MONDAY'S SCORES
Jacksonville State 69, @Eastern Kentucky 65
@Morehead State 90, Tennessee Tech 82
JACKSONVILLE STATE 69, EASTERN KENTUCKY 65
RICHMOND, Ky. - - The Jacksonville State women's basketball picked up its 18th win of the season after putting together a 46-point second half comeback to down Eastern Kentucky, 69-65, on Monday afternoon at McBrayer Arena on the EKU campus.
The 18th win is the most for the program since the 2003-04 season and strengthens JSU's Ohio Valley Conference Tournament standing with a 9-6 league mark as it heads in to the regular season finale at Morehead State on Saturday. The loss four-point loss eliminates the Colonels from postseason contention with a 9-15 overall mark and 4-10 in the league. The win also marks the third consecutive over EKU since taking the final game of the 2010 season and sweeping the pair of 2011 games. JSU won for the first time in Richmond since a 72-65 win over the Maroon and White in January of 2011.
The Gamecocks showed a lot of resolve throughout the contest as it trailed for over 28 minutes of the contest and needed a 31-12 scoring run in the second half to erase a 14-point EKU lead in the second half. The Colonels took a 40-26 lead at the 13:02 mark after starting the second half on a 12-3 run to extend a 28-23 halftime lead. Jax State, one of the top three-point shooting teams in the league, but has struggled over the last three games from outside the arc, connected on 7-of-15 from three-point range to spark the second half comeback. During the Gamecocks' run, the Red and White had three treys from freshman Gretchen Morrison, Courtney Strain and Candace Morton. Morrison, from Southlake, Texas, matched her career high with 12 points on 4-of-8 from three-point range.
Junior Destany McLin, who shook off the last three games with not reaching double figures, scored 12 in the contest and grabbed 10 boards for her seventh double-double of the season, including a game-tying basket at 40-all at the 10:10 mark. After McLin's jumper equalized for the fifth time at 46-all, Morton drained a trey to give JSU its first lead at 49-46 since they hit the game's first basket. JSU would finish the final 8:21 by out-scoring the Colonels 23-19 to pick up its third consecutive OVC road win. One key stat in JSU's favor was its ability to get offensive rebounds. The Gamecocks were out-rebounded 25-20 in the first half, but finished with a 42-40 advantage on the boards. JSU pushed the lead out to as many as eight in the final moments before taking a four-point win.
Morton, playing close to her Lexington, Kentucky home, led all JSU scorers with 16 points. The senior guard posted 14 of her 16 in the second half. She rebounded from a 0-for-7 from the field shooting start to finish 5-of-13 from the field, including a trio of treys. Sophomore Briana Benson added nine points and a career-high 11 rebounds to aid Jax State's rebounding numbers.
The Colonels were led by Shameekia Murray's game-high 19 points and Michaela Hunter's 16 points. Shelly Harper added a double-double with 17 points and 10 boards.
MOREHEAD STATE 90, TENNESSEE TECH 82
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Senior guard Almesha Jones poured in a season-high 29 points, and the Morehead State women's basketball team used a 15-2 run midway through the second half to score a 90-82 Ohio Valley Conference victory over Tennessee Tech on Monday night at Johnson Arena.
The Eagles, who snap a three-game skid, improve to 12-15 overall, 8-6 in conference play and 7-6 at home. The Golden Eagles, who drop their 11th straight tilt, slip to 5-23 overall, 2-13 in league action and 1-14 on the road. Morehead State also sweeps the season series against Tennessee Tech.
Jones, who connected on 8-of-13 from the field and 11-of-13 from the free-throw stripe, added 11 assists and three steals. Jones, who ranks in the top five nationally for assists, now has five double-doubles, 21 double-figure scoring performances and eight double-figure assist efforts this year.
Sophomore forward Shay Steele contributed 22 points and seven rebounds for MSU on 7-of-13 from the floor and 8-of-12 from the foul line. Sophomore guard Aaliyah Wells tallied 11 points for the Eagles, while freshman forward Eriel McKee registered 10 points and freshman forward Brooke Todd contributed 10 rebounds and four blocked shots.
Morehead State knocked down 55 percent (30-of-55) overall, 36 percent (5-of-14) from three-point range and 74 percent (25-of-34) from the charity stripe. TTU drilled just 38 percent (28-of-73) from the floor and 35 percent (6-of-17) from long range, but made 87 percent (20-of-23) from the foul line.
Junior guard Samaria Howard paced the Golden Eagles with game highs of 28 points and 13 rebounds. She made just 6-of-21 from the field, but knocked down 16-of-18 from the free-throw line.
Senior center Candace Parson (14) and senior forward T'Keyah Williams (12) also reached double figures in scoring for Tennessee Tech. Williams also collected eight rebounds and four assists.
Morehead State led for 38 minutes. The Eagles held a 12-point lead, their largest of the night, with 8:35 to play. Tennessee Tech grabbed a 57-56 edge with 12:20 remaining, but missed six consecutive shots to give the momentum back to MSU.
The Eagles recorded a 42-28 advantage in paint points. Morehead State handed out 17 assists on 30 field goals, while the Golden Eagles were credited with 19 helpers on 28 buckets.
Morehead State has guaranteed itself a .500 conference record for the first time since the 2010-11 season. The Eagles have also punched their ticket to the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament in Nashville for the first time since the 2011-12 campaign.