HALDEMAN, Ky. (Interstat) — Kenleigh Woods scored 17 points and Eastern Kentucky withstood a fourth-quarter comeback to beat Morehead State 63-58 on Thursday at E.T. Johnson Arena in a women’s NCAA Division I game. Woods added seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks for the Lady Colonels, who improved to 1-1. Morehead State fell to 0-2. Attendance was 1,456. Eastern Kentucky was coming off an 89-90 loss at Tennessee-Martin in its opener, while Morehead State had opened with an 85-42 loss at Kentucky.

Eastern Kentucky trailed early but seized control with a 16-0 run to close the first quarter. Luna Ueda opened the scoring with a free throw, but Lanae Riley made a 3-pointer and Kensley Feltner made a turnaround jumper and a 3-pointer to help Morehead State take an 8-3 lead. Kirsten Lewis-Williams made a turnaround jump shot for Eastern Kentucky, and Woods made a driving layup. Kamora Morgan made a free throw and a layup to push the Eagles ahead 11-5, but the Lady Colonels responded. Kailani Lindsey made a layup, Ueda made a driving layup, Liz Freihofer made a 3-pointer, and Lewis-Williams made a 3-pointer to put Eastern Kentucky ahead. Brooke Nichelson made a free throw, Woods made two free throws, and Freihofer made a 3-point jump shot in the final minute to give Eastern Kentucky a 21-11 lead after one quarter.

The Lady Colonels stretched the margin in the second quarter. Feltner made two free throws for Morehead State, but Ueda made a driving layup, Freihofer made a 3-pointer, Lewis-Williams made a layup, Ueda made another layup, and Lewis-Williams made two free throws as Eastern Kentucky built a 32-13 lead. Heidi Smith made a free throw for the Eagles, and Woods answered with a layup. Breayah Jefferson made a pullup jump shot, Smith made a layup, and Feltner made a 3-pointer and two free throws to help Morehead State close the gap. Woods made one free throw, Millie Pearson made a layup, Lindsey made a driving layup, and Woods made a layup as Eastern Kentucky took a 39-25 lead into halftime. The Lady Colonels led by as many as 20 points in the second quarter.

Morehead State chipped away in the third quarter. Lindsey made a layup for Eastern Kentucky, but Alonna Poole made a layup for the Eagles. Woods made a layup, and Feltner answered with a 3-pointer. Smith made two layups and a free throw, and Morgan made two free throws as Morehead State cut the deficit. Lewis-Williams made a layup and two free throws for Eastern Kentucky, which led 47-38 after three quarters.

The Eagles made their strongest push in the fourth. Lewis-Williams made a pullup jump shot, Feltner made a free throw, Woods made a free throw, and Feltner made two free throws. Lewis-Williams made a 3-pointer to push Eastern Kentucky’s lead to 53-41, but Smith made a 3-pointer, Morgan made a 3-pointer, and Smith made two free throws as Morehead State rallied. Woods made two free throws, Smith made a layup, and Smith made two more free throws to cut the lead to 55-53. Pearson made a free throw to make it 55-54 with 3:35 remaining. Eastern Kentucky answered when Freihofer made a 3-point jump shot with 3:16 left. Feltner made a layup, but Woods responded with a layup and later made a free throw to push the lead to 61-56. Feltner made a driving layup with 15.2 seconds left, and Ueda sealed the win with two free throws in the final seconds.

Woods, a 5-foot-6 guard from Ashland, Ky., who previously played at Ashland Blazer, led Eastern Kentucky with 17 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks in 36 minutes. Lewis-Williams, a 5-foot-10 guard from Lake Norman, finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and two assists in 34 minutes. Freihofer, a 5-foot-10 guard from Cooper, had 12 points, four rebounds and two blocks in 37 minutes. Ueda, a 5-foot-5 guard, added nine points, two rebounds and three assists in 36 minutes, and Lindsey, a 6-foot-1 forward from Foster, had six points, three rebounds, one assist and two blocks in 17 minutes. For Morehead State, Feltner, a 5-foot-11 guard from Lawrence County High School, led all scorers with 22 points to go with six rebounds, one assist and one block in 38 minutes. Smith, a 6-foot-1 guard from J. Addison School, had 18 points, 10 rebounds and one assist in 40 minutes. Morgan had eight points, five rebounds, one assist and two blocks in 35 minutes. Pearson, a 6-foot forward from Discovery Canyon High School, had three points, six rebounds, two assists and three blocks in 21 minutes, while Riley, a 6-foot forward from Archbishop Hoban, had three points, nine rebounds and four assists in 17 minutes.

Eastern Kentucky scored 63 points from 80 possessions, an offensive rating of 78.3. Morehead State scored 58 points from 74 possessions, an offensive rating of 78.5. The Lady Colonels shot 21 of 67 from the floor, 6 of 27 from 3-point range and 15 of 22 from the free-throw line. The Eagles shot 17 of 52 from the floor, 6 of 21 from 3-point range and 18 of 25 from the free-throw line. Eastern Kentucky had 17 assists, nine blocks, nine offensive rebounds and 12 turnovers. Morehead State had six assists, seven blocks, 11 offensive rebounds and 21 turnovers.

Feltner and Smith combined for 40 points for the Eagles. Woods, Lewis-Williams and Freihofer combined for 47 points for the Lady Colonels. Eastern Kentucky next hosts Radford, while Morehead State next visits Vanderbilt.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Eastern Kentucky 68, Morehead State 61. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Eastern Kentucky with a 70.2 percent probability to win.