SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Toledo 59,
SIUE 43
@Southeast Missouri 67, UIC 52
@Vanderbilt 77,
Tennessee Tech 50
@Eastern Kentucky 64, Jackson State 56
@UT Martin 72, Central Arkansas 48
@Austin Peay 79, Ball State 66
Belmont 70, @Lipscomb 54
@Murray State 67, Southern Illinois 55
@Montana 71,
Tennessee State 48
TOLEDO 59, SIUE 43
TOLEDO, Ohio - SIUE outscored Toledo in the second half Saturday but couldn't overcome its first-half deficit in a 59-43 loss in the opening round of the Glass City Tournament.
SIUE dropped to 3-4 and will play Southern University in the consolation game of the tournament. Game time Sunday is 11 a.m. CT/Noon ET. Southern was defeated by St. Bonaventure 56-36 in the other first round game.
SIUE outscored host Toledo 27-18 in the second half. Ashley Capotosto came off the bench to lead SIUE in scoring for the first time in her collegiate career. She finished with eight points.
Toledo, 5-1, got off to a great start in the game by shooting 17 of 35 overall and 7 of 17 from three-point range in the first half.
SIUE held an early 5-4 lead on a layup by Raven Berry with 17:19 to play in the first half. Toledo turned up the heat with a 23-0 run over the next six minutes. SIUE shot 26 percent in the first half and fell behind 41-16 at the break.
After hitting 41 percent of its three-pointers in the first half, Toledo went 0 of 7 in the second half beyond the arc. The Rockets shot just 25 percent from the field over the final 20 minutes.
Naama Shafir was the lone player in game who finished scoring in double figures. She scored 12 points and added three assists. Toledo's Andola Dortsch, who had nine points and six assists, picked up a game-high six steals. Toledo grabbed 16 steals off SIUE's 26 turnovers.
The Cougars were a force on the boards, outrebounding the Rockets 44-31. Berry led SIUE with eight rebounds.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 67, UIC 52
CAPE GIRARDEU, Mo. - Jordan Hunter and Patricia Mack's career games catapulted the Southeast Missouri women's basketball team to a decisive 67-52 win over UIC at the Show Me Center on Saturday.
Hunter tallied a career-high 18 points while Mack grabbed 17 rebounds, a new career high to pace the Redhawks (4-4), who are now 2-0 at home with a pair of double-digit victories.
Southeast scored the first four points on a Bailie Roberts jumper and two Hunter free throws. UIC countered with the next four points, but six-straight Redhawk points made it a 10-4 game at the 13:28 mark. Hunter started the run with a layup, Mack converted from in close as well and Connor King scored in transition to cap the brief run.
UIC closed the gap with an 8-2 run, scoring six-straight points to tie the score at 12-12 with 11:12 remaining in the half. Allyson Bradshaw hit a three-pointer on the following possession and a Roberts layup put the Redhawks back up three, but Rachel Story connected on a three-pointer that tied the game at 17-17.
Hunter broke the tie with a three-pointer and a pair of Mack free throws put Southeast back up 22-17 with 7:11 showing on the clock. However, UIC got layups on back-to-back possessions, cutting the gap to 22-21 at the 6:19 mark. The Flames extended the run to 11-0 after Terri Bender made two free throws and Story hit a jumper and a three-pointer, giving UIC a 28-22 lead.
After going over five minutes without scoring, Olivia Hackmann started bringing Southeast back with a pair of free throws. She then found King open at the baseline for a pure jumper that cut the deficit to 28-26. A Story three-pointer with 1:53 to go in the opening frame made it 31-26, but represented the final UIC points of the half. Hunter scored the final six points of the half on two layups and two free throws, giving her 13 first-half points. Her score with 12 seconds to go gave the Redhawks a 32-31 lead at the break.
Southeast opened the second half with a 14-2 spurt, grabbing a 46-33 lead, its largest of the game to that point. UIC started the second half 1-of-12 from the field. After the teams traded the first two baskets of the half, Southeast scored 12-straight points, which came from five different players.
The Flames would not go away, scoring seven in a row and pulling within 46-40 with just under 10 minutes remaining. After a Redhawk timeout, Mack found Roberts all alone by the basket for a layup. Story followed with two UIC free throws, but Mack scored from in close to make it an eight-point game once again.
UIC pulled within 52-47 with 6:12 remaining after Story hit a jumper, but Southeast put the game away with an 11-2 run that made it 63-49 with 3:01 to go. Allyson Bradshaw and Courtney Shiffer each went 2-of-2 at the free throw line to make it a nine-point game. Shiffer hit a jumper from the paint and Bradshaw got to the basket for consecutive layups. Hunter finished the run with a free throw.
The Redhawks would not allow the Flames to get any closer than 11 points the rest of the way.
Southeast shot a blistering 14-of-24 (58.3 percent) in the second half to finish at 42.4 percent from the field. The Redhawk defense smothered the Flames attack to the tune of 6-of-32 (18.8 percent) in the final frame and 29.0 percent overall. The Redhawks made 2-of-18 three-pointers while the Flames hit 5-of-17 treys. Southeast also made 15-of-17 (88.2 percent) free throws while UIC made 11-of-14 (78.6 percent) freebies.
The Redhawks owned a 44-38 advantage in rebounding, outscored the Flames 36-20 in the paint and forced 15 turnovers against only 11 of their own.
Hunter's 18 points mark the third time in four games that she scored in double figures. Bradshaw (13 points) and Roberts (10 points) joined her in double figures. Kara Wright dished out a game-high three assists.
UIC's Rachel Story scored a game-high 24 points, but shot only 8-of-27 from the floor. Katie Hannemann scored 12 points.
The Redhawks are back in action on Dec. 5 when they travel to Carbondale, Ill., for a showdown against regional rival Southern Illinois. That game tips off at 7:05 p.m.
VANDERBILT 71, TENNESSEE TECH 50
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Tech fell to Vanderbilt in their first road game of the season 77-50 Saturday afternoon. The Golden Eagles out-shot the Commodores by nearly ten shots, putting up 13 threes and 64 total field goals, however only 29% of them fell.
For every shot that didn't fall for the Golden Eagles, two fell for Vanderbilt. The Commodores shot a season high 50% from the floor, draining five threes and earning 18 points from the charity stripe. Tech was 1-13 from three-point range, with their lone three-pointer coming with 1:31 remaining in the game.
The first half was the difference in the game. Tech scored just 20 points, shooting 24% from the floor. The break at half-time lit a fire as the Golden Eagles came out swinging, not willing to go down without a fight. The buckets still didn't come, but the purple and gold forced 11 turnovers in the second half, totaling 20 for the game. The new found aggression also cost the Golden Eagles as they commited 14 fouls, allowing 17 points to come from free throws.
Despite the tough defensive stand, the Commodores shots seemed to have a magnetic connection to the hoop, as they just didn't miss.
The Golden Eagles were lead by Diamond Henderson, who had a game high 19 points. T'Keyah Williams found the basket for 10 points and added five rebounds, while Molly Heady contributed eight points and four boards. Jala Harris gave a balanced performance scoring six points, dishing out four assists and tipped five steals.
Tech returns to the Eblen Center December 6 to host Samford in the first part of a double-header. The match-up will be the last home game before the Golden Eagles embark on a six game road trip.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 64, JACKSON STATE 56
RICHMOND, Ky. - The Eastern Kentucky University women’s basketball team captured the 2012 Comfort Suites Invitational title with a 64-56 victory over Jackson State Saturday afternoon in McBrayer Arena.
Senior forward Alex Jones was named MVP after posting double-doubles in both tournament games. The Elizabethtown, Ky. native piled up season highs in both points (15) and rebounds (14) versus Jackson State. Senior Raechele Gray was also named to the Comfort Suites Invitational All-Tournament Team after scoring 14 points on Saturday, nine of which came on three key three-pointers down the stretch.
For the second straight game, Eastern Kentucky (5-3) led from start to finish. The Lady Colonels tallied the first 10 points of the contest and never looked back. EKU then wrapped up the first half with an 11-0 run to take a commanding 33-18 cushion into halftime.
Jackson State’s (2-5) leading scorer Tiffany Kellum, who scored 25 points yesterday in a win over Marshall, was held without a point in the first 20 minutes.
Eastern Kentucky stretched its lead to as many as 18 points early in the second half following a Brittany Coles three-pointer. However, the Lady Tigers clawed all the way back to within three points, 53-50, when Dominique Brothern drained a three-pointer with 5:49 remaining.
Gray finally gave EKU some breathing room with back-to-back three-pointers to push the lead back to nine points, 59-50. Jackson State never got closer than seven points the rest of the way.
Coles led the Lady Colonels in the game with a season-high 17 points.
EKU limited Jackson State to just 27.7 percent (18-of-70) shooting from the field and 15.4 percent (2-of-13) shooting from deep to earn the tournament title.
Ayanna Hardy-Fuller paced the Lady Tigers with 17 points. Kellum chipped in with 12 points and 12 boards.
Jackson State won the only other meeting between the two schools back in 1997, 79-75. EKU head coach Chrissy Roberts scored 15 points on five three-pointers for the Lady Colonels in that contest.
UT MARTIN 72, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 48
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball team claimed a 72-48 victory over the visiting Central Arkansas Sugar Bears Saturday afternoon at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.
The Skyhawks battled this time around, winning the battle on the boards 31-28. Three players, Jasmine Newsome, Shelby Crawford and Rickiesha Bryant had four rebounds each.
Newsome led the Skyhawks in scoring with 25 points, while junior Megan White tossed in a career-high 13 points. Junior Heather Butler added 11 points to run her streak of double-digit games to 71.
The Skyhawks went on a 33-8 run to claim a 20-point lead, 51-31, with 11:01 to play, and made three 3-points in the first five minutes of the second half to ignite the run. Freshman Katie Schubert made a pair of 3-pointers, while White knocked down her second trey of the game. Schubert scored a career-high eight points and had three rebounds in the game.
Newsome made two free throws with 1:45 to play in the first half and Bryant made a layup to give the Skyhawks a 28-23 lead at the intermission. Bryant had eight points in the game.
Newsome led all scorers in the first half with 14 points. She was 5-for-8 from the field with a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give the Skyhawks a 20-14 advantage with 7:35 to play before the break.
Central Arkansas senior Megan Herbert made back-to-back 3-pointers to cut UT Martin’s lead to five points, 14-9, with 10:36 to play in the half. She finished the game with 18 points and seven rebounds. She had 13 of those 18 points in the first half.
The Skyhawks opened a 14-4 lead in the first half with a tenacious defense that recorded five consecutive stops. Offensively White and Newsome provided the spark. White knocked down a 3-pointer and then made a jumper to account for five of the Skyhawks’ points.
AUSTIN PEAY 79, BALL STATE 66
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University women’s basketball team broke a three-game losing streak with a 79-66 victory against Ball State, Saturday, at the Dunn Center.
Austin Peay (2-5) won its second-straight home game in wire-to-wire fashion and led an understaffed Ball State squad by double-digits for the final 16:45. Senior forward Meghan Bussabarger scored a season-high tying 20 points to lead four Lady Govs players in double digits. Senior guard Leslie Martinez came off the bench for the first time and posted an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double – Austin Peay’s first this season.
The Lady Govs scored the game’s first seven points in the opening three minutes. However, Ball State was able to close back within a point, 9-8 with 11:02 left in the first, as Austin Peay made one field goal over the next six minutes.
Austin Peay used a 11-2 run over the next five minutes to build its first double-digit advantage, 20-10 with 6:55 left, as five different APSU shooters scored. Ball State did not go away and closed to within seven with 57 seconds left, but Austin Peay scored four points in four seconds thanks to a Martinez jumper and a steal and a basket by freshman Tiasha Gray and led 32-21 at the break.
Ball State (2-6) opened the second half with a 7-2 run and forced an Austin Peay timeout less than two minutes into the period. The timeout did the trick as the Lady Govs scored on their next two possessions, pushing the lead to 11 points.
The Cardinals made one last attempt to close the gap and were within eight points, 52-44, after Nathalie Fontaine’s layup with 12:24 left. But that was as close as Ball State would get. Austin Peay broke the game open with a 9-2 run, punctuated by a pair of Bussabarger three-pointers, to push the lead to 17 points, 63-46, with 8:30 remaining and did not look back.
Freshman Jennifer Nwokocha added a 10-point, six-rebound effort and freshman Tiasha Gray chipped in 11 points and three steals to join Bussabarger and Martinez in double-digit scoring territory. Brittany Carter led a seven-woman Ball State squad with 14 points. Fontaine added 13 points and Katie Murphy finished with 12 points and six rebounds.
BELMONT 70, LIPSCOMB 54
NASHVILLE - The Belmont women's basketball team (3-5) grabbed an early double digit lead and never looked back on Saturday night in part one of the Battle of the Boulevard. The Bruins dominated former Atlantic Sun rival Lipscomb (0-6), 70-54, in Allen Arena.
The Bruins opened the contest tough defensively with Jordan Coleman (Orlando, Fla.) collecting her first block of the night on the first shot of the game and junior Molly Ernst (Louisville, Ky.) forcing a steal. Baskets by Coleman and a pair by senior Alyssa Visbeen (Franklin, Tenn.) put BU on top 6-4 early. Visbeen remained hot from the floor, extending her run to 7-0 with two at the charity stripe and a triple from the left side of the arc to give Belmont an 11-6 lead with 12:51 left on the clock.
Junior Julianne Downs (Franklin, Tenn.) drained a trey from the opposite side of the arc to extend BU's run to 11-0 and take a 17-6 lead with 10:24 on the clock as Lipscomb struggled to emerge from a drought that pushed four minutes. The Bruins continued charging, propelled by buckets by freshman Frankie Joubran (Detroit, Mich.), redshirt freshman Blair Bryce (Red Oak, Texas), Downs and Coleman. Belmont's defensive pressure kept LU from even reaching double digits in scoring until there were only six minutes remaining in the first half. A pair of trifectas by Ernst sandwiched a Coleman jumper, giving Belmont its first 20-point lead of the night by the 3:32 mark. The Lady Bisons would only be able to inch with 17 before a Downs jumper sent BU to the locker room up, 40-21.
After the break, the Lady Bisons attempted to cut into BU's sizeable lead with a quick 4-0 run to open the game but Ernst's third and fourth triples of the night nullified their efforts. Lipscomb was frigid from the hardwood, hitting only one field goal in the first five and a half minutes of play as Belmont grabbed its biggest lead of the night, 25, behind the back end of a pair at the stripe by Joubran.
LU eventually managed to string together a 9-0 run to cut BU's lead to 52-35 by the 12 minute mark. However, as quickly as it started, the Bruins quickly squashed the Lady Bisons effort with tough defense and by draining more shots from all over the floor. Belmont seemed regained its 20-point lead for good behind a jumper in the lane by Visbeen with 8:13 left in the contest. Katie Carroll (Lilburn, Ga.) netted her first three pointer of the night, forcing LU to call timeout as BU moved ahead, 64-41, two minutes later.
In the final 90 seconds, the Bruins saw point production from sophomore Torie Vaught (Maryville, Tenn.) and freshman Natalie Cohlmeyer (Evansville, Ind.) that brought the Bruin crowd who traveled down the Boulevard to its feet. Lipscomb added four more before the buzzer but Belmont cruised to the 70-54 victory. It marked the third consecutive win for BU in the series.
Lipscomb shot 34 percent from the floor, 20 percent from long range and 70.4 percent from the free-throw line. The Lady Bisons held the advantage in rebounds, 34-30.
Mallory Charpentier was the lone LU player to reach double digits, adding 13 points. O'Neisha Smith led the team in rebounds, grabbing eight.
Belmont shot 50 percent from the hardwood, 47.6 percent from behind the three-point arc and 54.5 percent from the charity stripe. The Bruins held the advantage in assists, 23-4, blocks, 4-0, and steals, 6-4. BU also finished with a season-low eight turnovers.
Visbeen led the Bruins with a game-high 20 points. Ernst netted 17, including five three pointers, her first in four contests. Downs added eight points in the effort. Senior Katie Brooks (Maryville, Tenn.) finished with a game-high six assists while Coleman tallied a game-high two blocks.
MURRAY STATE 67, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 55
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State women’s basketball team won its fifth consecutive game on Saturday night and in the processed snapped a 19-game losing streak to Southern Illinois, by topping the Salukis, 67-55, at the CFSB Center.
The Salukis (0-5) led just twice in the game, both coming in the first half, with the remainder of the contest belonging solely to the Racers. Southern Illinois led by one with 8:47 to play in the first, but after MSU (5-3) retook the lead nine seconds later, they never relinquished it. Murray State led by nine at the break and went on to lead by as many as 21 in the second half.
The Racers out-shot SIU, 37.9 to 36.1 percent in the contest, and finished the game 3.6 percent better than their season average heading into the contest. While Murray State’s turned in an uncharacteristic 53.3 performance from the free throw line in the game, they more than made up from behind-the-arc, where they shot a season-high 52.9 percent. MSU finished the night 9-for-17 from 3-point range, with six of the nine coming from senior Mariah Robinson.
Robinson scored a game-high 23 points to lead the Racers for the fifth time this season. Through eight games so far this year, Robinson leads Murray State with 18.3 points and 8.3 rebounds a game. Freshman Kelsey Dirks scored a career-high 11 points and tied a career-high with 10 rebounds to notch the first double-double of collegiate career. Senior Kyra Watson also a big night for MSU as ended the game with 11 points, two rebounds and three steals.
The win marks the first time since 1988 that Murray State has beaten the Salukis and the first time since 1980 that they have topped them in Murray. The win put to bed a 19-game win streak by SIU overall in the series and a 13-game streak in Murray. The win against Southern Illinois, coupled with an earlier win against Evansville, also marks the first time that Murray State has swept all of the Missouri Valley opponents on its non-conference schedule since the 1988-89 season.
MONTANA 71, TENNESSEE STATE 48
MISSOULA, Mont. - The Tennessee State University women's basketball team fell to host Montana, 71-48, on day two of the 32nd annual Lady Griz Classic Saturday night in Dahlberg Arena.
Tennessee State (3-4) played Montana (5-2) fairly close in the first half but was outscored, 37-22, in the second frame. Montana has now won 26-straight Lady Griz Classic games.
For the second consecutive night, Simone Hopes led TSU in scoring with 13 points and six rebounds. She was the only Lady Tiger to post double-digits in scoring as Kesi Hess followed with eight points and five steals.
Hopes and Hess were also named to the Lady Griz Classic All-Tournament team.
The fast-paced game saw Montana jump out to a 7-2 lead and then go up, 16-8, seven minutes into the half. Tennessee State was trailing, 16-10, when the Lady Griz went on an 8-0 run to move ahead, 24-13.
The Lady Tigers answered with a rally of their own and pulled to within six with about two minutes left in the frame. Montana scored a basket just before the break to go into halftime leading TSU, 34-26.
Tennessee State shot 34.5 percent in the opening half and committed eight turnovers.
Montana increased its advantage back up to double-digits early in the second stanza and maintained at least a nine-point cushion over the next several minutes.
Halfway through the half, The Lady Griz had outscored the Lady Tigers, 17-6, to swell the lead to, 51-32.
With just under eight minutes left in the game, Kesi Hess knocked down a three-pointer to make the score, 56-41, but that would be as close as the Lady Tigers would get.
TSU finished the game with a 34.0 field goal percentage (18-of-53) and 17 turnovers. Montana shot 47.3 percent (26-of-55) from the field and turned the ball over 15 times. The Lady Tigers also lost the battle of the boards, 41-29.