Box Score

RICHMOND, Ky. – Eastern Kentucky’s women’s basketball team gave new head coach Chrissy Roberts a win in her coaching debut, beating Ohio Valley University 83-53 Friday night at McBrayer Arena. The Lady Colonels (1-0) hit six of their first seven three-pointers in the second half and limited the Fighting Scots (0-1) to two field goals in the first 10 minutes of the second stanza to turn a five-point halftime lead into a 33-point advantage.

Sophomore Nadia Mossong led EKU with a career-high 20 points, tied for a game-high with six assists and was one of three Lady Colonels to grab seven rebounds. Freshman Kayla Drake scored 14 points and came up with four steals in her collegiate debut. Sophomore Cherie White contributed 12 points and seven rebounds.

Mossong’s previous career scoring best was four points. She had 12 points at halftime against the Lady Scots.

Tiffani Moody posted a double-double for OVU, finishing with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Brittany Taylor led the visitors with 13 points.

Ohio Valley committed 33 turnovers, compared to 19 for Eastern Kentucky. EKU held a 35-9 advantage in points off turnovers.

The Lady Colonels began the second half with a five-point lead. A pair of free throws and a lay-up in the first 30 seconds of the second half stretched the advantage to nine, 39-30. After a basket by Ohio Valley’s Kendra Benedict cut it to seven with 18:34 left in the game, Eastern Kentucky went on a 28-2 run to build a 33-point lead.

A tip-in and a three-pointer by Mossong got the run started. A pair of three-pointers by Ilona Muszak, sandwiched around a lay-up by Colette Cole, pushed the lead to 23, 55-32, with 14:32 left in the game. A trey by White at the 13:43 mark made it a 26-point game, 58-32. Freshman Jasmine Lewin capped the run with a jumper that gave the Lady Colonels a 67-34 lead with 10:47 showing on the clock.

Through the first 10 minutes of the second half, the Fighting Scots were 2-for-21 from the field. During that same time, the Lady Colonels went 6-for-7 from behind the three-point arc.

Despite connecting on only three field goals over the next five minutes, Ohio Valley cut 10-points off the Eastern lead by going 10-for-12 from the free throw line. Benedict’s lay-up with 4:20 to play made it 73-50, but OVU wouldn’t get any closer.

EKU scored seven straight, including a jumper by freshman walk-on Rachel Bristow, to push the lead back to 33 points with just over a minute and a half remaining.

Eastern went 8-for-13 in the second half from behind the arc for 61.5 percent. The Lady Colonels shot 40 percent for the game from the field. OVU made just 6-of-34 second half shots (17.6 percent) and finished the game 16-of-52 for 30.8 percent.

After missing on their first three shot attempts, the Lady Colonels bucketed their first points of the 2008-09 season on a three-pointer by Mossong with just over 18 minutes remaining in the first half.

Eastern broke a 12-12 tie with an 8-1 run midway through the first half. Muszak and Drake each knocked down a three-pointer during the run. Drake’s trey with 10:32 before intermission made it a 20-13 game. The Lady Colonels stretched the lead to eight twice, the second time coming off a lay-up by Mossong.

However, after Mossong’s basket, the Fighting Scots scored seven unanswered to get back in the game. Three different players scored for OVU and Natalie Kline’s tip-in cut the deficit to one point, 25-24, with 6:24 to go before halftime.

EKU gradually stretched its lead back to eight. Mossong’s lay-up and free throw extended the edge to 35-27 with 1:23 remaining on the clock. Ohio Valley turned an Eastern turnover with six seconds showing on the clock into a Taylor three-pointer to make it a five-point game at the break.

Ohio Valley shot 55.6 percent (10-for-18) in the first half, but the Lady Colonels held onto the lead due in large part to 21 OVU turnovers in the first half. With six and a half minutes left in the first half, Eastern Kentucky held a 23-1 advantage in points off turnovers. The Fighting Scots cut the margin to 23-7 at the half.

Ohio Valley’s 6-for-15 shooting from the free throw line also helped EKU maintain the lead.

The Lady Colonels will depart Richmond on Saturday for a game at Chicago State on Sunday afternoon. Tip-off in the Windy City is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET.