Box Score

RICHMOND, Ky. – A lay-up by Alex Jones with 51 seconds left gave Eastern Kentucky a 58-57 lead and capped a 16-3 late-game run, but Tiffany Hamilton’s jumper with 17 seconds to play gave Morehead State a 59-58 win tonight at McBrayer Arena.

The Lady Colonels (9-10, 5-4 OVC) fell behind by 17 with 14:31 remaining in the second half and trailed by 12, 54-42, when they began their late game run with 7:39 to go. Following the basket by Jones that put EKU up by one, the Eagles (14-7, 7-2 OVC) missed a three-point attempt. Eastern went to the free throw line with 25 seconds on the clock and a chance to extend the lead to three, but failed to convert on both attempts.

After what proved to be the game-winner by Hamilton, Eastern Kentucky got off two attempts for its own game-winner in the final three seconds, but couldn’t get either one to drop through.

Chynna Bozeman scored a game-high 21 points on five three-pointers and six free throws for MSU. Jones led the Lady Colonels with 15 points and also had seven rebounds.

Morehead State shot 22.6 percent (7-for-31) from three-point range. Eastern Kentucky held a 42-31 rebounding advantage, but the Eagles grabbed 14 boards off the offensive glass for 13 second-chance points. EKU committed 22 turnovers compared to 14 for MSU.

Freshman Shakeyia Colyer contributed 14 points and five boards to the Lady Colonel cause. Freshman Michaelea Kleist recorded her first career double-double, finishing with 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Freshman Brittany Coles added eight points and three assists.

Courtney Lumpkin had 12 points, four assists and two steals for Morehead State. Ashar Harris also recorded a double-double, finishing with 10 points and 11 rebounds to go along with four steals.

A three-pointer from the left wing by Coles followed by a driving lay-up by Jones staked the Lady Colonels to an early 9-3 lead with 14:44 remaining in the first half. Three-pointers by Lumpkin on consecutive possessions gave the Eagles a 16-15 lead with 10:41 before intermission.

Five straight by Morehead State allowed the visitors to build a six-point edge, 28-22, with 4:12 to play before halftime. The Eagles pushed out in front by seven in the final minute and took a five-point lead, 33-28, into the locker room at the break.

Bozeman went just 3-for-10 from the field in the first half, but all three field goals were three-pointers. She also made 3-for-4 at the line and had 12 points at halftime. Colyer led EKU at the break with eight points on 4-for-6 shooting.

The Lady Colonels shot 52 percent (13-for-25) in the first half, but turned the ball over 12 times. MSU shot 32.3 percent (10-for-31) and turned it over five times. The Eagles attempted 18 three-pointers and made five.

Five turnovers in the first five minutes of the second half by EKU allowed Morehead State to open with an 11-2 run. A basket by Harris capped the run and made it 44-30 with 15:36 left in the game.

After Bozeman’s three-pointer put MSU on top by 17, 49-32, with 14:31 on the clock, the Lady Colonels got back into the game with a 10-0 run. Colyer and Coles each knocked down a three-pointer and Kleist drained a pair of jumpers during the run. Kleist’s second basket cut the deficit to 49-42 with 12:09 to play.

Five straight by the Eagles stopped that Lady Colonel run but Eastern Kentucky began its late game run by scoring eight straight to get within four. Colyer knocked down three straight free throws, with the third making it 54-50 with 4:37 left in regulation.

EKU shot 44.9 percent (22-of-49) for the game, including 3-for-9 (33.3 percent) from three-point range. Eastern made just 11-of-19 attempts from the free throw line for 57.9 percent. Morehead State went 19-for-57 (33.3 percent) from the field. The Eagles were 14-for-22 from the charity stripe for 63.6 percent.

After concluding their four-game home stand, the Lady Colonels will now play two straight on the road. Eastern will travel to face Austin Peay on Thursday and will conclude the road trip at Tennessee State on Saturday.

Notes
Saturday was EKU Basketball Alumni Day. Former Lady Colonels Boots Whitaker Adams (1956), Carla Coffey Young (1988), Trina Goodrich (1998), Jill Perry Davis (2004) and former Lady Colonel manager Stephanie Oghia (2004) were in attendance and recognized during a halftime ceremony.

Freshman Michaelea Kleist recorded her first career double-double and EKU’s sixth of the season, finishing with 12 points and career-high 12 rebounds.

Morehead State (58.8 ppg) and Eastern Kentucky (59.3 ppg) entered the game ranked first and second respectively in the OVC in scoring defense.

Morehead State entered the game averaging 10.3 made three-pointers per game. The Eagles finished with seven treys on Saturday.

Entering the game, Eastern had held opponents to 28.1 percent shooting from three-point range. Morehead State shot 22.6 percent on Saturday.

EKU has held 11 of its last 14 opponents to 60 points or less.

Eastern Kentucky has out-rebounded 13 of its 19 opponents this season.

The Eastern Kentucky bench has out-scored its opponents’ bench in 12 straight games.

EKU now leads the all-time series with Morehead State, 39-38. Morehead State has won seven straight in the series and is now 15-22 all-time in Richmond.