Women's Hoops Upsets Western Illinois 63-53

Morehead, Ky.-- Morehead State ran off the first five points of the game, never trailed and the Eagles upset Western Illinois 63-53 Thursday night in Johnson Arena.
 
"What an awesome win for our group," said Morehead State head coach Ashton Feldhaus. "We just keep getting better and better. That was the best execution of the game plan all season. Offensively, I still don't think we put together a great game, but to hold Western Illinois to 53 points, defense won the game for us tonight."
 
Morehead State (11-9, 6-3 OVC) had four players in double figures. Violet McNece led all scorers and set a new career-high with 18 points. McNece hit seven of her nine shots from the floor, including four of her six three-point attempts. Kate Dike finished with 17, Laura Toffali finished with 13. Marie Sepp notched her second double-double of the season with 10 rebounds, playing all 40 minutes.
 
"Marie is the heartbeat of our team," said Feldhaus. "We are six and one now when Marie scores in double-figures. She's wonderful at getting her teammates involved, but when she gets going north and south, we feed off that."

Morehead State opened the game by hitting four of their first six shots, including both three-point attempts, while Western Illinois hit just one of their first seven, and MSU led at the first media timeout 10-3. The Eagles finished the opening period hitting five of 13 from the floor (39%) and two for five from three-point range. WIU went five of 15 from the floor in the first ten minutes. The Eagles led 14-13.
 
The Eagles outscored the Leathernecks 14-11 in the second quarter. MSU hit five of their 12 field goals attempts while WIU hit just three of 10 from the floor. The Eagles led 28-24 at the half.
 
Western Illinois (15-3, 7-2 OVC) was led by Addi Brownfield with 17 points. Mallory Shetley added 15 and Mia Nicastro finished with 12.
 
Western Illinois rallied out of the intermission, outscoring the Eagles 20-19. The Leathernecks rode eight of 11 shooting (73%) from the floor in the period to rally. Morehead State led 47-44 heading into the final 10 minutes.
 
Both teams struggled from the floor to begin the fourth quarter. WIU hit just two of their first seven field goal attempts and MSU made just one of their first 11 shots. The Eagles hit just two of their 15 field goal attempts while WIU hit only four of their 13 attempts. Morehead State iced the game in the final period hitting 11 of their 12 free throws in the quarter. MSU also dominated on the glass 16 7 in the period. MSU outscored WIU 16-9 in the period.
 
Morehead State is scheduled to return to action Saturday to host Eastern Illinois in Johnson Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET. Officials at Morehead State and Eastern Illinois are considering changing the time of the game or even postponing it to a later date due to the impending winter storm bearing down on the Ohio Valley.
 
MSU Athletics will advise of any changes via the official website msueagle.com and on social media.
 
NOTABLE

• Morehead State shot 20-60 (33%) from the floor, including 7-23 (30%) from three-point range. Western Illinois shot 20-49 (41%) from the floor and 5-16 (31%) from beyond the arc.
• The Eagles were excellent at the free throw line hitting 16-18 (89%) from the field. Toffali was 6-6, Sepp was 4-4 and Dike was 6-8.  The Leathernecks finished 8-12 (67%) from the free throw line.
• Morehead State outrebounded Western Illinois 36-32. The Eagles got 16 offensive rebounds and had a 14-5 advantage in second chance points.
• Morehead State committed a season-low nine turnovers, while Western Illinois finished with 15. MSU had a 17-6 advantage in points off turnovers.