Frigid 4th Quarter Sinks Eagles - Women's Basketball falls 74-53 at Western Illinois

Morehead, Ky. -- Morehead State's ice-cold fourth quarter spelled doom as the Eagles fell 74-53 to Western Illinois in Macomb, Illinois, Saturday afternoon.
 
Morehead State (17-12, 12-6 OVC) hit just two field goals in the final ten minutes, scoring only seven points.
 
Western Illinois (23-4, 15-3 OVC) heated up in the final frame hitting seven of 11 from the floor, including four of six from three-point range to win going away.
 
The Eagles were led by Kate Dike with 15 points. She just missed her eighth double-double of the season with nine rebounds. Marie Sepp added 10 points on four of five shooting from the floor and two of three from three-point range.
 
Morehead State had the early advantage. The Eagles scored first, never trailed and led 19-13 after the first ten minutes. Dike led the MSU offense with nine points as the Eagles hit seven of 14 from the floor in the period.
 
Morehead State pushed its lead out to 11 on a Dike bucket at the 7:24 mark. After a WIU three-pointer, Dike pushed the lead back out to 10 at with 5:58 to go in the half. It was the last field goal to be scored in the quarter. MSU went 0-6 the rest of the way in the half, while WIU went 0-7, managing to hit five of seven free throws to cut the Morehead State lead to 29-24 at the intermission.
 
Both teams shot the ball well in the third quarter: Morehead State hit seven of 12 (58%) while Western Illinois hit nine of their 16 shots (56%). Western outscored Morehead State 22-17 and the score was tied at 49-49 heading into the final period.
 
Western's Mia Nicastro led all scorers with 24 points. Addi Brownfield finished with 20. Allie Meadows added 13 and Mallory Shetley chipped in 12.
 
Morehead State will return to action Tuesday when they host Southern Indiana in the Eagles' final home game of the season. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. ET.
 
NOTABLE

• Morehead State shot 20-51 (39%) from the floor. They hit 27% (7-26) from three-point range. Western Illinois hit 24-53 (45%) from the field and 44% (7-16) from beyond the arc.
• The Leathernecks his 19 of 26 free throws 73%. MSU hit just six of 11 (55%) from the charity stripe.
• The Eagles were outrebounded 29-25.
• Morehead State committed 18 turnovers; Western Illinois committed 12.
• There were nine ties and five lead changes in the game. MSU led for 20:40; WIU led for 10:08.