MIDWAY, Ky. -- Following a six-day break since their last outing, the Midway University women's basketball team returned to action on Friday (Dec. 10) when they hosted No. 21 Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) inside Marshall Gymnasium.

The Eagles put together their best performance of the season as they took a slim 37-36 lead into the locker room before outscoring the visitors by 11 in the third and fourth quarters as they held on for the 78-66 upset victory.

The win is the biggest of the season for Chris Minner's squad who improves to 9-4 overall as their win streak grows to four. Mount Vernon Nazarene, meanwhile, drips to 9-3 on the season following the loss.

Friday's victory is the first win over a team ranked inside the top 25 under Coach Minner, while it is the first since Jan. 17, 2019, when Midway handed No. 25 Rio Grande (Ohio) an 81-70 defeat.

The Eagles came out firing on all cylinders as they sprinted to an early 11-0 lead. Dezeree White (Houston, Texas), Jalyn Jackson (Cold Spring, Ky.) and Allyson Callahan (Morehead, Ky.) each hit layups in the run, while Jill Goldey (Pineville, Ky.) scored five points to cap the 11-0 rally.

The flow of the game soon settled down as the Cougars went on a quick 7-0 run before taking a brief 17-16 lead, but it was the home team that would take a 22-21 lead into the second stanza. That lead would hold throughout the second period as Midway took a 37-36 lead at halftime.

Midway got off to a sluggish start to begin the third quarter as the Cougars opened with a 13-6 run as they took their largest lead of the contest at 49-43 with 5:42 left in the quarter. The Eagles called a quick timeout and responded with a run that saw them take the lead for good.

The Eagles responded with an 8-0 run which would soon turn into a 17-5 run that lasted over five minutes as the Eagles took a 60-54 lead into the fourth. With the game tied at 51, Keia McCullogh (Nashville, Tenn.) scored five points and Callahan hit a trey as part of a 7-0 run near the end of the third quarter.

Midway led by as many as seven early in the fourth, but the Cougars cut the deficit back to two with 5:17 remaining. Callahan hit her second trey of the half to push the lead back to five.

The visitors made one last push and cut the deficit to two on a layup with 3:04 left, but that would be the final points they scored. The Eagles scored the final 10 points of regulation including going 8-of-10 from the charity stripe to help seal the 78-66 victory.

Dezeree White paced the Eagles and turned in yet another stellar performance. The junior from Houston, Texas scored a season-high 30 points on 10-of-15 shooting. She also went 9-of-11 from the free throw line to go with her four steals and four rebounds.

Allyson Callahan added 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting, while Milan Miller (Houston, Texas), Jalyn Jackson and Jill Goldey each chipped in seven points in the win.

The Eagles will now have the weekend off as they're scheduled to return to action on Tuesday (Dec. 14) when they host Brescia (Ky.) in a River States Conference matchup inside Marshall Gymnasium at 5:30 p.m. ET.

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