Army Comes Up Short Against Eastern Kentucky

RICHMOND, Ky. – Army West Point women’s basketball came up short on Saturday afternoon, falling to Eastern Kentucky 74-64 at Baptist Health Arena.

Army (5-2) had a tough time shooting the ball in the second half and couldn’t slow down the Eastern Kentucky (7-1) offense in the final 10 minutes.

The first half was an offensive battle, as both teams shot well during the opening two quarters. Through the first six minutes the two teams were going bucket for bucket and at the first media timeout, EKU had a narrow 13-12 lead. Brooke Wilson knocked down a pair of free throws with 2:49 left to Keep Army within one but the Black Knights went scoreless for the remainder of the period. The Colonels closed the quarter on a 4-0 run to take a 19-14 lead into the second quarter.

Despite the hot start Army went just 5-12 in the opening 10 minutes, while EKU were 8-12 from the field.

Army’s cold offense from the end of the first quarter did not carry over, as the Black Knights had their best offensive stretch in the second quarter. With Army trailing 26-21, Reese Ericson erupted for eight straight points – including back-to-back three’s – to give the Black Knights a one-point lead and force an EKU timeout. Ericson had 11 points in the frame.

Both teams traded points for the remainder of the period and went into the halftime break with EKU up 36-33. The Black Knights outscored the Colonels 19-17 in the second quarter, while shooting 5-10 from the field and going a perfect 6-6 from the charity stripe.

Contrary to the second quarter, the third period saw Army struggled from the field, going 1-11. However, thanks to near-perfect free-throw shooting – 9-10 – Army only found itself down four going into the final quarter of play.

Eastern Kentucky kept its strong defensive play over the final 10 minutes, and Army was unable to get the score back in its favor. The Colonels got off to a hot start on offense and grew their lead to eight with 6:30 remaining. The Black Knights got the score within six with 1:14 left to play but couldn’t get it closer than that.