MOREHEAD, Ky. – Ajulu Thatha collected 29 points and 16 rebounds for her eighth double double of the season, but it wasn't enough as Morehead State downed the Cougars 64-60 at Johnson Arena Saturday afternoon. Thatha's 16 rebounds marked a career best performance and the most by a Cougar since the 2018-19 season.
SIUE falls to 6-15 overall and 5-5 in Ohio Valley Conference play. Morehead State improves to 8-13 and 4-6.
"A lot of credit to Morehead State," Head Coach Samantha Quigley Smith said. "They hit some timely, clutch shots down the stretch."
Morehead State took the opening four points of the game before a three-pointer by Thatha gave the Cougars their first lead of the contest at 9-8. SIUE concluded the first quarter with a five-point lead at 18-13, scoring six points on second chance opportunities.
The Cougars led for the entire second period and grabbed their largest lead of the contest with 6:17 to play following an offensive rebound and layup by sophomore guard Sofie Lowis. With 4:23 to play in the second, Thatha grabbed her 10th rebound to secure her eighth double double of the season.
SIUE entered the locker room up three at 30-27.
The Cougars shot 40 percent (12-30) and were 3-6 from behind the arc in the first half of play. Thatha concluded the opening half with 13 points and 14 rebounds.
Morehead State regained its lead at 33-32 with 7:32 to play in the third after a fast break layup by Veronica Charles. A layup by Olivia Clayton with 3:19 to go allowed the Cougars to regain a short lead before a 7-0 run by Morehead State pushed the Eagles' lead to six. An offensive rebound by Macy Silvey and turnaround jumper by Lowis with 43 seconds remaining put the Cougars within four points entering the final quarter.
A three-pointer by Silvey allowed SIUE to knot the game at 58 with 2:11 remaining in the contest. SIUE forced a turnover from Morehead with 1:49 to go, allowing Thatha to score her 29th point in the contest with 50 seconds remaining. Morehead State would respond with a three-pointer by Charles with 32 seconds to play, forcing the Cougars to take a timeout.
Trailing 61-60 with 23 seconds remaining, a missed layup by Lowis allowed Morehead State to grab a defensive rebound. Back to back fouls forced Morehead State's Sandra Lin to the line with 12 seconds to go. After missing the first and making the second for a two-point lead, the Cougars took a 30 second.
With four seconds to go, a traveling violation by Thatha gave the Eagles the ball back. SIUE fouled, forcing Lin to the line where she went 2-2 to take a 64-60 lead and secure a Morehead State victory.
"Our defense was definitely more locked in, but we had another tough third quarter where we struggled to get stops," added Smith. "We need to improve coming out of the locker room."
Thatha's 29-point outing marked her sixth 20-point game this season. She was 11-18 from the field, setting a career best in field goals made. Her 16 rebounds also set a career high. She also finished with four blocks, also good for a career best.
Sofie Lowis added nine points while KK Rodriguez contributed seven.
Morehead State finished the game with three players scoring in double figures. Veronica Charles led the Eagles with 21 while Sophie Benharouga and Hallie Rhodes added 12 each.
"Like I told our group after the game, this is going to take the full 16 on this roster to be successful," said Smith. "Sometimes adversity wakes people up and what better time than going into February. There's a lot of opportunity ahead of us still."
SIUE welcomes UT Martin to First Community Arena on Thursday, Feb. 2. Tipoff is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. for SIUE's annual Education Day.
