Box Score I Box Score (PDF)
RICHMOND, Ky. – In a battle of the top two teams in the Ohio Valley Conference East Division, the Eastern Kentucky University women’s basketball team held off Belmont, 55-51, Saturday afternoon in McBrayer Arena. Belmont won the first meeting between these two teams just five days earlier.
With the win, Eastern (11-7, 5-2 OVC) improves to 9-1 at home this season and also snaps Belmont’s (12-9, 7-2) five-game winning streak.
The Lady Colonels led throughout most of the game and built a 17-point cushion, 41-24, with 14:45 remaining. However, a few minutes later Belmont responded with 14 straight points thanks to EKU going more than eight minutes without scoring a point.
Two free throws by Katie Carroll with 4:29 left helped the Bruins close the gap to two points, 46-44. That would be as close as Belmont would get as a
Marie Carpenter floater in the lane pushed the lead back to four points, 48-44. A pair of free throws each from seniors
Jade Barber and
Raechele Gray made the score 52-44 with 1:56 left.
Belmont made one final push back to two points in the final seconds, but two more free throws from Gray sealed the win.
EKU took a 33-21 lead into intermission behind a 10-0 run to end the half. Senior
LaRa`e Allen, freshman
Miranda Maples and junior
Pilar Walker combined for 15 points off the bench for the Lady Colonels in the first 20 minutes of action.
Senior
Alex Jones paced Eastern with her third straight double-double and seventh of the season – 11 points, 12 rebounds. Gray added 10 points behind 8-of-12 shooting at the charity stripe.
Jordan Coleman was the lone Belmont player in double figures with 10 points and nine rebounds. The Bruins, who shot 52 percent from the floor in the second half of Monday’s win over Eastern Kentucky, were held to 31 percent shooting today.
This was the first time in the 41-year history of EKU women’s basketball that the Lady Colonels have played the same opponent in consecutive games.
The Lady Colonels are right back in action this Monday night, Jan. 28 with a home game against Tennessee State. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
