Ohio Valley Conference

MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois women's basketball turned in one of its most complete performances of the season Thursday morning, rolling past St. Francis 90–55 inside Western Hall. The Leathernecks set the tone early and never wavered, pairing efficient scoring with dominant rebounding and a balanced offensive push that stretched the lead every quarter. WIU also shattered its program attendance record, drawing an impressive crowd of 3,167.

WIU wasted no time setting the tone, opening the game with a 25–10 first quarter fueled by interior scoring and second-chance opportunities. Raegan McCowan sparked the early surge, converting on multiple paint touches and helping the Leathernecks dominate the offensive glass. Western kept its foot on the gas in the second quarter, erupting for 31 points—its highest-scoring period of the afternoon. The offense clicked from all three levels as WIU hit five threes in the frame, stretched the floor, and continued to punish the Saints in transition. By halftime, the Leathernecks had built a commanding 56–29 advantage.

The second half brought more of the same: patient half-court execution on offense and active hands defensively. Western Illinois held St. Francis to just 15 points in the third quarter and 11 in the fourth, never allowing the visitors to find rhythm. WIU's depth also showed as the bench contributed valuable minutes, maintaining the defensive intensity and rebounding edge.

Mia Nicastro delivered a standout performance, finishing with 32 points and 18 rebounds, including three made threes and a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line. She was electric on the court, pulling in 15 defensive boards and controlling tempo with her activity. Addi Brownfield nearly matched her production, pouring in 22 points on an efficient 7-for-8 shooting afternoon while adding nine rebounds and two blocks.

McCowan recorded a double-double of her own with 15 points and 10 rebounds, including seven offensive boards that helped WIU rack up 17 second-chance opportunities. Kaylen Reed directed the offense with poise, handing out a team-high seven assists, while Madison Davis added seven points in 11 minutes of strong relief play.

As a team, the Leathernecks shot 32-for-77 (42 percent) from the field, knocked down eight threes, and out-rebounded St. Francis 57–34—marking one of their strongest rebounding efforts this season. Western also piled up 44 points in the paint, 13 fast-break points, and capitalized on turnovers with 13 points going the other way.

Defensively, WIU held St. Francis to 26 percent shooting and contested nearly every attempt inside the arc. Tykara Harrison led the Saints with 19 points, but WIU's consistent pressure limited secondary scoring options and disrupted ball movement throughout the contest.

The win moves Western Illinois to 5–1, marking another step forward as they continue building momentum through nonconference play.

TENNESSEE TECH 82, SAMFORD 60
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - With nearly 6,000 screaming school children from across the Upper Cumberland, the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team put on one heck of a show as the Golden Eagles pulled away for an 82-60 victory over the visiting Samford Bulldogs on Thursday.

Officially, the announced attendance of 5,845 stands as fourth in the women's basketball program's top attendance list, just behind the last two Education Day contests.

The Golden Eagles (6-2) definitely fed on the energy with two players collecting double-doubles and four in double-figure scoring.

Reghan Grimes picked up her fourth career double-double as she scored 21 points and pulled down 13 rebounds, shooting 6-for-17 from the field with one 3-pointer and was a perfect 8-for-8 at the free-throw line. She also had three assists and a steal to her credit.

LaReesha Cawthorn notched her first double-double as the true freshman knocked down five of her nine field goal tries and five of her eight free throws for 15 points, then grabbed 15 caroms – including 10 offensive rebounds. Cawthorn also had an assist, a steal and Tech's lone block of the contest.

In the absence of point guard Chloe Larry, who was injured in Tech's game against Lipscomb, freshman Lyriq Mastin made the most of her first career start, popping in 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting from the field and 3-for-5 at the stripe with four boards, two assists and a steal.

Reagan Hurst also had 11 points in the game as she hit two of Tech's 3-pointers and was 3-for-4 at the line. She also had one rebound.

Cam Mathews led Tech with four assists to go with her six points, while Maddy Newman tied her career-highs set Monday with seven points and seven boards.

Speaking of rebounds, the Golden Eagles dominated on the glass, collecting 59 total rebounds – including an astonishing 30 offensive rebounds. Tech turned those into 21 second-chance points. The 59 total boards were three shy of tying the fourth and fifth best single-game totals in program history. It is tough to verify if the 30 offensive rebounds is a program record as stat sheets from the 1970s and 1980s only listed total rebounds.

With a physical contest, the Golden Eagles were also able to draw 37 shots at the free-throw line, knocking down 27 of their charity tosses.

Samford never led in the game, but kept the game close in the opening stanza as Tech led 25-16. It was a 13-3 run to close out the first half that put the Golden Eagles outside arm's reach as a 20-11 second quarter led to a 45-27 Tech advantage at the half.

The Bulldogs (4-7) put together their largest run in the third quarter with a 7-0 swing, but Tech still outscored Samford 19-15 in the period. Both teams were square at 18 in the fourth and final quarter.

Kaylee Yarbrough led Samford with 15 points on 7-for-10 shooting with a rebound and a block, while Sierra Godbolt had 12 points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal. Briana Rivera had 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.

UT MARTIN 63, LIPSCOMB 60
NASHVILLE - Redshirt sophomore Zy Thompson of the University of Tennessee at Martin women's basketball team posted career highs of 21 points and 13 rebounds as the Skyhawks took down Lipscomb, 63-60, Thursday night at Allen Arena in Nashville.

The game was always close, with neither team leading by more than seven points, featuring 12 lead changes and seven ties. Down by four at the break, UT Martin outscored Lipscomb, 41-34, in the second half, including holding them to zero field goals for just under eight minutes in the fourth quarter.

The Skyhawks took the lead in the fourth quarter with 7:14 remaining and never let Lipscomb regain it. Tied at 56 with 1:02 to play, the Skyhawks hit five of six free throws and got a fast break bucket from Norah Clark to seal the 63-60 win.

UT Martin outscored the Bisons in the paint, 34-20 and outshot them 42.9-percent to 36.8-percent. The Skyhawks also dominated the glass in the game, outrebounding Lipscomb 38 to 29.

Along with Thompson, two other Skyhawks reached double digits Thursday night. Kenley McCarn had 14 points, to go along with five rebounds, three steals and three assists, while Brittani Wells had 13 points, five rebounds, four assists and two blocks.

SIUE 68, CALUMET COLLEGE OF ST. JOSEPH 28
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE basketball claims their fifth win of the season against Calumet College with a 68-28 victory.
 
The Cougars improve to 5-2 overall while the Crimson Wave falls to 3-5 overall.
 
Syanne Mohammed gave SIUE the early advantage with a layup in the first minute of the game. The Cougars maintained their lead to halftime (45-7).
 
Meegan Fahy pushed SIUE's lead to 42 points in the third quarter after a pair of free throws with 25 seconds to play. This would be the largest lead of the game.
 
Macy Silvey led the team with 11 points marking her first game this season as the scoring leader. She also had two rebounds and two assists. Following her was Adriana Blazquez with eight points. Blazquez also led five rebounds.
 
Sy'rae Stemmons and Rory Conboy led the team with six rebounds apiece. Stemmons also had two points, two assists and was a strong part of the defense posting three steals. Kyra Williams also saw the court tonight grabbing two rebounds and forcing a turnover.
 
 Adebukola Akomolafe and Meegan Fahy had seven points each. While Kiyoko Proctor and Mohammed each had six points. Mohammed also had three rebounds, three assists and three steals, while Proctor had two assists and two steals.