Eagles lock down Morehead State in road win
MOREHEAD, Ky. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball locked down Morehead State University in the second half Tuesday evening, capturing a 72-52 victory to close out a three-game road stretch for the Screaming Eagles.
Tuesday’s win was USI’s second positive result during the three-game road swing. Southern Indiana ended the day back to 10 games over .500 with a 16-6 overall record and an 8-3 mark in Ohio Valley Conference play. Morehead State dropped to 7-14 this season and 2-9 in the OVC after a fifth consecutive setback. Southern Indiana and Morehead State was the only game in the OVC on Tuesday, as USI moved up to sole possession of fourth in the conference standings.
It took a few minutes for the teams to settle into Tuesday’s contest. Neither side could create an early run, as Southern Indiana led 8-7 midway through the opening quarter. The Screaming Eagles extended its lead to six, 15-9, after graduate forward Madi Webb’s second bucket of the game with a minute left in the first. However, Morehead State scored once more before the end of the period to make it a four-point USI advantage through the first 10 minutes.
The score differential remained at four after both teams capitalized on their first two possessions of the second quarter. Morehead State trimmed the difference down to one possession in the middle of the second and tied the game at 24 with 4:42 remaining in the first half. The back-and-forth affair continued into the final minutes of the first half. Senior guard Vanessa Shafford scored five straight points to put Southern Indiana ahead 35-32, but last-second free-throws by Morehead State made it a 35-34 halftime lead for USI.
Out of the intermission, Morehead State scored the second half’s first basket to retake the lead, but Southern Indiana responded in a big way. The Screaming Eagles went on a 13-0 run over a span of six and a half minutes to surge ahead 48-36. Six different Screaming Eagles scored during the run. Following a strong defensive quarter, junior guard Ali Saunders put an exclamation point on the third with a stepback jumper before the clock hit zeroes to give USI a 54-41 lead going to the fourth.
The stout defense carried over into the fourth period. Southern Indiana scored six straight points and held Morehead State scoreless in the first 2:30 of the frame, allowing USI to extend its advantage to 19 points, 60-41. Morehead State tried to fight back in the middle of the fourth but could not climb back to within 14 points of USI. Southern Indiana put its final stamp on the contest when graduate forward Meredith Raley cashed in on a basket and the foul with under 30 seconds left to produce the final score, 72-52. The three-point play pushed Raley past a milestone mark of 1,500 career points and just 66 points shy of moving into the top five in the USI record books.
Southern Indiana shot an even 50 percent (26-52) in the game and 33 percent (3-9) from three-point land. USI also shot a solid 89 percent (17-19) at the free-throw line. The Screaming Eagles won the rebounding battle, 35-27. Raley posted a game-high 14 points to lead a balanced scoring effort for USI. Webb tallied 11 points and Shafford added 10 points. Three other Screaming Eagles chipped in eight points.
Morehead State was 37 percent (20-54) shooting overall and 24 percent (4-17) from long range. Morehead State went 8-10 at the foul stripe. Freshman guard Chrishawn Coleman led the Eagles with 11 points.
The Screaming Eagles return home to Liberty Arena for the start of a three-game homestand this Saturday when USI hosts Tennessee Tech University at 1 p.m., presented by Tristate Orthopaedics. Saturday is Mental Health Awareness Day. Tickets for all home games at Liberty Arena can be purchased online at usiscreamingeagles.com or the USI Ticket Office.
