Eagle women fall to Jacksonville State, 69-56

MOREHEAD, Ky. (MSU Athletics) – For the fourth-straight game, Morehead State women’s basketball’s Ellie Jo Johnson scored in double-figures, posting a season-best 15 points Saturday at Johnson Arena. The junior led a trio of double-digit scorers for the Eagles who absorbed a 69-56 setback against Jacksonville State.

Also in double-figures for Morehead State were sophomore Ariel Kirkwood and redshirt sophomore Lauren Carter who added 11 and 10 points apiece. Overall, seven Eagles scored in the contest.

As a team, Morehead State made a trip to the free throw line on 17 occasions, knocking down 15 or 17 attempts from the charity stripe. The Eagles’ 88.2 percent free-throw conversion clip marked the best free throw percentage for the team this season and the fourth time the Eagles shot 80 percent or better from the free throw line.

On the glass, redshirt sophomore led the Eagles with 11 rebounds, grabbing nine boards in the first half. The game marked the third consecutive and the fourth overall where Crawford corralled 10 or more rebounds.

Defensively, the Eagles produced four blocks and swiped six steals. Sophomore Tomiyah Alford led the Eagles with a season-best three thefts while Kirkwood paced the Eagles with two blocks.

Morehead State returns to the court Monday afternoon, taking an intrastate, cross-Commonwealth trip to Murray State. The game tips at 5 p.m. ET and will stream on ESPN+ and the Kentucky Office of Highway Safety Eagle Sports Network (MSUEagles.com and WIVY-96.3 FM).

KEY MOMENTS

• Sparked by Ellie Jo Johnson drawing a charge against Jacksonville State’s Yamia Johnson, Morehead State erupted on a 12-2 run spanning six minutes of the first quarter. The run included a pair of 6-0 Eagle runs surrounding the Gamecocks’ lone score with Johnson and Tomiyah Alford scoring four points apiece.
• In the first quarter, Morehead State held Jacksonville State to just 2-of-18 from the floor and 0-of-8 from behind the three-point arc, leading to a 12-5 lead at the quarter break.
• After opening the second quarter hot from the field, Jacksonville State pulled within a basket after hitting a pair of threes in the first three minutes of the quarter.
• Using a 6-0 run spanning both ends of the quarter’s media timeout, Jacksonville State earned its first lead since leading 1-0 to open the game.
• Following the lead change, the Eagles’ Lai’Janique Perry-Ellis scored all five Morehead State points to close the half, including three from the free throw line to give Morehead State a one-point advantage into the locker room.
• Opening the half on a 7-0 run, Jacksonville regained the lead, a lead they would not relinquish the remainder of the game, spurring the run with a pair of fastbreak baskets.
• Morehead State would keep the Jacksonville State lead within striking distance thanks to short scoring runs sparked by Gabby Crawford, Johnson, and Ariel Kirkwood.
• During the third quarter, the Eagles produced at the free throw line, converting all seven of their attempts from the charity stripe.
• In the fourth quarter, Johnson led the way with seven of her season-high 15 points. Six of her seven points in the quarter came in the paint, slipping the defender on several occasions on her way to the basket.

KEY STATS

• Scoring a season-high 15 points, junior Ellie Jo Johnson has now scored 10 or more points in four-straight games. The streak is the longest for an Eagle since Jazzmyn Elston closed the 2019-20 season with 10 or more points in each of the season’s final five games.
• Reaching the free throw line 17 times against Jacksonville State, Morehead State converted 15-of-17 attempts, posting an 88.2 percent clip from the charity stripe. The game marked the highest single-game free throw percentage for the Eagles this season and the fourth time the team had exceeded 80 percent from the free throw line.
• Redshirt sophomore Gabby Crawford grabbed 11 rebounds versus Jacksonville State, giving her 10 or more rebounds in three straight games. It is the longest streak of double-figure rebounding totals for an Eagle since Lala Humphries grabbed 10 or more boards against Eastern Illinois (Jan. 11, 2020), Tennessee State (Jan. 16, 2020), and Belmont (Jan. 18, 2020) during the 2019-20 campaign.
• Morehead State held Jacksonville State to 5-of-20 shooting from behind the three-point arc, good for a 25 percent clip. It marked the sixth time this season the Eagles have held its opponent under a 30 percent shooting percentage from three.