Women's Basketball Report - Dec. 11 (PDF)
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12
Jacksonville State at Chattanooga - 6 p.m.
THURSDAY, DECEMER 13
Georgia State at
Belmont - 12 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14
Jacksonville State at North Florida - 2:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15
Tennessee Tech at St. John's - 11 a.m.
Jacksonville State vs. Campbell (@Jacksonville, Fla.) - 12 p.m.
Eastern Illinois at
Wisconsin - 2 p.m.
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16
Tennessee Tech at St. John's Holiday Tournament (@New York, N.Y.) - TBA
Alabama A&M at
Murray State - 12 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)
Belmont at Ole Miss - 2 p.m.
Morehead State at Georgia State - 2 p.m.
Southeast Missouri at Western Kentucky - 2 p.m .
SIUE at Indiana - 2 p.m.
Indiana State at
UT Martin - 2 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)
Cleveland State at
Tennessee State - 2 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)
MONDAY, DECEMBER 17
Eastern Illinois at Western Illinois - 7 p.m.
Austin Peay at Arkansas State - 7:05 p.m.
adidas® OVC Players of the Week – Dec. 11
CO-PLAYER
Heather Butler, G • Jr., 5'6 • Medina, Tenn. • UT Martin
Butler led the Skyhawks with 28 points and seven rebounds in the win over Saint Louis. She also scored 28 points to go with six rebounds versus No. 14 Purdue. She hit a pair of three-pointers in the first half against the Boilermakers to give the Skyhawks the 29-25 edge at the break. Butler is averaging 25.2 points against nationally ranked opponents this year. For the week, she made 14 of her 15 free throw attempts.
Terrice Robinson, G • Jr., 5'6 • Ft. Pierce, Fla. • Morehead State
Robinson scored a career-high 39 points, including 28 in the second half, while also grabbing a career-best eight rebounds versus Ohio. Her point total came within two of the school's single-game record. Robinson's fourth three-pointer of the game tied the contest with six seconds left and sent it into overtime. She was 16-for-32 from the field. She also led the team with 18 points on 6-of-7 free throw shooting against Western Kentucky. For the week, she averaged 28.5 points and 2.0 steals.
Others Nominated: Meghan Bussabarger, Austin Peay; Molly Ernst, Belmont; Ta'Kenya Nixon, Eastern Illinois; Alex Jones, Eastern Kentucky; Erica Burgess, Murray State; Jordan Hunter, Southeast Missouri; Raven Berry, SIUE; Diamond Henderson, Tennessee Tech
NEWCOMER
Jordan Coleman, F • Sr., 5'11 • Orlando, Fla. • Belmont
Coleman was one rebound short of her third double-double of the season at Indiana with her season-high 15 points and nine boards. She shot 60 percent from the floor and drilled what would be the victory securing free throws with 2.6 seconds left in the game. She is ranked 60th nationally in rebounds per game.
Others Nominated: Dashauna Truss, Jacksonville State; Jordan Hunter, Southeast Missouri; Ashley Capotosto, SIUE; Lashay Davis, Tennessee Tech
FRESHMAN
Kelsey Dirks, F • Fr., 6’3 • Robinson, Ill. • Murray State
Dirks scored 20 points and brought down 11 rebounds to help lead the Racers to a win over Mid-Continent. It was her second-straight double-double. Dirks went 9-for-11 from the field in the contest.
Others Nominated: Alexus Cooper, Eastern Kentucky; Destany McLin, Jacksonville State; Olivia Hackmann, Southeast Missouri; CoCo Moore, SIUE; Katie Schupert, UT Martin
TEAM SNAPSHOTS
AUSTIN PEAY LADY GOVS (0-0, 3-6): Austin Peay fell at Middle Tennessee (76-56) before defeating St. Catharine (84-62) last week. The loss at MTSU marked the sixth straight road loss dating back to last season. Senior Meghan Bussabarger recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds at MTSU and followed that up with a 25-point performance against St. Catharine. Senior Leslie Martinez notched her second double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds against St. Catharine. She recorded 11.5 points and 9.5 boards per game last week. Junior Nicole Olszewski led the team with 14 points at Middle Tennessee while freshman Jennifer Nwokocha had 11 points. Austin Peay will have the next seven days off for finals and will return to the court on Dec. 17 as it travels to Arkansas State.
BELMONT BRUINS (0-0, 4-5): Belmont picked up a 58-54 win at Indiana in its only game of the week, marking the first victory over the Hoosiers in program history. Junior Molly Ernst led the team with 16 points, knocking down four three-pointers in the victory. Senior Jordan Coleman was one rebounds shy of recording her third double-double as she put up 15 points and brought down nine rebounds. Coleman shot 60 percent from the floor while also making all three of her free throw attempts. The Bruins host Georgia State on Thursday before traveling to Ole Miss on Sunday.
EASTERN ILLINOIS PANTHERS (0-0, 5-3): Eastern Illinois earned a pair of home victories last week, defeating Evansville (70-57) and Sacramento State (72-67, OT). The Panthers improved to 4-1 at home this year with the win over Sacramento State and also improved to 2-0 in overtime contests. In EIU's two overtime contests this year, the Panthers have outscored their opponents 20-4 while holding them to 2-for-16 shooting. Senior Ta'Kenya Nixon recorded her second double-double of the year and 13th of her career in the win over Evansville, posting 17 points and 11 rebounds. She put up 13 points in the overtime win against Sacramento State. Nixon has scored in double figures 82 times in her career to go along with 15 games with 10 or more rebounds. Senior Sydney Mitchell posted her first double-double of the year with 12 points and 13 rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench against Sacramento State. Eastern Illinois will travel to Wisconsin on Saturday and Western Illinois on Monday.
EASTERN KENTUCKY LADY COLONELS (0-0, 5-5): Eastern Kentucky dropped a pair of road games last week, falling at Ohio (58-49) and Cincinnati (69-58). Senior Alex Jones recorded her 27th career double-double at Ohio with 13 points and 10 rebounds. She also had a career-high five steals versus the Bobcats. Freshman Alexus Cooper poured in a career-high eight points at Ohio while also recording two rebounds and one block. The Lady Colonels will have the week off and will return to action on Dec. 18 as they host West Virginia State.
JACKSONVILLE STATE GAMECOCKS (0-0, 0-8): Jacksonville State's struggles continue as it dropped contests to Reinhardt (65-60) and Lipscomb (67-54) last week. The Gamecocks allowed 18 three-pointers combined, including 13 by Lipscomb. Junior Dashauna Truss led the team in scoring with 26 points over the two games. She notched a season-best 14 points against Reinhardt. Freshman Destany McLin pulled down eight defensive rebounds against Reinhardt to go with five points and four assists. In the game with Lipscomb, she scored a season-best 11 points. Jacksonville State will travel to Chattanooga on Wednesday before playing in the Hampton Inn Oceanfront Classic. The Gamecocks will face host North Florida on Friday and play Campbell on Saturday.
MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES (0-0, 1-8): Morehead State fell to Western Kentucky (62-38) and Ohio (79-72, OT) last week. The Eagles were held to a program-low eight points in the first half versus WKU, but then outscored the Toppers 30-27 in the second half. Junior Terrice Robinson scored a career-high 30 points to go with eight rebounds against Ohio. Her total was just two points shy of the school's single-game scoring record. Sophomore Casey Ryans registered a career-high 13 points and seven rebounds at OU. Ryans is now hitting 80 percent from three-point range this year and has made eight consecutive field goals in the last three games. Morehead State is idle this week for finals and will return to action on Sunday at Georgia State.
MURRAY STATE RACERS (0-0, 6-3): Murray State defeated Mid-Continent, 110-28, in its only game of the week. Junior Erica Burgess scored 17 points to g along with seven rebounds, seven assists and six steals. She also hit seven of her nine free throws. Freshman Kelsey Dirks scored 20 points and brought down 11 boards in the victory. She shot 81.8 percent from the floor while also making both of her attempts at the charity stripe. The Racers will host Alabama A&M on Sunday.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI REDHAWKS (0-0, 5-5): Southeast Missouri fell at Southern Illinois (58-57) before defeating Western Illinois, 56-47. The Redhawks have held their last three opponents to under 60 points, including giving up just 47 at WIU. Junior Jordan Hunter led all players with 17 points and three assists at Southern Illinois. It marked her fourth double-digit point total in the last five games. Freshman Olivia Hackmann scored a game-high 15 points in the win over Western Illinois. It was her second double-figure scoring outing this year. She also added a career-best two blocks and a season-high three steals at WIU. Southeast Missouri will travel to Western Kentucky on Saturday.
SIUE COUGARS (0-0, 6-4): SIUE defeated Sacramento State (75-57) and IPFW (61-54) last week. Senior Raven Berry averaged a double-double last week with 14.5 points and 14.0 point each time out. With her two double-doubles last week, she now has 27 for her career. Berry moved to No. 10 on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,179 points in her career. Senior Michaela Herrod move to ninth all-time at SIUE in rebounds with 604. Herrod is just the 10th player in school history to pass 600 rebounds. Sophomore Ashley Capotosto recorded her first double-digit scoring contest as she scored 10 points against Sacarmento State. The Cougars will travel to Indiana on Sunday.
TENNESSEE STATE LADY TIGERS (0-0, 4-3): Tennessee State had last week off and will return to action on Sunday as the Lady Tigers host Cleveland State. TSU is coming off a five-game road trip in which it went 2-3.
TENNESSEE TECH GOLDEN EAGLES (0-0, 5-4): Tennessee Tech picked up wins over Samford (65-56) and Western Carolina (61-56). The victory at WCU was the first time Tech won a game which it was trailing at the half. Sophomore Diamond Henderson scored 12 points against Samford and followed that up with 18 versus Western Carolina. Against WCU, Henderson shot 50 percent from the floor and went 2-for-3 behind the arc. Senior Lashay Davis scored 16 points while shooting 50 percent from the field over the two games. Tennessee Tech will travel to the St. John's Chartwell's Holiday Classic this weekend. The Golden Eagles will play host St. John's on Saturday and either UCLA or St. Mary's on Sunday.
UT MARTIN SKYHAWKS (0-0, 4-7): UT Martin defeated Saint Louis, 78-62, and fell to No. 14 Purdue, 68-60. Four of the Skyhawk's seven losses this season have come against Top 20 teams (Baylor, Stanford, Louisville and Purdue). Junior Heather Butler scored 28 points in each game last week. Butler is averaging 25.2 points against nationally ranked teams this year. Butler extended her double-digit scoring streak to 74 straight games. With her 21 points against Purdue, junior Jasmine Newsome past Pat Head Summitt on the school's career scoring list. Newsome sits fifth with 1,418 points. Senior Rickiesha Bryant had one block against Purdue to give her 13 on the season and 81 in her career which is fourth best in school history. UT Martin will host Indiana State on Sunday.