Led by a 20-point, 10-assist double-double from senior guard Almesha Jones, the Morehead State women's basketball team knocked off preseason Ohio Valley Conference favorite Belmont 66-55 at Johnson Arena on Wednesday.
It marked the program's first victory over Belmont, which joined the conference in 2011-12, since 1998. Morehead State won its third straight OVC game, all by double digits, to improve to 11-12 overall and 7-3 in the league. The Bruins faltered to 8-15 overall and 5-5 in conference tilts.
The Eagles held the visitors to just 23 percent (7-of-30) from the field in the final 20 minutes and limited Belmont to no field goals from the 7:50 mark to the 1:18 mark.
"I have always believed that games are won in the second half," Head Coach Greg Todd said. "We let them get back into the game late in the first half, but I thought our defense stepped up in the final half. We were a little disappointed in our rebounding effort too in the opening half, but we were able to even that up."
MSU led 57-48 following a jumper by freshman forward Eriel McKee with 9:14 remaining. Belmont's Katie Carroll canned a three-pointer at 7:50 to make it a 57-51 MSU cushion, but Belmont did not score again until 1:48 on a free throw. The Eagles pushed their advantage to its largest at 64-51.
The hosts built a 32-25 lead with 5:17 left in the first half before Belmont rallied to trail just 36-34 at the break.
Jones, who recorded her 10th 20-point effort and her 61st career double-figure scoring output, also notched her sixth career double-double and her fourth "point-assist" double-double this season. She moved into 14th place in career scoring at MSU now with 1,318 markers. Jones leads the nation in total assists.
Senior forward Casey Ryans gave her team a boost in the first half, scoring all 12 of her points before halftime. McKee nearly missed her eighth career double-double with nine points and a game-best 14 rebounds. In the last two games, McKee had 30 total rebounds, including 24 on the defensive end. Sophomore forward Shay Steele contributed 11 points, her 16th double-digit performance this year, while freshman forward Brooke Todd corralled a season-best eight rebounds and had three blocked shots.
Belmont got a team-high 17 points off the bench from Sierra Jones, while Carroll scored 14. Sally McCabe pulled in 10 rebounds. The Bruins finished at 31 percent (21-of-67) from the floor. The teams tied in the rebounding column, 45-all.
MSU returns to action Saturday as part of a doubleheader. The Eagle women host Tennessee State at 5:15 p.m. to be followed by the MSU men vs. Belmont. It is a Blackout night, and t-shirt/ticket combos (which are just $10) are still available at the University Bookstore in the Adron Doran University Center.
"We are setting ourselves up nicely to achieve our goal of making the OVC Tournament," Todd said. "We have to continue to play hard and smart, but I like the way we are playing right now."
