Morehead, Ky. – Morehead State battled a tough Southern Indiana defense but couldn't overcome the Screaming Eagle pressure and lost in their conference road opener 78-59 Saturday in Liberty Arena in Evansville, Indiana.
Morehead State (4-8, 0-2 OVC) committed 25 turnovers leading to 33 Southern Indiana points off turnovers. The Eagles were led by
Laura Toffali with 20 points, her fourth outing of the season posting 20 or more points. Toffali hit six of her 11 field goal attempts and eight of her 10 free throws.
Kate Dike added 12 points for the Eagles.
Southern Indiana (8-2, 2-0 OVC) was led by point guard Ali Saunders, who posted a career-high 35 points. Chloe Gannon added 15 and sister Channah Gannon added 12.
The Eagles struggled in the early stages of the game with Southern Indiana's pressure defense. Morehead State committed eight turnovers in the opening 10 minutes, leading to 16 points off turnovers for the Screaming Eagles. USI also grabbed nine offensive rebounds, leading to seven second-chance points.
Morehead State struggled to score to open the second quarter, getting their first bucket in the frame on a Toffali turnaround jumper in the lane at the 5:24 mark. The Eagles committed five turnovers in the first four minutes of the quarter, then gave up only one the rest of the period. MSU chipped away at the USI lead and ended the quarter with a 7-1 run to trail at the intermission 38-30.
Southern Indiana came out of the half and opened on a 10-point run to increase their lead to 48-30. The Eagles chipped away and got the lead down to 10 on an Enander three-pointer at 1:05. USI out-scored Morehead State 22-16 and led 60-46 heading to the final quarter.
The teams played evenly in the final frame. MSU cut the USI lead to 11 on a driving layup by
Landon Forbes at 6:07 to make it 64-53. A seven-point USI run expanded the lead, and USI closed the game outscoring MSU 18-13 in the final period.
Morehead State has a break for the Christmas holiday and will return to action on Sunday, December 28 when they host Kentucky Christian as part of a men's/women's double-header. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:30.
NOTABLE
- Morehead State shot 47% from the floor to just 41% for USI. The Eagles managed 21 fewer shots than the Screaming Eagles. MSU was 20-43 from the floor and 5-18 from three-point range for the game. USI went 26-64 and 7-23 from three-point range.
- USI out-rebounded MSU 40-27. Half of USI's rebounds were on the offensive glass. The hosts held a 14-9 edge in second-chance points. USI's Sophia Loden pulled down a game-high 11 boards, including seven offensive rebounds.
- Morehead State was 14-23 (61%) at the free throw line. Southern Indiana was 19-26 (73%) at the line. The teams were called for 45 fouls combined (MSU 23-USI 22)
- Josephine Enander tied her career-high with nine points, shooting 3-9 from three-point range. She played a season-high 37 minutes in the game.
