MIDWAY, Ky. - In a heavyweight battle at Marshall Gymnasium Thursday night, one big run proved to be the difference, as Rio Grande earned a 101-96 win over Midway in River States Conference women's basketball, despite a 33-point effort from A'Lyrica Hughes.

The first three quarters were an electric, back-and-forth affair that featured 11 lead changes and eight ties. And with 26 seconds remaining in the third quarter, the Red Storm were clinging to a 63-62 lead following a Jacie Chesser layup.

But in just seven seconds, Rio Grande, which entered the night second in the NAIA in scoring at 93.3 points per-game, got down the floor and scored on a Marina Garcia Perez layup. The Red Storm then got a steal and made two free throws in the final seconds to take a 67-62 lead going into the final quarter.

Thursday was a rare turn of events for the Eagles, who lost the turnover battle for the first time all season. Rio got 25 points off of 18 Midway turnovers while the Eagles scored 18 off 17 Red Storm turnovers.

The third-quarter surge was part of an 11-0 run Rio Grande put together in just 1:35. The run eventually got to 16-1 to stretch the lead to 79-63.

The Eagles continued to battle, thanks largely to the effort of Hughes, who shot 10-of-17 from the floor and 10-of-14 from the foul line, while also recording a team-best six assists.

Her 33 points were the most by an Eagle player since Dezeree White scored 35 in a Nov. 11, 2022 game against Cumberlands that went to triple overtime.

The lead would get as low as five three times, the first on a 3-point play by Chesser with 31 seconds to play to make it 94-89. Chesser had a great game herself, finishing with 18 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.

But that is as close as things would get, as the Red Storm proceeded to hit nine consecutive free throws. Hughes' effort was countered by a 35-point showing by Rio's Marlee Grinstead, who hit nine free throws in the fourth quarter alone.

Jermyra Christian (18 points) and Morgan Cross (10) also finished in double figures, while Trinity Johnson added nine rebounds and four steals.

With the win, the Red Storm improve to 14-0 in conference play and lock up the No. 1 seed in the East Division for the River State Conference Tournament.

The loss, the Eagles' first at home this season, drops them to 10-3 in conference play, one game ahead of Shawnee State for the No. 2 seed in the East. The Bears, who beat Midway 71-67 on Jan. 3, play at Marshall Gymnasium in the regular season finale Feb. 21.

The Eagles are back home for senior day against Indiana Columbus Saturday at 1 p.m.