Box Score

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Eastern Kentucky went almost five minutes without scoring late in the game, but held on to defeat Towson, 54-50, Friday night at the Lady Pirate Invitational hosted by East Carolina. Senior Colette Cole led the Lady Colonels (1-3) with 24 points, including two free throws with 28 seconds left in the game that secured the victory.

After committing 28 or more turnovers in each of its first three games, EKU had a season-low 19 against the Tigers (2-3).

Freshman Alex Jones scored a career-best 12 points and had five steals. Junior newcomer Talisha Davis finished with four points, six assists and three steals. Cole made 3-of-5 three-point attempts, grabbed nine boards and had four steals.

As a team, the Lady Colonels set season-highs for assists (14) and steals (16).

Towson made just 3-of-18 attempts from behind the three-point arc. Shanae Davis led the Tigers with 24 points on 10-for-24 shooting. She added seven rebounds and four steals.

After a three-pointer by Baker-Brice two minutes into the game gave Towson a 5-4 lead, the Lady Colonels rolled off seven unanswered. A jumper by Cole put Eastern in front 6-5 and the Lady Colonels never trailed again. A three-pointer by Cole capped the run and gave EKU an 11-5 lead with 16:31 left to play in the first half.

A steal by Jones led to a lay-up by Davis that stretched the lead to eight, 17-9, with 14:08 on the clock. A jumper by Cole kept Eastern Kentucky in front by eight, 19-11, with 12:43 remaining in the first period. However, the Lady Colonels suffered a scoring drought that lasted nearly five minutes. The Tigers connected on a pair of three-pointers during that span to draw within two, 19-17.

EKU answered with a pair of free throws by Cherie White and a jumper by Jones to push back on top by six, 23-17, with 7:17 to go before intermission.

With just less than a minute to go, another jumper by Jones capped the first half scoring and sent the Lady Colonels to the locker room leading 29-23. Eastern’s 10 assists in the first half tied for the highest in an entire game this season. EKU shot 46.4 percent in the first half while limiting Towson to 30 percent shooting.

Kandace Davis scored six points in the first two minutes of the second half, including a pair of baskets off offensive rebounds, to cut the Eastern Kentucky lead to two, 31-29. Cole took care of the Lady Colonels. She stymied the Tiger run with a three-pointer and then put her team ahead by nine, 38-29, with a free throw at the 16:04 mark. Two and a half minutes later another trey by Cole made it a 10-point game, 43-33.

Towson drew within four twice before a three-pointer by Nadia Mossong and a pair of free throws by Jones pushed the Lady Colonels back to a nine-point advantage, 52-43. Jones’ free throws came with 5:21 left in the game. Eastern didn’t score again until Cole made two free throws with just 28 seconds remaining. By then, the Tigers had closed within two.

After Baker-Brice connected on two free throws with 2:09 left to play to make it a 52-50 game, Towson turned the ball over on its next three possessions before Cole hit the clinching free throws.

The Lady Colonels will play Bethune-Cookman at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday in the final game of the 2009 Lady Pirate Invitational.