The sixth-seeded Morehead State women's basketball team led by as many as 10 points over third-seeded Tennessee State in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament quarterfinals Thursday, but the Tigers outscored the Eagles 30-8 in the final 11 minutes to rally for an 81-66 victory at Municipal Auditorium.
Tennessee State (16-12), which has now won eight consecutive games for the first time since 1997-98, moves on to face second-seeded SIU Edwardsville in the semifinals Friday. The Tigers, who won all three meetings with MSU this year, have also won eighth straight in the series. Morehead State, which still leads the TSU series 30-24, sees its first season under Head Coach Greg Todd come to an end at 12-18.
The contest marked the collegiate finale for seniors Almesha Jones, Casey Ryans, Mackenzie Arledge and Maiki Viela. Jones, Ryans and Arledge are four-year players, while Viela played her final season after transferring from Gonzaga.
"Give Tennessee State credit," Todd said. "They beat us three times this season, so you have to tip your cap. TSU is a quality team and took over down the stretch today. We had a hard time taking care of the ball in the second half, but I'm sure they had a lot to do with that. I thought we played a solid first half, but we ran out of gas in the final 10 or 12 minutes."
MSU led 58-51 with 10:50 remaining, but the Eagles went more than seven minutes without a field goal and turned the ball over nine times as TSU raced past them. The Eagles managed just two field goals in the final 13:57.
Rachel Allen's three-pointer at the 8:11 mark gave the Tigers a 59-58 lead. A free throw by freshman forward Brooke Todd tied the contest at 59, but Chelsea Hudson's jumper with 6:15 showing on the clock pushed the higher-seeded team ahead for good.
Hudson and Allen paced TSU with 20 points apiece, while Brianna Lawrence tossed in 19. TSU connected on 9-of-17 from the three-point arc and committed only eight turnovers to MSU's 20. Allen went 5-for-5 from three-point land and also had six assists.
"Allen is a good player, but she took things a step further today," Todd added. "She had Lebron James-like numbers. Her productivity was crazy good, and you have to give her credit."
Jones led the Eagles with 19 points and seven assists, her 24th double-digit scoring effort this year. She finished her career with 1,443 points to rank 13th in program history. The MSU career assist leader, Jones concluded with 589 helpers.
Jones had 246 assists this season, which is the MSU single-season record, the third-highest in OVC history and the most for a league player since 1985-86. She also ranks sixth in assists in league history. She finished ranked second in career steals at MSU with 250.
"We've had lots of positive things happen this season," Todd said. "I'm proud of our young ladies, especially the seniors. Almesha had an excellent campaign. Casey had her best year at Morehead State. Mackenzie played fewer minutes, but really fought hard for us. And Maiki only had one year at MSU, but she meant a lot to our team."
Freshman forward Eriel McKee scored 16 points and concluded her first collegiate campaign with 22 double-digit scoring efforts. Ryans' final game netted 10 points and six rebounds. Sophomore forward Shay Steele corralled a team-best 10 rebounds at the Eagles won the board battle, 42-41.
"We are happy to return to the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament but not completely satisfied just getting here," Todd concluded. "I'm hoping we can build on this and take things a step further in 2015-16."