednesday when they host Eastern Kentucky. Tipoff is scheduled for noon. The game can be seen on ESPN+.
 
NOTABLE

• MSU finished 24-64 (38%) from the field and 12-37 (32%) from three-point range. Upstate finished 24-57 (42%) from the floor and 8-20 (40%) from beyond the arc.
• The Eagles shot 18-23 (78%) from the free throw line. The Spartans shot 8-14 (57%) from the charity stripe.
• Upstate won the rebounding battle 39-38. The teams were even in second-chance points, 10-10.
• Morehead State capitalized on 22 Spartan turnovers while committing a season-low 11 miscues. MSU dominated with a 23-8 advantage in points off turnovers.
• MSU's Marie Sepp dished out a career-high 10 assists.
• Toffali finished with a season-high five steals.