MIDWAY, Ky. – In a matchup between the top two schools in the River States Conference West Division, the Asbury University women's basketball fell 97-86 at Midway on Thursday evening.

Asbury scored 57 points in the second half, but it wasn't enough to sustain a second-half comeback after trailing by 19 points. Five Eagles finished in double figures scoring in the loss. 

Inside the Matchup
AU drops to 14-5 (3-3, RSC) on the year.
Midway remains in first place in the RSC West and improves to 15-3.

Highlights
*Midway rolled out to a 26-7 edge as they shot nearly 70 percent from the floor in the opening quarter.
*AU was 3/17 shooting and held to only 6 points early on and trailed 31-14 after the first.
*MU continued to score at will in the second period and scored 27 points inside the paint throughout the half for a 48-29 halftime lead.
*Asbury was just 1-13 from three-point range and were out-rebounded 28-18 in the opening half.
*The Eagles fought back and cut the deficit down to 5 at 56-51, after a 22-8 run to start the second half. AU connected on 4 threes in the quarter and Autumn Herriford scored nine points in the period.
*Asbury's offense began to flow, and momentum momentarily swung in the favor of the Eagles after a dominating third period.
*In the 4^th, AU trailed 63-56, but were unable to ultimately claim the lead. The final period saw a total of 64 points, with Midway outscoring AU 34-30.

Key Stats
*Zaria Napier, who was named RSC Player of the Week on Monday, had another big game as she collected a team-high 25 points and 8 rebounds.
*Autumn Herriford posted 18 points on 50 percent shooting, along with five rebounds and five assists. The junior is now just two points away from 1,000 career points.
*Kelsey Johnson recorded 13 points and six rebounds.
*Sarah King and Amie Conley also scored in double figures with 10 points and five rebounds apiece.
*The Eagles shot 37 percent from the field and were 22-29 from the foul line.
*AU produced 20 points off of turnovers and forced 11 steals.
*Midway shot over 50 percent on the night and converted on 13 second-chance points.

Next Up
Asbury returns to action at home on Saturday for an RSC matchup with Alice Lloyd. Tip-off is scheduled for a 1 PM start.