Senior guard Almesha Jones tied her season high with 26 points and handed out a game-best eight assists to lead the Morehead State women's basketball team to a 67-62 triumph over Eastern Illinois Saturday afternoon (Jan. 17) at Johnson Arena.
MSU moved to 7-11 overall and 3-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference with the program's second consecutive win over EIU. The series is now tied at 17 games apiece. The Panthers slipped to 7-12 overall and 4-2 in the conference.
"Almesha certainly stepped up big for us today," Head Coach Greg Todd said. "She made several key free throws and a couple of clutch three-pointers. We also had a couple of other nice performances. I felt like (senior guard) Maiki Viela and (freshman forward) Eriel McKee also gave us great efforts today."
Jones, who ranks in the league's top 10 in scoring and leads the conference in assists, scored 12 in the first half and added 14 in the final half. She hit 9-of-12 free throws. Jones moved into 17th place in career scoring at MSU with 1,203 points, passing Travece Turner, who played from 2000-03. She now needs just 11 more assists to set the school's career assist mark, held by Irene Moore with 499.
Sophomore forward Shay Steele registered 14 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots, while McKee netted 11 points, eight rebounds and three steals in 38 minutes. Viela caned two-of-three treys and notched 10 points.
The Eagles turned the ball over a season-low eight times.
"I thought our ball control was arguably the best it has been all year," Todd said.
EIU senior forward Sabina Oroszova was the lone Panther in double figures in the point column, tying her season high with 24 points. She had 14 markers in the second half.
The game featured 11 ties and 11 lead changes, and neither team gained more than a seven-point cushion. MSU held the advantage for more than 26 minutes.
The visitors secured their final lead at 58-57 with 2:31 remaining, but Jones drained a three-pointer 17 seconds after to give her team a lead it never relinquished. EIU trailed 62-60 with 36 ticks left following two free tosses by Arnisha Thomas, but Jones hit four free throws and McKee knocked down one to push the home team's margin out.
Morehead State finished at 41 percent (23-of-56) accuracy from the floor, while EIU managed 36 percent (20-of-55). The Panthers won the rebound battle, 38-31.
The Eagles have a quick turnaround with a game at Austin Peay Monday night (Jan. 19). Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
