Freshman guard Ariel Kirkwood had a career day on both ends of the floor as the Morehead State Women's Basketball had a late comeback bid fall short, falling to Southeast Missouri, 67-61, in Ohio Valley Conference play on Thursday evening at Johnson Arena.
The Eagles found themselves trailing by as many as 25 points in the fourth quarter, falling behind 59-34 after a made jumper by SEMO guard Carrie Shepard with 7:44 remaining. A layup by MSU senior forward Orlandra Humphries sparked a 27-8 run by MSU.
Morehead State pulled within four points at 65-61 with 29 seconds remaining after freshman Ariel Kirkwood finished off an old-fashioned triple, but the Redhawks managed to close out the contest from the free-throw stripe.
Kirkwood posted career-best efforts in scoring and rebounding as the guard dropped in 25 points and grabbed 15 boards. The six-foot guard also rejected eight shots - one shy of her career-high.
Southeast Missouri's scoring efforts were led by Tesia Thompson with 20 and Carrie Shephard with 18 points.
The win improves the Redhawks to 15-5 overall and 7-2 in league play.
Morehead State falls to 8-13 on the season and 4-5 in OVC play.
Next up, the Eagles host UT Martin on Saturday. Tipoff between the Eagles and Skyhawks is slated for 1:00 p.m. ET
