THURSDAY'S SCORES
@Ohio 76,
Morehead State 60
@Lidnenwood 76, Oral Roberts 65
OHIO 76, MOREHEAD STATE 60
ATHENS, Ohio - Morehead State trailed by 19 at the half but mounted a furious rally in third quarter but ultimately lost to Ohio 76-60 Thursday afternoon in the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio. Morehead State (1-2) was led by Marie Sepp with 13 points. Anja Ekstrom finished with 12 and Laura Toffali added 10.
Trailing 37-18 at the half, MSU mounted a rally in the third quarter. The Eagles went on a 15-0 run over 4:24 of game time to cut the Bobcat lead to 43-41. In the rally, MSU hit eight of nine from the field and forced four OU turnovers.
The Eagles started the fourth quarter on a five-point run capped by Toffali's free throw with 8:15 to go in the game to pull within one at 52-51. The Bobcats responded with a 5-0 run followed by a nine-point run to pull away.
Ohio (2-1) was led by Aliah McWhorter with 18 points, Bailey Tabeling finished with 15 and Gigi Bower added 13.
Both teams got off to a slow start with each team shooting just 29% in the first quarter. The Eagles were hampered by eight turnovers and trailed 16-10 after the first 10 minutes. Ohio expanded their lead in the second quarter, taking advantage of 10 MSU turnovers for 10 points off turnovers and held the Eagles to just 23% from the floor.
LINDENWOOD 76, ORAL ROBERTS 65
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Lindenwood women's basketball team (2-1) defeated Oral Roberts (2-2) by a score of 76-65 on Thursday night from Hyland Arena.
Lindenwood got off to a quick 11-0 lead with six quick points from Ellie Brueggemann. Oral Roberts pushed back with a 14-2 run to grab the lead at 14-13, which forced a Lions timeout with just over three minutes to go in the opening quarter. Out of the break, Brooke Coffey finished an and-one to put Lindenwood back in front and the Black and Gold would lead 19-18 after one.
Oral Roberts took its largest lead at 25-21 a few minutes into the second quarter. The Lions answered with a 7-0 run to retake a 28-25 led. Despite 17 first half turnovers, Lindenwood took a 33-30 advantage into the locker room. Brueggemann led all scorers with 14 points during the first 20 minutes.
The Lions maintained a slim lead to open the second half, remaining in front by three with just under five minutes to go in the quarter. Back-to-back buckets by Gracie Kelsey gave Lindenwood some separation at 49-42 and the lead ballooned to double digits after a Brueggemann jumper, giving the Lions a 57-46 lead after three. Kelsey had nine of her 14 points in the quarter.
The fourth quarter was all Aleshia Jones who had 12 consecutive Lindenwood points during the final frame, including a pair of three pointers, which grew the lead to 76-55. Oral Roberts scored the games final 10 points, but it wasn't enough as the Lions picked up their second-straight home win, 76-55.