RICHMOND, Ky. – Eastern Kentucky fell to Morehead State, 68-65, Tuesday night at McBrayer Arena. The Lady Colonels (13-12, 8-10 OVC) were led by Crystal Jones with 23 points. Brandi Rayburn led the Eagles (9-18, 7-11 OVC) with 21 points and 12 rebounds.
Three others scored in double figures for Morehead. Tarah Combs finished with 15 and Chynna Bozeman added 12 points. Brittany Pittman totaled 10 points and nine rebounds.
Ashley Cazee finished with 12 points for EKU.
Morehead State jumped out to an 8-0 lead but Shavonne Jones’ first career three-pointer cut the deficit to 8-5. Jones’ three-point attempt from the right wing hit nothing but net.
A jumper by Crystal Jones brought the Lady Colonels to within one, 8-7, but the Eagles went on 17-6 run to build a 12-point lead. Rayburn and Combs each hit two three-pointers during the run. Combs’ second trey made it 25-13 in favor of the road team.
While Morehead State was building its lead, Eastern Kentucky had a hard time finding the bottom of the basket. The Lady Colonels made just six of their first 17 attempts from the field, including only one of seven three-point tries.
EKU didn’t give up. The Lady Colonels started to hit shots and scored 13 of the next 16 points as part of a 19-5 run that gave the home squad a two-point advantage. After starting cold, Eastern made five of its next 10 attempts. A lay-up by Jones tied the score and two free throws by LaTanya Stokes pushed Eastern Kentucky in front 32-30.
Another free throw by Stokes with three seconds before halftime made it a 35-33 game in favor of the Eagles.
Despite being out-shot from the field 52 percent to 36.7 percent in the first 20 minutes of play, the Lady Colonels only trailed by two at the break. Eastern took advantage of Morehead turnovers, scoring 14 points off 12 Eagle miscues.
Combs and Rayburn each had 12 first half points for MSU. Jones had 12 as well for EKU.
A lay-up by Jones 42 seconds into the second period tied the score at 35-35. A lay-up by Lindsey Waters gave Eastern a five-point lead, 44-39, with 15:10 left in the game. Back-to-back lay-ups by Cazee made it 50-43.
Stokes knocked down a three-pointer with 8:26 remaining to give the Lady Colonels an eight-point advantage, 55-47.
Morehead made only four field goals in the first 13 and a half minutes of the second half. However, before the Lady Colonels could build a double-digit lead, the Eagles used a 9-1 run to erase an eight point deficit and tie the game at 56-56 with 5:39 left.
Rayburn scored seven straight Morehead points and capped it off with a pair of free throws to tie the score again, 58-58, with 4:27 to play. However, 17 seconds later the sophomore fouled out, leaving the game with 21 points and 12 boards.
Eastern Kentucky edged out by four, 62-58, on a pair of free throws by Jones but Combs answered at the other end with a three-pointer. The two teams then exchanged treys to get to 65-64, but EKU didn’t score after Jones’ three with 2:01 left in the game.
Morehead took the lead on a jumper by Candyce Flynn with 1:05 showing on the clock. Bozeman’s jumper with 12 seconds to play made it a three-point game. Cazee’s three-point attempt at the buzzer missed.
The Lady Colonels will host Austin Peay on Thursday at McBrayer Arena. The game is set to begin at 5:30 p.m.
