HALDEMAN, Ky. (Interstat) — The Morehead State Eagles, led by a dynamic all-around performance from Landon Forbes, seized control early and never relented in a 79-53 victory over the Tennessee State Tigers in an Ohio Valley Conference women’s basketball game Saturday at E.T. Johnson Arena.

The Eagles, improving to 16-11 overall, avenged a 70-62 home loss to the Tigers from a month prior with a dominant wire-to-wire effort. Tennessee State, which managed only three points in the opening quarter, fell to 4-21.

The game’s decisive stretch came almost immediately. Morehead State’s defense was suffocating from the tip, forcing a flurry of Tennessee State turnovers and missed shots. The Tigers did not score their first field goal until an Amiyah Ferguson three-pointer with 6:30 remaining in the first quarter, by which point the Eagles had already built a 6-3 lead. That early drought set the tone, as Morehead State closed the first period on a 13-0 run to lead 19-3. The Tigers committed seven turnovers in the quarter and shot just 1-of-12 from the field.

Forbes, a 5-foot-6 guard from Wichita, Kansas, was the catalyst, orchestrating the offense and disrupting Tennessee State’s rhythm. She finished with 14 points, eight assists, six rebounds and four steals in 38 minutes, consistently creating opportunities for her teammates in transition off Tennessee State’s 21 total turnovers, which the Eagles converted into 16 points.

While Forbes facilitated, her backcourt partner Josefine Enander of Sodertalje, Sweden, provided the scoring punch with a game-high 20 points, including four three-pointers. Forward Violet McNece of Chesterfield, Missouri, added 15 points and six rebounds, and post player Kate Dike of Kyiv, Ukraine, controlled the paint with 13 points, nine rebounds and two blocks.

The Eagles’ lead ballooned to 41-21 at halftime. Tennessee State showed brief signs of life in the third quarter behind Somah Kamara, cutting the deficit to 16 points on several occasions. Kamara, a sophomore from Minneapolis, led the Tigers with 18 points, six rebounds and three steals. But every Tigers push was met with an immediate response from Morehead State, often via a Forbes assist or a timely three-pointer from Enander or McNece.

The fourth quarter saw the Eagles extend their lead to as many as 29 points as their ball movement and shooting proved too much for the struggling Tigers. Tennessee State shot just 30% from the field for the game and was outscored 22-12 in the final period.

Amiyah Ferguson was the only other Tiger in double figures with 11 points. The Tigers’ 53 points marked their second-lowest offensive output of the season.

The victory keeps Morehead State in the upper tier of the OVC standings as the regular season enters its final weeks. The Eagles next travel to face Eastern Illinois on Thursday. Tennessee State, mired in a three-game losing streak, will look to regroup when they host Lindenwood on Thursday.

An announced crowd of 897 watched the Valentine’s Day matinee, where the Eagles’ performance left little doubt, outperforming a pregame statistical projection that gave them an 87% chance to win.