Morehead State’s women’s basketball team ended its season with a 60-55 loss to Southeast Missouri in the quarterfinals of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. Senior Marie Sepp led the Eagles with 17 points, making seven of her career-high 19 field goal attempts and both free throws. Senior Kate Dike contributed 11 points in her final game for Morehead State.
The Eagles took a 52-47 lead with just over six minutes remaining after a layup by Circe Rubio Remolar. However, Southeast Missouri responded with a 7-0 run to move ahead. Dike broke a late scoring drought with a turnaround shot in the lane to give Morehead State a brief lead at 55-52. Southeast Missouri then converted all six of their free throws in the closing minutes to secure the win as Morehead State managed only one basket in their final nine attempts.
Kearra Jones scored 15 points and Ainaya Williams added 11 for Southeast Missouri, which will play top-seeded Western Illinois next.
Morehead State controlled much of the first half, leading nearly all but the opening two minutes and forcing ten turnovers that led to ten points. Despite shooting struggles—hitting only 40% from the floor in each of the first two quarters—the Eagles led at halftime, 31-29.
Southeast Missouri improved their shooting in the second quarter and hit three out of six three-pointers. The third quarter was marked by four lead changes and low shooting percentages from both teams.
Over the course of the game, Morehead State shot 37% from the field and made five out of twenty-two three-point attempts. They won the rebounding battle by seven and held an edge in second chance points but committed fourteen turnovers compared to thirteen for SEMO, which translated into an eight-point deficit on points off turnovers.
Laura Toffali recorded two steals, ending her season with a school-record ninety-six steals—surpassing Chynna Bozeman’s previous record for most steals in a single season at Morehead State.
First-year head coach Ashton Feldhaus guided Morehead State to eighteen wins this year—an eight-win improvement over last season and marking the most victories for a first-year head coach since Tom Hodges achieved twenty-one wins during his inaugural campaign in 2010-11. The team also allowed an average of just under sixty-five points per game this season, their best defensive mark since 2009-10, and made more three-pointers than any team since that same year.
