FRIDAY’S SCORES
Florida State 90,
Eastern Kentucky 51
UAB 68,
Tennessee State 60
@No. 9 Kentucky 73,
Morehead State 37
@SMU 64,
SIUE 46
@Houston 61,
Southeast Missouri 44
@UTSA 69,
Austin Peay 67
FLORIDA STATE 90, EASTERN KENTUCKY 51
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - An extended first half run doomed Eastern Kentucky in a 90-51 loss to Florida State on the first day of the 2012 San Juan Shootout at Mario Morales Coliseum.
After a basket by Jade Barber got the Lady Colonels (3-1) within five, 17-12, with 10:07 remaining in the first half, the Seminoles (4-0) began what turned out to be a 26-6 run to end the first half. FSU rolled off 10 straight to move out in front 27-12 and then stretched it to a 17-2 run and a 34-14 lead with 4:36 on the clock. Seven more unanswered over the final 3:29 capped the run and sent EKU to locker room down 43-18.
Eastern never got any closer in the second half.
Barber and Brittany Coles led the Lady Colonels with 11 points each. Barber also had a game-high six rebounds. Coles connected on two three-pointers and moved into 10th place on Eastern’s career three-pointers list with 99. Eastern shot 28 percent in the first half and 36 percent for the game. EKU was only out-rebounded by five, but committed 24 turnovers.
FSU shot 54 percent from the field for the game and 62 percent (8-for-13) from behind the three-point line. Leonor Rodriguez led the Seminoles with 22 points. She made 8-for-8 from the field.
UAB 68, TENNESSEE STATE 60
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The best shooting game of the season wasn't enough as Tennessee State women's basketball lost to Alabama-Birmingham 68-60 at the Samford Thanksgiving Classic Friday afternoon.
Jasmin Shuler led TSU with 20 points and three steals, while Kesi Hess went 4-for-6 from beyond the arc for 12 points.
The Blazers (5-1) started the game on an 8-0 run in the first two minutes, including a pair of steals off of full court pressure.
TSU (1-3) never led in the game, but kept UAB in check for much of the rest of the half by never letting the Blazers get a double-digit advantage and even cutting the lead down to one possession on two occasions.
A Shuler layup off of a steal pulled TSU to within three with just under three minutes remaining in the half, but UAB finished the half with a 6-0 spirt in the final minute to take a 32-23 edge heading into the locker room. UAB also scored the first four points of the second half turning a three point lead into 13 in just three minutes of game action.
Destiney Gaston provided a spark off of the bench in the first half as all eight of her points and four of her five boards came in the first 20 minutes.
UAB was a perfect 14-of-14 from the free throw line in the first half, while the Lady Tigers didn't reach the charity stripe once.
A 23-6 Blazers run between the two halves gave them their largest lead of the contest at 49-29 with just under 10 minutes remaining.
The second half of the second half saw the TSU offense come alive as they hit four treys, including three from Hess in the final 5:16, cutting the UAB lead down to seven with 1:03 left.
TSU shot a season best 46 percent from the field and 6-of-10 from three. The Lady Tigers were 5-of-6 from three in the second half.
Forwards Avery Jones and Simone Hopes were in foul trouble for much of the second half as neither played more than 23 minutes. The seniors combined for 14 points and nine rebounds.
Karisma Chapman of UAB led all scorers with 21 points, 3-of-6 from the field and 15-of-15 on free throws.
The Blazers were 29-of-31 on free throws compared to 8-of-13 for TSU.
The Lady Tigers return to the court Saturday at 3 p.m. when they take on the host of the Classic, Samford. You can listen live to the game here.
KENTUCKY 73, MOREHEAD STATE 37
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Ninth-ranked Kentucky held a 63-21 rebounding edge and outscored the visiting Morehead State women's basketball team 46-12 in the paint Friday as the Wildcats defeated MSU 73-37.
Three players -- Samarie Walker (13), Azia Bishop (10) and DeNesha Stallworth (10) grabbed double digit boards as UK won its 23rd straight game in Memorial Coliseum.
The Eagles, who were paced by six points each from sophomores Whitney Kyle and Mackenzie Arledge, fell to 1-4. Kentucky improved to 3-1.
The Eagles trailed 6-4 early following an Almesha Jones’ layup, but the ‘Cats opened up a 14-2 run to distance themselves from the visitors, 20-6. A three-pointer by junior guard Terrice Robinson cut the deficit to 11 (20-9), but that’s as close as MSU got in the half.
UK hit just 2-of-15 from the three-point arc in the half, but forced the Eagles into only 24 percent efficiency (6-of-25). UK led 36-13 at the break.
Martinez played a career-best 16 minutes and committed only two miscues.
The hosts ran out to 48-15 advantage at the 15:38 mark of the final half, but the Eagles outdueled the 'Cats 10-4 over the next four minutes. A 50-25 UK advantage was as close as MSU got, however, as Kentucky led by as much as 42 late.
Walker completed a double-double with a team-high 15 points for UK, while Stallworth (10 points) also had a double-double. A'dia Mathies scored 11, and Bria Goss tossed in 10 tallies.
The Eagles hit seven three-pointers and forced 18 Kentucky mistakes. MSU had 24 turnovers, and UK blocked 10 Eagle shots. Morehead State finished the contest with a 29 percent (15-of-52) efficiency from the field, while UK hit just 38 percent (30-of-80). Freshman guard Kailee Howe dished off a career-best four assists for the Eagles.
Morehead State returns to action on Wednesday at Cincinnati. Game time is set for 7 p.m. ET.
HOUSTON 61, HOUSTON 44
HOUSTON, Texas - Bailie Roberts scored a season-high 17 points, but Southeast Missouri fell to Houston, 61-44, at the David Jones Classic on Friday night.
The Redhawks (2-3) pulled within five points late, but the Cougars (1-4) closed the game on a 14-2 run to secure the win.
Southeast took a brief 3-2 lead on a Brittany Harriel three-pointer early on. Entering the first media timeout, the score was tied at 7-7.
Following the timeout, the Cougars took the lead on four-point possession. Yasmeen Thompson made a free throw and rebounded her own miss, which led to a Porsche Landry three-pointer that made it 11-7.
A Roberts three-pointer cut the deficit to 11-10, but UH countered with six-straight points to go up 17-10 with 12:30 left in the first half. Southeast responded with a jumper by Dru Haertling and a Jordan Hunter layup to make it a 17-14 ballgame.
Houston extended the lead to 21-14 with just over seven minutes left in the opening stanza, but Roberts scored five-straight Southeast points on a layup and a three-pointer, cutting the gap to 21-19 with four to play in the first. However, a 10-0 Cougars run to close the first half gave them a 31-19 lead going into the break. All 10 UH points in the run came off Southeast turnovers.
The Cougars Alecia Smith hit a three-pointer to increase the lead to 34-19, but Hunter spurred a 7-0 Redhawks run with a jumper and a three-pointer, then assisted on a Roberts layup to make it 34-26 with 16:32 to play.
Houston's lead grew to 45-34 at the 10:09 mark, but Southeast used an 8-2 spurt to pull within 47-42. Allyson Bradshaw made a layup and a three-pointer to make it a six-point game. Roberts hit a free throw and a layup to cap the run with 7:49 to go.
The five-point spread was as close as the Redhawks got the rest of the way as the Cougars went on a 12-0 run to go up 59-42 with 1:26 to go, effectively putting the game out of reach.
Southeast shot 39.1 percent from the floor and hit 6-of-19 (31.6 percent) three-pointers. UH countered with 37.7 percent shooting and made 7-of-21 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc. The Cougars held a 40-30 advantage in rebounding, a figure that included 19 UH offensive rebounds that led to 13 second chance points. Houston turned 22 Southeast turnovers into 28 points and committed only 14 turnovers on its end.
Roberts shot 7-of-14 from the floor for her first double-digit scoring effort since Nov. 12 at UMKC. Hunter scored 10 points for her first career double figure effort. She also dished out a game-high six assists.
The Redhawks conclude their stay in Houston on Saturday morning (10 a.m.) against Texas-Pan American.
SMU 64, SIUE 46
DALLAS, Texas - SIUE will face either Montana State or Clemson in the consolation game of the SMU Hoops for the Cure Classic after falling 64-46 Friday night to host SMU.
The Cougars will next play at 5 p.m. Saturday. SIUE dropped to 2-3 for the season. SMU improved to 4-1.
Tierny Austin turned in another strong offensive performance with 16 points and six rebounds. CoCo Moore added eight points and a career-best 10 rebounds.
SIUE Head Coach Paula Buscher said allowing SMU 32 free throws attempts and SIUE's 28 turnovers caused for problems.
SMU's bench played a key role in its win. Gabrielle Wilkins recorded a unique double-double off the bench with 12 points and 10 steals. Overall, the Mustangs outscored the Cougars 37-14 off the bench.
SIUE outrebounded the Mustangs 39-32 led by Moore's 10. "We're still battling in there," Buscher said.
The Cougars held strong with the Mustangs in the first five minutes of the game. The Cougars held an early 6-5 lead on a pair of free throws by Austin. She finished the game with a career best 10 of 10 from the free throw line.
Kiara Conner's layup with 14:55 to play in the first half tied the game 10-10. The Mustangs would take advantage of SIUE turnovers to go on a 22-2 run for the next 10 minutes of play. SIUE scored the final six of the half and fell behind 32-18 at halftime.
UTSA 69, AUSTIN PEAY 67
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Austin Peay women’s basketball team let a first-half lead slip away and could not recover, falling 69-67 to host UTSA, Friday, in the UTSA Thanksgiving Classic’s opening game at the Convocation Center.
After missing its first five shots of the game, Austin Peay (1-3) used a 9-for-14 shooting stretch to post a 23-9 run and build a seven-point, 24-17, lead with 7:13 left in the first half. Senior Meghan Bussabarger scored all 10 of her first-half points during the burst, including a pair of three-pointers.
However, one of the season’s early storylines has been stretches of cold shooting plaguing the Lady Govs at inopportune times. In Friday’s game, Austin Peay closed the first half by missing its final 12 shots. That drought allowed UTSA to close the half with a 15-1 run and a seven-point, 32-25 halftime lead.
UTSA (4-1) built its lead to 12 points midway through the second half courtesy a 15-10 run over the opening 8:26. Austin Peay roared back with the game’s next 11 points – seven coming at the free-throw line – to slash the deficit to one point, 47-46, after freshman Jennifer Nwokocha’s free throws at the 7:52 mark.
The Roadrunners battled back with the game’s next four points and led by eight points with 3:27 left. Austin Peay’s Nicole Olszewski showed up big in the closing minutes, scoring 10 of her 15 points in the final three minutes to keep APSU in the hunt.
Nicole Olszewski’s two three-pointers in the final 30 seconds cut the lead to two points and later one point with six seconds left. However, those were the only shots Austin Peay could get to fall during the closing moments and UTSA would convert five of its final eight free-throws to forestall the comeback attempt.
One of the other early storylines has been rebounding, and UTSA kept the early trend going against the Lady Govs as they won the battle of the glass by a dominant 46-27 margin. Nwokocha’s five-rebound outing led Austin Peay while five UTSA players finished with five or more rebounds.
Bussabarger led Austin Peay with 20 points, making 8-of-17 from the floor, and played 37 minutes before fouling out. Sophomore Kristen Stainback and senior Leslie Martinez also added seven points each.
Kamra King led UTSA with 10 points as 11 players scored for the hosts.
Austin Peay will have less than 24 hours to think about Friday’s loss as they will turn around and play William & Mary in a 7 p.m., Saturday contest to wrap up their San Antonio stay.