GAME NOTES | SCHEDULE PAGE (Links to Live Audio, Live Video and Live Stats)
Morehead, Ky. -- Morehead State hits the road for a Thursday Ohio Valley Conference tilt in Charleston, Ill., with Eastern Illinois. Tipoff in Groniger Arena is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. ET. The game can be heard on the Eagle Sports Network (flagship WIVY 96.3 FM) with Tom Lewis and Wes Holland on the call. It can also be watched on ESPN+.
Morehead State is coming off a 79-53 win over Tennessee State Saturday in Johnson Arena.
Josefine Enander led Morehead State with 20 points.
Violet McNece added 15 points, hitting three of six from three-point range and was a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line.
Landon Forbes stuffed the stat sheet; she scored 14 points and pulled down six rebounds. Forbes set new career highs with eight assists and eight steals.
Kate Dike just missed her eighth double double of the season with 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
The Eagles shot 36% (12-33) from three-point land and went 17 of 21 (81%) from the free throw line. MSU turned 26 Tennessee State turnovers into a 16-7 advantage in points off turnovers.
Eastern Illinois is coming off a 73-53 loss to Little Rock Saturday in Groniger Arena. It was a tough shooting day for the Panthers: EIU hit 28% (15-54) from the field and just 4-24 (17%) from three point range. Nyah Hardy led EIU with nine points.
Morehead State downed Eastern Illinois 52-48 on January 24 in Johnson Arena.
Laura Toffali paced the Eagles with 22 points, hitting six of 11 from the floor and going 10-12 at the free throw line.
Kate Dike tossed in 12 points as the Eagles overcame a tough shooting morning. The game time had been moved up to 10:00 a.m. due to the pending winter storm system that moved through the southeastern United States.
The Eagles hit 16 of 53 shots from the field for 30%. MSU hit just two of their 19 three-pointers. EIU went 16-57 (28%) from the floor and connected on just five of their 27 treys (19%).
RECORDS/STREAK
Morehead State 16-11, 11-5 OVC/ W 1
Eastern Illinois 4-23, 3-13 OVC/ L 3
SERIES
Record vs. EIU: 24-26
Last Meeting: MSU won 52-48 (1/24/26) in Morehead
First Meeting: EIU won 65-57 (1/11/97) in Charleston
Streak: MSU, 1 game
Record in Morehead: 14-12
Record in Charleston: 10-14
Record at Neutral Sites: 0-0
NOTABLE
- Morehead State ranks fifth in the conference averaging 62.6 points per game in conference play. Defensively, the Eagles rank second in the OVC allowing an average of 59.8 points per game in OVC games.
- With four games remaining on the schedule, the Eagles are fourth in the OVC standings at 11-5, a game behind Lindenwood and Southern Indiana. MSU is two games ahead of Little Rock and UT Martin who are tied for fifth at 9-7.
- Morehead State has gone 6-2 in the last eight games. In that span, the Eagles have hit 78.5% of their free throw attempts (102-130) while their opponents have hit 74%. In league play MSU has hit 73.9% from the line. On the season, MSU is hitting free throws at a 70.6% rate.
- In the last eight games, Landon Forbes hit 20-23 (87.0%) from the free throw line. Laura Toffali hit 31-39 (79.5%) from the line.
- Morehead State is hitting three-pointers at a 30.9% rate in conference play, ranking sixth in the OVC. When Morehead State has hit threes at a 35% or better rate in league play, they have posted a 6-1 record. When the Eagles have shot less than 35% in league play, they have posted a 5-4 record.
- In the last eight games, the Eagles averaged 12.5 turnovers per outing. Their opponents have coughed up the ball an average of 19.4 times per game.
- The Eagles are averaging 15.0 turnovers per game in conference games. On the season MSU is turning the ball over at a 16.0 turnovers per game clip.
- In conference games, the Eagles have posted a 5-1 record when they have turned the ball over 13 times or fewer. When MSU has turned the ball over 13 times, it has posted a 5-4 record in league games.
- In conference play, MSU leads the OVC with 164 steals (10.3 per game). For the season, the Eagles ranks second in the conference averaging 9.7 steals per game. Southern Indiana leads the OVC averaging 10.4 steals per game for the whole season.
- Laura Toffali leads tops the OVC with 80 steals this season. That ranks tied for 16th in the country. Her 2.96 steals per game rate ranks 19th in the nation.
- Kate Dike leads Morehead State averaging 15.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game in league play, ranking sixth in the OVC in both categories. She is averaging 14.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game this season overall.
- Dike ranks fifth in the OVC hitting 46.9% from the floor in league play. Her 15 blocks in conference games are tied for seventh in the OVC.
- Toffali ranks 18th in the OVC averaging 11.4 points per game in conference games. On the season, the Italian averages 11.9 points per game.
- Toffali ranks 12th in the OVC hitting 74.7% from the free throw line in conference games. On the season, she is hitting free throws at a 68.2% rate.
- Marie Sepp missed the last two games due to an injured ankle suffered at UT Martin on February 7. Her status is a game-time decision. Sepp has 120 assists this season which leads the OVC and ranks 47th in the country. Her 4.8 assists per game rate leads the conference and also ranks 47th in the nation.
- Landon Forbes was named the OVC Newcomer of the Week Tuesday for her play last week. After leading the Eagles with 18 points last Thursday against Tennessee Tech, Forbes stuffed the stat sheet Saturday in MSU's 79-53 win over Tennessee State. She posted 14 points, six rebounds and set new career-highs with eight assists and eight steals.
- Forbes' eight steals Saturday tied for the second-most in a game in the past 15 seasons.
- Forbes ranks fourth in the OVC averaging 3.6 assists per game in conference games. She ranks second in the OVC with a 1.54 assist/turnover ratio.
- Violet McNece has averaged 12.5 points per game in the last eight games, the second-most on the club. On the season, she is averaging 9.3 points per game. McNece has finished in double figures in 11 games this season, including the last four in a row.
- In the last eight games, McNece shot 22-43 (51.2%) from three-point range. She has hit 54.5% (36-66) from the floor in the last eight outings. She ranks ninth in the OVC with 29 threes made in conference games.
- Josefine Enander poured in 20 points Saturday against Tennessee State, her second 20+ points performance of the season. She hit five of her seven three-point attempts and went seven of nine from the floor.
- Enander ranks t-13 in the OVC with 23 made treys in conference games.
- Enander has hit 10 of her 11 free throws this season.
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Head coach Marqus McGlothan is in his second season at the helm of the EIU women's basketball program and his fourth year in Charleston. He has posted a 22-35 overall record and an 18-18 mark in Ohio Valley Conference play.
The Panthers have been decimated by injuries this season. Only one player (Clara Glad) has appeared in all 27 games this season. EIU ranks last in the OVC averaging 57.8 points per game in conference play. EIU ranks ninth in the OVC allowing 67.6 points per game. The Panthers average 17.3 turnovers per game in league play, the second-most in the OVC.
EIU has hoisted 345 three-point attempts, third-most in the OVC in conference games. The Panthers rank 10
th in the OVC hitting 29% from distance.
- Ava Stoller leads EIU averaging 11.8 points per game this season, ranking 18th in the OVC. Her 2.93 assists per game in OVC play rank 10th in the OVC. Stoller is outstanding at the free throw line hitting 88.1% (74-84). That's the third-best in the OVC and is the 26th-best accuracy in the country.
- Sydney-James Desroches missed most of November and December due to injury: she has appeared in only 14 games this season making 12 starts. She has played and started in 12 of EIU's 16 conference games, averaging 11.2 points (20th in the OVC) and 6.6 rebounds per game (11th in the OVC).
