SATURDAY'S SCORES
Austin Peay 68, @Butler 65
@UT Martin 54, Illinois State 52
@Eastern Illinois 85, Evansville 74
AUSTIN PEAY 68, BUTLER 65
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Senior Yamia Johnson scored a season-high 17 points and led an Austin Peay State University women's basketball team that drilled a season-high 10 three-pointers en route to a 68-65 win over Butler, Saturday, at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse.
First-year head coach Brittany Young led Austin Peay (3-1) to its third-straight victory and its first road win of the season, handing Butler (0-4) its fourth-straight loss at home to start the season.
After falling behind 8-0 to open the contest, D'Shara Booker scored the first of her season-high ten points to get the Govs on the scoreboard with 6:20 left in the opening frame. Trailing by four with less than a minute remaining in the first quarter, Kasey Kidwell knocked down a pair of free throws with four seconds left on the clock to bring the Govs within two points, 20-18, at the end of the first quarter.
Austin Peay opened the second quarter with an old-fashioned three-point play from Johnson and Kidwell scored four of her season-high 12 points to stretch the advantage to five with 8:24 left before the half. After the Bulldogs trimmed the deficit back to three points, Karle pace drilled a three-pointer for the first of her 13 points to give the Govs their biggest lead of the first half at 28-22 with 6:36 left.
Butler was able to cut into the Austin Peay advantage before the half, but back-to-back triples from Johnson and Kidwell put the lead back at six points, before Butler's Alex Richard scored two of her team-high 17 points to give the Govs a 38-35 halftime lead.
Leading by three to start the third quarter, five-straight points from Pace put the Govs up by eight before a Kidwell triple stretched the lead to 11 with 4:55 left in the quarter. With 1:23 left in the penultimate quarter, Pace and Johnson drilled back-to-back threes to close the frame with Austin Peay holding its biggest lead of the night, 56-42.
Butler started the fourth quarter on a 16-4 run to cut the Austin Peay advantage to just two points. However, back-to-back Booker buckets halted the Butler run and the Govs never allowed the Bulldogs to get closer than two points in the final quarter.
With the lead at three points and less than 20 seconds on the clock, Pace stole a Butler pass and pulled up short of the basket, forcing the Bulldogs to foul with nine seconds on the clock. Pace knocked down both free throws and the Governors held on for their first road win.
Brittany Young picked up her third-straight win and the first road win of her coaching career.
Austin Peay picked up its first win against Butler since the series' first meeting in 1997, it was also the Govs first-ever win at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Austin Peay knocked down a season-high 10 three pointers, with five Govs connecting from three-point range.
The Governors scored 22 points in the paint; they have scored 20-plus points in the paint in three-straight games.
The Govs bench scored a season-high 34 points and has scored at least 27 points in three-straight contests.
Yamia Johnson scored a season-high 17 points and led the Govs in scoring for the first time this season, she has scored in double-figures in all four games this season.
Karle Pace scored 13 points; she has been in double-figures in all four games this season.
Pace and Nina De Leon Negron each dished out a team-high four assists.
Kasey Kidwell scored a season-high 12 points in just her second game of the season.
D'Shara Booker scored in double figures for the first time this season with 10 points, she also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
Lyric Cole, Ella Sawyer, and Shay-Lee Kirby each recorded a team-high two steals in the contest.
Austin Peay will travel to Boca Raton, Florida for the FAU Thanksgiving Tournament where they will play a 1:30 p.m., Nov. 26 contest against Davidson and an 11 a.m., Nov. 27 game against Tulsa.
UT MARTIN 54, ILLINOIS STATE 52
MARTIN, Tenn. - Seygan Robins calmly sank a pair of go-ahead free throws with 1.3 seconds remaining as the University of Tennessee at Martin women's basketball squad edged Illinois State by a 54-52 margin in the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center this afternoon.
The Skyhawks led for 36:21 of clock time today but it took a gutsy performance on the defensive end to fend off a furious Redbird rally. With 2:46 remaining in the contest, Illinois State took its first lead since midway through the first quarter but UT Martin held the Redbirds to just one field goal for the rest of the game.
Paige Pipkin poured in a season-best 17 points while adding team-highs of three assists and three steals for the Skyhawks in a rematch of last year's season finale in the Women's National Invitation Tournament. Holly Forbes contributed 11 points and a game-high seven rebounds for UT Martin, who led by as many as 13 points while improving to 3-2 on the season.
Illinois State (1-3) placed three players in double figures scoring, led by DeAnna Wilson's 14 points. Maya Wong and Jada Stinson each had 12 points for the Redbirds, who made things interesting by outscoring the Skyhawks by a 16-8 margin in the fourth quarter.
The Skyhawks were on fire early as three-pointers from Kyannah Grant and Robins less than a minute into the contest resulted in a 6-0 lead for the home squad. The Redbirds rallied for an 8-0 run before back-to-back jumpers by Pipkin and a floater in the lane from Grant gave UT Martin a 16-11 advantage at the end of the first quarter. The Skyhawks shot a sizzling 58.3 percent (7-of-12) from the floor while forcing Illinois State into six turnovers in the opening 10 minutes.
UT Martin kept the lead for the entire second quarter although the Redbirds put up a fight. Six unanswered points for Illinois State pulled it within a single point but Forbes accounted for seven consecutive Skyhawk points – including an old-fashioned three-point play at the 5:39 mark to push UT Martin's lead out to 25-17. The Redbirds later went on an 8-0 run to once again get back within one but a pair of Forbes free throws made the halftime score 31-28 in favor of the Skyhawks. Forbes piled up nine of UT Martin's 15 points in the second period as the Skyhawks were a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe.
Forbes was responsible for a game-high nine points at the break while Wong's eight points guided Illinois State.
UT Martin's lead ballooned out to 13 points in the third quarter thanks to its long distance shooting. Robins, Pipkin and Emma Davis all swished three-pointers as part of an 11-2 run that lasted 4:05. Davis' trey gave the Skyhawks their biggest lead of the day at 46-33 with 2:37 to go in the quarter before UT Martin settled for a 46-36 lead heading into the final period. The stingy Skyhawk defense put in work during the third quarter, limiting the Redbirds to 10 percent shooting (1-of-10).
The momentum changed hands quickly as Illinois State started the fourth quarter on an 11-0 run, taking a 47-46 lead with 2:46 left to play. A pull-up jumper in the paint from Pipkin 21 seconds later snapped UT Martin's scoreless drought and tilted the favor back in favor of the Skyhawks (48-47). Pipkin and Shanice Simpson-Whiteley each converted two huge free throws over the next two minutes until a Redbird three-pointer with 25 seconds remaining knotted the score at 52-all. On the ensuing possession, Robins drove the lane and was fouled with 1.3 seconds on the clock. The Harrodsburg, Ky. native went 2-for-2 from the line to nudge UT Martin ahead 54-52. Following a series of timeouts as each coach tried to find the proper personnel, the Skyhawk defense prevailed once again as Illinois State could not get a shot off before the final buzzer.
UT Martin heads back on the road for its next two contests as it will square off against George Washington (Nov. 26) and No. 25 Virginia Tech (Nov. 27) in the San Juan Shootout in Puerto Rico.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 85, EVANSVILLE 74
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois women's basketball gutted out an 85-74 double overtime home victory over Evansville on Saturday night at Lantz Arena. With the win, the Panthers are off to their first 3-0 start to a season since the 2011-12 season.
The game was back-and-forth throughout, as the Panthers started fast, jumping out to an 8-2 lead before the Purple Aces tied the game with an 11-5 run. The Panthers responded in the second quarter, taking a 22-18 lead before Evansville came back with a 9-2 run to take a 27-24 lead. The Purple Aces led 30-28 at halftime.
The second half became a game of runs. After Evansville went up 36-32 early in the third quarter, EIU went on a 13-4 run that was capped off by back-to-back jumpers by Kira Arthofer to take a 45-40 lead. After the Purple Aces came back to tie the game at 47, EIU finished the period on a 7-2 run to take a 54-49 lead into the fourth quarter. The Panthers started strong in the 4th, taking a 58-51 lead with 6 minutes remaining. Evansville would not go away though, taking a 62-61 lead with 2 minutes to go in regulation. After the Panthers used three made free throws by Abby Wahl and Lariah Washington to take a 64-62 lead, Evansville's Abby Feit made a layup with 44 seconds on the clock to send the game into overtime.
After the two teams remained tied at 70 in the first overtime, the Panthers took control in the second overtime. Evansville went up 74-72 early, but EIU finished the game on a 13-0 run to ultimately seal the deal. Washington willed her team to victory, scoring seven points in the second overtime.
Washington scored a team-high 25 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field and grabbed six rebounds. Abby Wahl notched her sixth career double-double, scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Morgan Litwiller notched her first career double-double, scoring 13 points and recording a team-high and career-high 12 rebounds. Kira Arthofer scored a career-high tying 16 and Jordyn Hughes contributed with 10.
Up next, the Panthers will host the Oakland City Mighty Oaks for Kids Day on Monday, November 22. Tipoff is scheduled for noon CT.