Eagle Women Escape with 74-70 Win at Eastern Illinois

Morehead, Ky. -- Morehead State Women's Basketball led most of the night and turned back a determined Eastern Illinois effort in the second half to come away with a 74-70 win Thursday night in Groniger Arena in Charleston, Illinois.

Morehead State (17-11, 12-5 OVC) was led by Violet McNece, who set a new career high with 19 points. Kate Dike, coming off the bench for the second straight game, tossed in 17, hitting seven of nine from the free throw line.
 
Laura Toffali and Marie Sepp each added 12 for MSU. Sepp, returning after missing the last two games, was very efficient. She hit five of her six field goal attempts and was one of two from the free throw line. Landon Forbes battled foul trouble the entire second half, fouling out midway through the fourth quarter, but she led all players with eight rebounds and seven assists.
 
Eastern Illinois (4-24, 3-14 OVC), trailing by five at the half, came back in the third quarter.  A late 9-0 run put EIU ahead 49-46. A three-pointer by Circe Rubio Remolar tied it up at 49-49. The Eagles went cold in the period hitting just four of their 14 field goal attempts. Morehead State was whistled for nine fouls and the Panthers hit eight of their 12 free throws in the frame. EIU outscored the Eagles 17-12 in the period and the teams went to the final quarter tied at 49-49.
 
The final ten minutes featured 11 lead changes. Morehead State hit nine of its 11 field goal attempts (82%). Dike came up big in the final quarter with nine points. Sepp tossed in seven in the frame.
 
Tied at 70-70, Rubio Remolar  hit a driving layup with 34 seconds to play. After an EIU miss, McNece put the game on ice by making two free throws with eight seconds to play.
 
EIU was led by Ava Stoller with 20 points. Ella Lune finished with 19 and Meioshe Mason added 12 points.
 
The Eagles opened the game with a seven-point run. MSU shot 53% from the floor, forced five EIU turnovers and led 19-15 after the first period. NcNece led MSU with seven points in the period. Toffali had six in the opening period.
 
Eastern Illinois came back and got its first lead of the game on a pair of Ava Stoller free throws at the 4:30 mark of the second quarter. MSU responded with a five-point run and led 37-32 at the intermission. Violet McNece led all scorers with 14 points at the half, shooting six of nine from the floor and hit two of her five three-point attempts.
 
Morehead State will wrap up its road trip Saturday when the Eagles take on Western Illinois in Macomb. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. ET. The game can be heard on the Eagle Sports Network (flagship WIVY 96.3 FM). It can be watched on ESPN+.
 
NOTABLE

• Morehead State shot 52.9% (27-51) from the floor, its second-highest percentage of the season, and the sixth-highest percentage in any away game in the past 15 seasons. The Eagles hit six of 21 (28.6%) from three-point range.
• Eastern Illinois shot 22-53 (41.5%) from the floor and 44.4% (8-18) from beyond the arc.
• The Eagles hit 14 of 21 (66.7%) from the free throw line. The Panthers hit 18-26 (69.2%).
• EIU had a 32-31 edge in rebounds. The Panthers had an 8-3 edge in offensive rebounds, but just a 4-2 edge in second-chance points.
• Morehead State dominated inside and had a 42-18 advantage in points in the paint.
• EIU committed 14 turnovers while MSU had 13 miscues. MSU edged EIU 13-11 in point in the paint.
• Led by Dike and Sepp, Morehead State scored 34 bench points, the most for the Eagles in a conference game this season.