Morehead, Ky, -- Morehead State got off to a good start, but the Eagles couldn't overcome a cold-shooting second quarter and fell 77-58 Friday night to Radford in the Dedmon Center in Radford, Virginia, in the opening round of the Women's National Invitational Tournament.
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Morehead State (23-12) was led by
Laura Toffali with 18 points and
Marie Sepp with 10. It was Toffali's 20
th double-digit scoring game of the season, the second-most on the team. Sepp notched her 18
th game in double figures.
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The Eagles led 19-18 after the first quarter, hitting eight of their 17 shots from the floor (47%) and three of their nine three-pointers. MSU expanded its lead to five at 25-20 on a Toffali three-pointer at the 7:54 mark. Â The Eagles wouldn't score again until Toffali hit a layup with 4:32 left in the period to trim the Radford lead to 31-27 and breaking a 3:22 scoring drought.
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Morehead State cut the lead to one at 31-30 with a three-point play by
Kate Dike with 4:12. The Eagles were outscored 12-0 for the rest of the period and went into the intermission trailing 43-30. MSU hit just four of its 15 shots from the floor (27%) and was two of nine (22%) from three-point range. The Eagles also committed nine turnovers in the quarter.
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Radford (23-12) placed five players in double figures, led by Cate Carlson with 20 points. Joi Williams netted 15 points. Georgia Simonsen and Ellie Taylor finished with a dozen points apiece and Angelin Nice added 10.
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NOTABLE
- Morehead State shot 23-61 (38%) from the floor and hit 26% from three-point range (9-35). Radford was 26-67 (39%) from the field and hit 9-28 (32%) from beyond the arc.
- Radford had a huge advantage at the free throw line: the Highlanders hit 16 of 20 (80%) from the charity stripe. Morehead State was three of seven.
- Radford won the battle on the boards 44-39.
- Morehead State committed 22 turnovers to 16 for Radford.
- Laura Toffali posted five steals in the game, giving her 101 on the season and the Morehead State program record for thefts in a season.
