After MSU's Tiffany Hamilton tied the game with a 3-pointer with 12 seconds remaining, Pressley grabbed an offensive rebound following a missed shot by Ta'Kenya Nixon. Pressley, a native of nearby Lexington, Ky., got fouled on the putback and made both free throws to seal the win.

Morehead State's top player, Chynna Bozeman, fouled out when she made contact with Pressley on the putback attempt. Bozeman, the OVC's leading scorer, finished with a game-high 22 points. Five of her six field goals were 3-pointers.

“[Morehead] battled back and Chynna Bozeman got going; and man when she gets going like that, you're kind of at her will,” EIU head coach Brady Sallee said. “But all in all, we did what we had to do and made some big-time winning plays down the stretch, none bigger than Ta'Kenya's drive, Chantelle's rebound and those free throws.”

The Panthers took control of the game in the second half with a 15-0 run. Morehead answered and went up 57-56 at the 1:27 mark of the second half. But Kelsey Wyss hit a big jumper from the top of the key and also came up with a steal later in the final minute.

Kloak's biggest basket of the game was scored with 36 seconds remaining. Eastern ran the shot clock all the way down before Thomas hit Kloak in the post. The senior maintained her composure with only a few seconds remaining on the shot clock and converted a layup to give the Panthers a 60-57 lead.

“To her credit, [Kloak] came out and was just a beast out there [in the second half],” Sallee said. “That play, it was just out of our motion [offense]. We were moving the ball and ran that shot clock down deep. I had it in a senior's hands and Ashley Thomas made a great post-entry pass, you can't say enough about that pass. Maggie ducked in like we teach her to do, she caught it, wheeled around, no hesitation and made a huge shot.”

Kloak was 5-of-11 from the field and 10-of-16 at the free throw line while recording eight rebounds. She scored 17 of her 20 points in the second half. Pressley had seven rebounds and five assists to go along with her 10 points. Thomas, meanwhile, connected on three of EIU's five 3-pointers.

Eastern shot 48 percent from the field in the second half to finish the game at 38 percent. Thirty-two of MSU's 56 field-goal attempts came from 3-point land, including nine of its 19 made baskets. The Eagles made six of their nine 3s in the second half. The Panthers outscored MSU 21-13 at the free throw line, 16 of the 21 makes coming in the second half.

Ahead 24-23 at the half, EIU surged ahead with the 15-0 run. Kloak scored seven points and Thomas capped the run with consecutive 3-pointers. Morehead went six and half minutes without a field goal during the surge.

But the momentum swung back to the Eagles' favor shortly thereafter. Eastern went nearly seven minutes without a field goal and MSU put together a 17-3 run. Bozeman opened and capped the surge with 3-pointers and accounted for 11 of the 17 points.

The Panthers finally responded with four points to retake the lead. Nixon was fouled on a dribble drive and made both free throws, and Kloak connected on a drop step layup in the post. Morehead answered with a 3-pointer on the other end of the floor and it was one-possession game the rest of the way.

Eastern led by as many as seven points in the first half. Morehead put together a 7-0 spurt late in the half to tie it at 21-21. Madeline Kish's 3-pointer at the 7:10 mark was EIU's final field goal of the first half. But the Eagles only scored four points in the final five minutes before the halftime break.

The Panthers return to action Thursday when they host Murray State at 5:30 p.m.

More Info: Contact Ben Turner, Asst. SID