Senior guard Almesha Jones scored her 1,000th career point at Morehead State, but it came in a setback at Ohio Wednesday morning. The Bobcats defeated the Eagles 87-67 at the Convocation Center.
Jones, a Cincinnati native, hit a pair of free throws with 10:11 remaining to reach the 1,000-point plateau. She is the 22nd player in program to achieve that milestone. Jones led all players with 21, including 10-for-10 at the free throw line, and also added a game-best seven assists.
Ohio remained undefeated at 6-0, while the Eagles slipped to 3-4. Ohio has won three straight in the series, but MSU still leads 7-5 overall.
"Ohio hasn't really been tested yet and again not much today," Head Coach Greg Todd said. "I thought we had some phases of the game with success, but they posed difficult challenges for us."
The Bobcats, who rank second in the nation in three-pointers per game, nailed 12 trifectas today and shot 45 percent overall while besting the Eagles 44-33 on rebounds.
Ohio used a 9-2 run midway through the first half to push ahead 23-14. The hosts led 40-31 at the half and scored 13 of the first 15 in the second period to build a 53-35 cushion.
The Bobcats' largest lead came at 4:20 of the second half, 78-57.
Kiyanna Black led six Ohio players in double figures with 19. Quiera Lampkins and Hannah Boesinger added 12. Black had five three-pointers.
Besides Jones, four MSU players reached double figures. Senior guard Maiki Viela tossed in 13, while freshman forward Eriel McKee continued her strong of double-figure games with 13. McKee has totaled double digits in all four collegiate contests. Senior forward Casey Ryans netted 11, while sophomore forward Shay Steele dropped in 10.
McKee led the Eagles with eight rebounds, and Ryans grabbed seven. Morehead State hit a season-high 27 free throws on 31 attempts.
Morehead State continues a three-game week at Akron Friday. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
