RIO GRANDE, Ohio -- After pushing their win streak to nine with a thrilling win at West Virginia Tech, the Midway women's basketball team was right back in action on Tuesday (Jan. 11) with a road trip to No. 18 Rio Grande (Ohio) in a River States Conference showdown.

In a matchup featuring the final two unbeaten teams in the RSC, the RedStorm – who are currently ranked No. 18 in the NAIA Coaches' Poll – built an 18-point third quarter lead but were forced to hold off a furious Midway rally in the fourth quarter.

The Eagles cut the deficit to seven with just under seven minutes remaining, but Rio Grande quickly extended their lead to double figures en route to claiming the 99-89 victory.

The loss snaps Midway's nine game win streak as they drop to 14-5 overall and 7-1 in league play, while the RedStorm improve to 18-1 overall and a perfect 7-0 in RSC action.

In a matchup that featured 63 combined fouls and 87 combined free throws, Midway didn't help their cause shooting just 40.3 percent overall and 20 percent from three. The Eagles also hit just 31-of-49 from the charity stripe for 63.3 percent.

The RedStorm shot 52.2 percent from the floor, while they hit just 2-of-11 from behind the arc for 18.2 percent. Rio Grande also hit 27-of-38 from the free throw line as they dominated the rebounding battle holding a 52-31 edge.

Midway grabbed an early four-point lead following a triple by Jill Goldey (Pineville, Ky.) and a layup by Dezeree White (Houston, Texas), but that would be the only lead the visitors would have.

The RedStorm answered and would take a 22-18 lead following the opening 10 minutes before outscoring the Eagles by 10 in the second en route to holding a 51-37 lead at intermission.

Rio Grande used a 7-0 third quarter run to build their largest lead of the contest at 69-51 as they would eventually take a 74-60 lead into the final stanza.

The Eagles opened the fourth quarter on an 11-4 run to get within seven with 6:53 left, but that would be as close as they would get as the RedStorm pushed their lead back to double figures before hanging on for the 99-89 victory.

Midway had four players reach double figures with Dezeree White leading the way with 19 points. Jalyn Jackson (Cold Spring, Ky.) and Keia McCullogh (Nashville, Tenn.) each carded 11 points, while Kindall Talley just missed a double-double with 10 points and eight rebounds.

Chris Minner's squad is now scheduled to return to action on Saturday (Jan. 15) when they travel to Ohio Christian. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. ET in Circleville, Ohio.

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