Box Score NORFOLK, Va. – The trio of Eriel McKee, Almesha Jones and Shay Steele combined for 56 points, and visiting Morehead State rode a big second-half performance to pull away from Norfolk State, 83-66, in the season-opener for both teams on Friday night at Echols Hall.

McKee had 20 points and seven rebounds, Jones had 19 points and eight assists and Steele had 17 points and seven boards for the Eagles (1-0), who outscored the Spartans (0-1) by 21 in the second half.

Senior Rae Corbo scored a game-high 23 points on 8-of-17 shooting for NSU. Freshman Kayla Roberts and senior Aivah Parham added 11 points apiece. 

Neither team led by more than six points in a tight first half. MSU held leads of 11-5 and 19-13 in the early going, but the Spartans use their pressure defense to rally. The Eagles had six turnovers during a 15-6 NSU spurt. Corbo hit a 3-pointer to give NSU its first lead, 24-23, with 7:47 left in the first half. Two Amber Brown free throws pushed the lead to three, at 28-25.

Dominique Harper hit a pair of free throws with 1:15 left before halftime to send the Spartans into the half with a 39-35 lead, matching their largest advantage of the opening period.

Corbo drilled a jumper from the left baseline just nine seconds into the second half to give NSU its largest lead, 41-35. But the Spartans would go cold from there. MSU went on a 14-0 run over the next five minutes. Casey Ryans punctuated the run with a layup to make it 49-41. The MSU lead reached double figures at 53-42 when Steele scored on a left-handed layup with 12:28 left.

Roberts stopped the run with a jumper in the paint 10 seconds later, ending a field goal drought of 7:33.

The Spartans later drew within six, 67-61, on two Parham free throws with 5:59 left, but could get no closer.

The Eagles shot 47 percent in the second half while holding NSU to 25 percent (8-of-32) accuracy. The Spartans also committed 15 of their 24 turnovers in the decisive second half.

MSU shot 47 percent for the game, while the Spartans hit just 32 percent. MSU also outrebounded the Spartans 46-36.

Steele was 7-of-13 from the floor and had four of MSU's eight blocks. Jones had four of the Eagles' 14 steals.

Jazamine Gray led NSU with seven assists. Roberts had four rebounds and four steals and hit 2-of-3 from behind the 3-point arc in her first game as a Spartan. Parham scored her 11 points in just 12 minutes off the bench.

The Spartans hit the road for their next two games, starting with a 7 p.m. game at Virginia Tech on Tuesday.