MOREHEAD, Ky. — The Eagles stayed with conference leading Tennessee Tech for much of the afternoon Thursday, but couldn’t overcome a hot shooting first quarter from the Golden Eagles, falling 87-69.
The Eagles stayed within a handful of points of Tennessee Tech nearly every single quarter, including outscoring the top team in the OVC in the second quarter, a noticeable improvement from the first time these two teams met, but a blistering start from the Golden Eagles was enough to hold off Morehead State throughout the game.
Jada Claude led all scorers in the game with 22 points, her fourth 20 point performance of the season and second in as many games. Julan McDonald scored a career high 18 points to go alongside six rebounds, and Terri Smith rounded out the double-figure scoring for the Eagles with 13 points.
Morehead State got six early points from Claude, but couldn’t keep up with Tennessee Tech’s scorching hot shooting, as they made 75% of their shots in the quarter and raced out to a 15 point lead. Tech continued to build their lead 23 before the Eagles struck back, launching a 13-1 run to outscore the Golden Eagles in the quarter and claw back into the game at 42-31.
Claude erupted again in the 3rd quarter, putting together a 13 point performance, but Tennessee Tech built their lead further, and a 7-0 run in the fourth quarter finally was too much for Morehead State to overcome.
Next up, the Eagles play host to Austin Peay on Saturday. The game is scheduled to tip off at 2:00 PM ET.