Despite having three players score in double figures and a defensive effort that held Valparaiso to its lowest scoring total in four games, the Morehead State Women's Basketball team fell 55-53 to the Crusaders on Tuesday evening at the Athletics-Recreation Center.
After opening the game in a bit of an offensive lull, the Eagles outscored Valpo 14-7 over the final 4:12 of the first quarter to take a 20-18 lead. The run was capped off with a three-point make at the buzzer by senior Jaleesa Avery.
The MSU offense once again fell off in the second quarter, making just 2-of-11 (.182) shots, as the Crusaders came back to take a 31-25 lead into halftime.
Valpo grew its lead to as many as nine points with 2:04 in the third quarter, but the Eagles ran off a 9-2 to close out the quarter and cut the home squads lead to three points at 42-39.
The game remained close throughout the final 10 minutes, and was even cut to a single point by Morehead State after a made triple by senior guard Bruna Jackson and a turnaround jumper in the lane by freshman guard Tomiyah Alford, but Valpo managed to close it out by making 5-of-6 free throws and stalling the Eagles offense over the final 3:04.
"I think we played one of our better games this year," said MSU head coach Greg Todd. "To come here on the backend of a road trip and play (Valparaiso) down to the wire is a good sign of progress. I think we're going in the right direction we just have to continue to improve offensively and stay solid on the defensive end of the floor."
Jackson led the Morehead State offensive attack, which was 19-of-49 (.388) from the field, with 16 points. The four-year point guard knocked down three triples. Avery also finished in double figures with 10 points while the Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Week Alford tallied 12.
Valparaiso, which won its fifth consecutive game to improve to 6-3 overall in 2019-20, was paced by forward Addison Stoller's game-high 18 points. The Crusaders, who had averaged 74 points per game in their previous four games, hit on 20-of-48 (.417) shot attempts but were held to a 2-of-17 clip from three-point range.
"I thought our energy defensively was good all night," said MSU head coach Greg Todd. "(Valparaiso) is an efficient offensive team and we did a good job defending them on the three-point line but in doing that we gave them some driving lanes and they took advantage."
Morehead State outrebounded Valpo 35-24 in the game. Freshman guard Ariel Kirkwood grabbed a game-high seven boards. The six-foot Kirkwood also swatted four shots while chipping in five points.
The Eagles fall to 3-7 overall with their third consecutive loss, each coming on the road.
Next up, Morehead State returns home to Johnson Arena for a Thursday morning matchup against Asbury (Ky.). Tipoff is set for 11:00 a.m. ET as the Eagles welcome regional K-12 children for its annual "I'm going to college" game.
