MIDWAY, Ky. -- After having the last week off since their last outing, the Midway women's basketball team returned to the hardwood on Saturday (Feb. 5) when they hosted Oakland City (Ind.) for a River States Conference matchup inside Marshall Gymnasium.

The Eagles led by as many as 12 late in the second period, but the Mighty Oaks closed the first half on an 8-0 run cutting Midway's lead to four at intermission. Midway then outscored the visitors by six in the third period as they eventually held on for the 88-79 victory.

With the win, Chris Minner's squad improves to 18-6 overall and 10-2 in league play as they currently hold a two-game lead over Alice Lloyd (Ky.) in the RSC West Division. Oakland City, meanwhile, drops to 11-10 overall and 7-5 in league play with the loss.

The home team managed to score over their season average, but they finished the night shooting just 43.3 percent overall. Midway did, however, hold the visitors to 39.5 percent and forced the Mighty Oaks into 23 turnovers which led to a 32-18 edge in points off turnovers.

After trailing 6-4 in the early going, Midway jumped to a 13-6 advantage following a quick 9-0 run. Jalyn Jackson (Cold Spring, Ky.) kickstarted the rally with a triple before Leah Shelley (LaCenter, Ky.) and Dezeree White (Houston, Texas) added a couple of layups.

Oakland City closed the quarter on a 10-2 run to take a slim 18-7 lead after one quarter of play. The Eagles came out firing in the second quarter shooting 55.6 percent, while hitting 4-of-9 from behind the arc.

The duo of Leah Shelley and Allyson Callahan (Morehead, Ky.) combined to score 18 of Midway's 25 points as they each tallied nine points apiece. Shelley went on a personal 6-0 run and Callahan scored nine straight as Midway took a 42-38 lead into the locker room.

The third quarter saw Dezeree White and Kindall Talley (Frankfort, Ky.) lead the way. Talley scored 12 in the quarter and White carded eight as they were responsible for a 7-0 run that had Midway grab their largest lead of the contest at 63-47.

Midway tied their largest lead of the contest on four different occasions in the final stanza as they opened the quarter on a 6-0 run including a three-point play from Jill Goldey (Pineville, Ky.) and Keia McCullogh (Nashville, Tenn.).

The Mighty Oaks cut Midway's lead to single digits with under two minutes remaining, but the Eagles hit 5-of-6 from the charity stripe to seal the 88-79 victory. Jalyn Jackson hit four of those freebies as she recorded the first double-double of her career with 11 points and 10 assists.

Four others joined Jackson in double figures including Allyson Callahan who led the way with 18 points and eight rebounds. Kindall Talley chipped in 17 points and Dezeree White added 12, while Leah Shelley recorded 11 points and six rebounds off the bench.

Midway now enters a pivotal week with two crucial RSC West Division matchups against Alice Lloyd and IU Kokomo (Ind.). The Eagles square off with Alice Lloyd at 5:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday and IU Kokomo on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET.

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