Morehead, Ky. – Morehead State battled a cold shooting night and rallied late but fell to Little Rock 76-63 Tuesday night in Ellis T. Johnson Arena.
Morehead State (4-7, 0-1 OVC) hit just three of 25 (12%) from three-point range for the game, making just one of 15 in the first 20 minutes. The Eagles were led by
Kate Dike who posted her third double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Landon Forbes added 13.
Laura Toffali and
Marie Sepp both finished with 12 points each.
Little Rock (4-6, 1-0 OVC) was led by Jordan Holman with a game-high 25 points. Brenna Burk finished with 19 points, a new career high. Mya Cotto added 11 for the Trojans.
Both teams struggled offensively in the opening quarter. Little Rock hit 29% from the field and just one of their four three-point shots, while Morehead State hit just two of their 12 shots from the floor. The Eagles hit six of their eight free throws and trailed 12-10 at the quarter break.
Little Rock went on an 8-0 run early in the second quarter capped by a Cotto three-pointer with 6:51 to go in the half to take the lead 22-14. The Trojans stretched the lead to ten points at 31-21 with a Burk trey with 1:19 to go. The Eagles got a bucket by Toffali with 26 seconds to go and went into the intermission trailing 31-23.
Little Rock stretched the lead to 12 early in the third quarter. The Eagles responded with a six-point run and cut the deficit to three points with two free throws by
Violet McNece at the 5:28 mark. Morehead State was hampered by five turnovers in the quarter, leading to an 8-0 Trojan edge in points off turnovers. Little Rock led 53-44 heading into the final frame.
The Trojans expanded their lead to 13 with just under nine minutes to go on a Holman layup. The Eagles clawed back and closed to within three with a Sepp layup off of a steal with 2:09 to go. Little Rock closed out the game with a 12-2 run to seal the win.
NOTABLE
- The Eagles finished the game shooting 20-51(39%) from the floor. MSU hit just 8-28 (29%) in the first half then improved to 52% (12-23) from the floor in the second half. Little Rock finished the game hitting 26-64 (41%) from the floor, including 10-24 (42%) from three-point range.
- Little Rock out-rebounded the Eagles 39-31. The Trojans edged the Eagles 9-6 in second chance points.
- Morehead State hit 20 of their 24 free throws (83%). Little Rock hit 14 or 17 (83%) from the charity stripe.
- Morehead State committed 14 turnovers. Little Rock coughed up 12 turnovers. Little Rock had a 16-14 edge in points off turnovers.
