Box Score
RICHMOND, Ky. – Eastern Kentucky’s women’s basketball team shot 61 percent in the second half on its way to a 74-61 victory over Chicago State in both teams’ season opener on Saturday at McBrayer Arena. EKU’s balanced scoring effort was led by sophomore
Alex Jones with 19 points. Four other Lady Colonels scored in double figures.
Eastern shot 55 percent (28-for-51) from the field and 56 percent (5-for-9) from three-point range. Twenty-four Lady Colonel turnovers limited the home team’s scoring opportunities. Chicago State (0-1) shot 36 percent from the field and 17 percent from behind the three-point arc.
Marie Carpenter contributed 14 points to the winning effort. Senior
Cherie White added 13 points and seven rebounds. Senior
Nadia Mossong came off the bench to knock down all three of her three-point attempts to finish with 12 points and seven boards. Senior
Reese Bass added 10 points.
Tressa Beckel led the Cougars with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
EKU shot 50 percent from the field in the first half but led by only two points at the break. Chicago State out-scored Eastern by seven points at the free throw line in the opening 20 minutes of action. A more aggressive effort in the second half allowed the Lady Colonels to hold a 13-1 advantage at the charity stripe.
A 10-2 run to open the second half allowed Eastern Kentucky to build a 10-point lead, 42-32, with 16:17 left to play. EKU led by double figures for most of the remaining portion of the game. The Cougars drew within seven twice, but never got any closer.
Back-to-back jumpers by White pushed the lead to 15, 56-41, with 10:03 left to play. CSU made its final run by scoring eight straight to get within seven, but a lay-up by Mossong and a jumper by Carpenter stopped the run and put the Lady Colonels back in front by double figures.
A free throw by Bass with 28 seconds showing on the clock gave Eastern its largest lead of 16 points, 74-58. After not attempting a free throw in the first half, EKU went 13-for-21 from the line in the second half. Chicago State was 7-for-9 from the stripe in the first half, but made just one in two trips to the line in the second half.
The Lady Colonels will host Miami (Ohio) on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., at McBrayer Arena.
