The Eagles battled in a tightly contested contest with Valparaiso on Sunday, but could never break through and ultimately fell 65-57.
Morehead State shot 46% from the floor and stayed within five or less points for much of the afternoon with the Beacons, but never held a lead aside from the opening basket.
Jada Claude led the Eagles offensive attack with her second double-double in as many days, scoring 16 points and collecting 10 rebounds. Terri Smith led all scorers with 17 points and Alana Denson added 11 points to round out the Morehead State offense.
Valpo opened the game on an 8-0 run before the Eagles got four straight points from Alana Denson to slice into the early lead. The Beacons ballooned their lead out to 11 as the second quarter started, but the Eagles again answered with a 7-0 run, including five in a row from Jada Claude to pull the score to 23-19. The Eagles could never get closer than three, however, and went to the locker room trailing 32-26.
The teams continued to battle back and forth in the second half, with the Eagles coming with two points of the lead on multiple occasions, but never being able to pull ahead of the Beacons. A Jada Claude layup with five minutes to go again pulled the Eagles to within three, but a 9-2 run from Valpo finally put Morehead State away.
Next up, the Eagles begin conference play, beginning with Eastern Illinois at Johnson Arena on December 29th. The game is scheduled to tip off at 5:00 P.M. ET.
