From the opening tip to the final buzzer, the Morehead State women's basketball team led the entire way for a 121-91 victory over Kentucky Christian at Johnson Arena Saturday afternoon in the Mickey Wells Classic. The 121 points breaks a 37-year-old MSU single-game scoring record.
The scoring record (115) was originally held by the 1978-79 team coached, ironically, by the former MSU Head Coach the tournament is named for.
"We were excited to score that many points, we felt we had the opportunity to score well tonight, and offensively we have no complaints," said Head Coach Greg Todd. "We did turn the ball over a few more times than we would like, but when you have that many positions, it's going to happen."
The Eagles recorded their first win of the season (1-1) as the Knights moved to 1-4 on the year.
Five Eagles registered double figures in points, led by junior forward Shay Steele's first double-double of the season. She tallied a career-high 34 points and 13 rebounds in just 24 minutes. Sophomore forward Eriel McKee flirted with a quadruple-double, finishing with 16 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists and eight steals in 30 minutes.
For the second straight contest the Eagles scored more than 100 points and forced 20 or more turnovers as the Knights registered 35 miscues. The back-to-back 100-point games ocurred for the first time in program history.
Defensively, MSU wiped the glass clean with 61 total rebounds, compared to the Knights' 42 boards.
Junior guard Kay Kay Tate, a transfer from Walters State (Tenn.), recorded 12 points and five assists after tallying 31 in her debut Friday. Freshman guard Miranda Crockett scored 23 points, 14 of those in the second half, and dished out six assists to go along with seven steals. Sophomore forward Brooke Todd accomplished a career high with eight points and hauled in seven rebounds.
Kentucky Christian was led by Paige Warren's 21 points. The Knights drained 18 three-pointers on 45 attempts from the arc. MSU shot 50 percent (47-of-94) for the contest.
MSU heads to Lexington for a Wednesday evening matchup against No. 17 Kentucky at 7 p.m. ET. The Eagles and Wildcats have met in the regular season five of the last six seasons, all at Memorial Coliseum. The game will be broadcast live on the SEC Network and ESPN3.com.
