Box Score

RICHMOND, Ky. – Freshman Kayla Drake made 9-of-10 free throw attempts in the final two minutes and scored 33 points in Eastern Kentucky’s 71-61 win at Chicago State on Sunday. The Cougars (1-1) drew within four points with 2:03 left in the game but the Lady Colonels (2-0) made 13-of-15 free throws to escape with the victory.

EKU maintained a double-digit lead for most of the second half. Colette Cole's lay-up with 5:42 left in the game gave Eastern a 12-point advantage, 54-42. Chicago State answered with a 10-2 run. Three-pointers by Courtney Walden and Alyssa Walden capped the run and made it a four-point game with 2:03 to go.

The Lady Colonels put an end to the Cougar run by scoring seven unanswered points from the free throw line to go back on top by 11, 63-52, with just over a minute to play. A technical foul on Alyssa Walden contributed a pair of free throws to the run. CSU would close the gap to five, but Eastern’s shooting from the line secured the victory.

Drake made only 9-of-22 shots from the field, but found the bottom of the net on 14 of 16 free throw attempts. The freshman also had a game-high eight rebounds and six steals. Cole finished with 12 points, going 6-for-6 from the free throw line, and grabbed seven boards. Cherie White contributed 11 points and five rebounds.

The Lady Colonels went 26-of-30 from the free throw line and out-rebounded Chicago State 40-31.

Jasmin Dixon led the Cougars with 15 points. Walden added 13 and Jael Pena finished with 10.

CSU made only 14 of 23 free throw attempts.

Seven turnovers in the first nine minutes of the game prevented the Lady Colonels from building a comfortable margin. Lauren Pierson’s lay-up gave Chicago State a 10-9 lead with 11:33 showing on the clock.

When EKU began to take better care of the ball, the Lady Colonels inched out in front. Five straight points by Ilona Muszak turned a one-point deficit into a four-point lead. Drake followed Muszak’s three with a trey of her own for an 8-0 Eastern run and a 20-13 lead with 5:45 before intermission.

A jumper by Drake with just over three minutes to play and a lay-up by Cole at the 2:20 mark stretched the run to 12-2 and gave Eastern a double-digit lead, 26-15.

With just over a minute before the break, CSU’s Dixon beat a defender on the perimeter, drove in and put up a six-foot jumper. Cole came over and swatted the ball away. White converted a lay-up at the other end to keep the Lady Colonels out in front by 11, 28-17.

Dixon averaged 17 points per game last season and scored 23 in Chicago State’s opener against Northwestern, but had only four points at halftime.

The Cougars missed their first nine three-point attempts of the game. Their first trey came from Jael Pena with 35 seconds remaining in the first half. Cole connected on a pair of free throws with six ticks before the half to send Eastern Kentucky to the locker room in front by 10, 30-20.

CSU made just 8-of-29 first half shots for 27.6 percent, including 1-for-10 from behind the arc. Eastern went 12-of-25 from the floor for 48 percent. The Lady Colonels held an 18-16 advantage on the boards at the break.

Chicago State scored five of the first six points of the second half to draw within six, 31-25, but EKU answered with eight straight to build its largest lead, 14 points, with14:04 remaining in the game. Eastern maintained a margin of six or more points until the Cougars’ run that cut the deficit to four late in the game.

The Lady Colonels will return to action Wednesday when they face No. 12 Vanderbilt at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Tenn. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.