SUNDAY'S SCORES
@Murray State 69, Alabama A&M 54
@Indiana 72,
SIUE 56
@Georgia State 61,
Morehead State 47
@Western Kentucky 60,
Southeast Missouri 46
St. Mary's 72,
Tennessee Tech 58
@Ole Miss 63,
Belmont 48
Cleveland State 66,
@Tennessee State 59
Indiana State 73,
@UT Martin 71 (OT)
GEORGIA STATE 61, MOREHEAD STATE 47
ATLANTA, Ga. - Morehead State's women's basketball team was held to just 28 percent shooting Sunday at Georgia State, and despite cutting a large deficit to less than double digits in the final half, the Eagles dropped a 61-47 contest to the Panthers at the GSU Sports Arena.
GSU, which played minus its head coach due to a Colonial Athletic Association suspension, improved to 6-2. The Eagles fell to 1-9 with their eighth straight setback.
Junior guard Terrice Robinson led MSU with 10 points, her eighth game in double figures this year. Sophomore Casey Ryans grabbed a career-best 10 rebounds and scored nine points. Tiffany Anderson netted 11 to lead the hosts, while Kayla Nolan notched 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Eagles were 6-of-36 from three-point range. Georgia State entered the game as the nation's best three-point defensive team. After a 1-for-18 showing from beyond the arc in the opening half, MSU hit 5-of-18 in the second frame.
The Panthers out-rebounded MSU 50-37 and held a 38-20 advantage in points in the paint. The Eagles forced 21 GSU mistakes and made 21 themselves.
Georgia State opened the game on a 17-4 run in the first eight minutes and never trailed by less than 10 in the first half. The Panthers led 28-17 at the break. GSU pushed ahead 33-17, but the Eagles roared back with a 10-0 run keyed by two Allie Turner treys. MSU cut the margin to 33-27, but an 8-0 GSU run, helped by a pair of three-point plays, put the game effectively out of reach. The Eagles trimmed the deficit to less than 10 once more. Turner concluded with a trio of triples for nine points.
MSU finished 18-of-64 from the floor and hit all five of its free throws. The Eagles limited the Panthers to 2-of-12 from three-point range.
Morehead State remains on the road Tuesday as it travels to UAB for an 8 p.m. ET matchup.
ST. MARY'S 73, TENNESSEE TECH 58
QUEENS, N.Y. - Tennessee Tech fell to St. Mary's, 73-58, in the consolation game of the St. John's Chartwell's Holiday Classic on Sunday.
From tip-off to the mid-point in the first half it appeared to all that the game was long ever as St. Mary's held a 29-5 lead, but that turning point where a team's acceptance changes to fight kicked in when Quira Demery, Tia Nicholson, Mariah Dean and Christina Caddy joined senior Jala Harris on the court. Point-by-point the Golden Eagles put the Gaels on their heels and shocked Carnesecca Arena. The Golden Eagles went on an 18-8 run to close out the half 37-23.
As sure as the sky is blue Coach Davis and his staff went into the locker room searching for a spark. The second half began and Diamond Henderson scored a lay-up and a three lighting up the gym as the Golden Eagles found their spark. Henderson found Jala Harris for a second three and for the first time Tech was within reach, trailing by eight points.
As shots started falling, that edge and grit emerged and Tech's defense made a statement. There was energy in the gym and fans saw a different team on the floor. Rather than backing away from the fight, Harris and Henderson drove into lane taking putting up shots with two or three players hanging on each arm. As they drove, they opened up players on the wings and the team's ball movement made Tech unstoppable. In addition, Tech held the Gaels scoreless for four minutes, going on a 9-0 run coming within one point at 45-46. Lashay Davis was on the ground diving after loose balls searching for her teammates, with the rest of the team stepping into the lanes, going push-for-push.
Tech went point for point with the Gaels until nine minutes and 44 seconds remained in the game. The Golden Eagles got into foul trouble, and found themselves on a scoreless run until 2:33 when a free throw by Henderson ended the draught. Tech was on the bottom end of a 16 deficit, but finished the game as a respected team.
Leading all scorers was Jala Harris with 20 points, and Henderson added 19. The pair combined for five of the team's nine assists. Lashay Davis chipped in with seven points and Molly Heady added three points. T'Keyah Williams, Katherine Barker and Christina Caddy added two points each and Mariah Dean had one point but led Tech with five rebounds.
The Purple and Gold return to Cookeville with a great opportunity to hit the gym.
"For the first time this season we will have a full week with all of the girls in practice," said Davis. "With their class schedules, we had several girls not able to make practice every day of the week. We now have the ability to really tweak a few things and work on our greatest weakness: rebounding."
The Golden Eagles were again out rebounded by their opponent 43-35, giving up 14 second chance points.
Tech returns to action Saturday, December 22 as they travel to Marshall. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. CT.
WESTERN KENTUCKY 60, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 46
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - With just over nine minutes left, the Southeast Missouri women's basketball team stood toe-to-toe at Western Kentucky, but a seven-minute scoreless drought sent the Redhawks to a 60-46 loss on Sunday afternoon.
A 14-0 Lady Toppers (8-2) run turned a three-point Redhawks (5-6) deficit into a 17-point hole that they were unable to claw back from.
“We got within three points and got to a media timeout,” Southeast head coach Ty Margenthaler said. “I thought WKU was tired at that point, but we looked gassed instead. They got offensive rebounds and second chance points and it really took the wind out of our sails. You just can't do that against a quality basketball team like this.”
Patricia Mack opened the scoring with a layup, but WKU followed with six consecutive points to grab a 6-2 lead. A Kara Wright three and a Jordan Hunter free throw tied the game up, but Micah Jones connected on a three-pointer on the next possession to put the Lady Toppers back in front.
WKU's lead grew to 16-8 as part of a 10-2 run, but three-pointers by Hunter and Dru Haertling cut the gap to 16-14 with under eight minutes left in the opening stanza. Courtney Shiffer got position in close and Bailie Roberts set her up for a game-tying layup, making it 16-16 with 7:31 left.
The Lady Toppers reeled off six-straight points to go back on top 22-16. Southeast stemmed the tide from there and kept the gap at four (28-24) at halftime.
Shiffer scored the Redhawks' first two baskets of the half, both of which pulled them within two points. With the score 30-28, WKU got hoops from Chastity Gooch and Jalynn McClain to up the lead to six points. Wright drilled a mid-range jumper to make it a four-point game, but Bianca McGee answered with a jumper less than a minute later to up the lead to six once again. Roberts cut the gap to 36-32 after Shiffer found her cutting to the bucket for a layup. The Maryville, Tenn., senior then split a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to three points.
Southeast scored to make it a three-point game twice after WKU baskets. Olivia Hackmann got a layup in transition and Wright made a jumper to cut the gap to 40-37 with 9:12 to play.
That was as close as the game got the rest of the way as the Lady Toppers put the game away with a 14-0 run that elapsed 7:09, putting them up 54-37 with 2:44 left. The Redhawks did did not get any closer than 12 points in the final minutes.
Southeast shot 29 percent from the field in the second half and hit 34 percent of its shots overall. WKU countered with 39.4 percent shooting. Neither team shot well from long-range, with the Redhawks going 4-of-19 (21.1 percent) from beyond the arc and the Lady Toppers making 3-of-16 (18.8 percent) three-pointers. The teams combined for 15 free throw attempts with Southeast making 6-of-8 (75 percent) and WKU hitting 5-of-7 (71.4 percent). The Lady Toppers held a 45-33 advantage in rebounding and forced 20 Redhawk turnovers while committing 17 of their own.
Wright scored a career-high 15 points in her first-career start to lead Southeast, the first time she has scored in double figures. She also added a career-high eight rebounds while finishing with two assists, two blocks and two steals. Mack grabbed 10 rebounds, giving her double-digit boards in five straight games. Alexis Govan led all players with 20 points while Gooch (16 points, 12 rebounds) and McGee (11 points, 10 rebounds) posted double-doubles for WKU.
The Redhawks return to the Show Me Center on Dec. 21 to face Missouri State. Opening tip is at 6:30 p.m.
OLE MISS 63, BELMONT 48
OXFORD, Miss. - The Belmont women's basketball team (5-6) saw its three-game win streak snapped on the road Sunday afternoon. Despite a strong rally in the second half, the Bruins fell at Ole Miss (6-2), 63-48.
The Bruins won the tip and were first to find the bottom of the net with a jumper in the lane by senior Katie Brooks (Maryville, Tenn.). Ole Miss was able to match the first basket on the other end but both teams slipped into a brief scoring drought before redshirt sophomore Jordyn Luffman (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) got BU back into the game with a pair of steals and a layup. The Rebels were able to put together a quick scoring flurry to pull away 17-9 by the eight minute mark.
Sophomore Adrienne Tarrence (Bowling Green, Ky.) drove the ball down the center of the lane for her first points of the game and senior Alyssa Visbeen (Franklin, Tenn.) followed with a triple near the top of the arc to move the Bruins to within one, 17-16, with 6:01 left on the clock. After helping to force a turnover on the other end, Visbeen was fouled and sent to the line where she knocked down both at the charity stripe to put Belmont on top, 18-17. However, UM was able to regain the lead, capitalizing on a three minute icy spell by BU but a strong defensive effort kept the Rebels in check and they were only able to expand their lead to six, 24-18.
Belmont surged once again, this time behind another driving basket by Tarrence and a lay-in by Visbeen, to close the gap to two, 24-22, with just over 30 seconds left before the break. Ole Miss held for the final shot of the half and was able to find the bottom of the net with three ticks remaining to take a 26-22 lead into the locker room.
After the break, the Bruins came out hot to make up lost ground with three consecutive shots coming from senior Jordan Coleman (Orlando, Fla.) and Visbeen to help make it a one possession game three minutes in. Ole Miss sprang to life and went on an 11-2 run to go up, 43-32, by the 14:45 mark, forcing the Bruin bench to burn a timeout to regroup. Suddenly, Belmont found its rim lidded and the team was unable to score for nearly six minutes, allowing the Rebels to build a double digit lead, going up by as many as 17, 49-32, by the 11:21 mark.
A jumper from the right elbow by Brooks broke the ice off the rim and boosted BU's confidence. With the rim uncapped, the Bruins assembled a series of baskets led by Coleman that stunned the Ole Miss bench into calling a timeout after BU closed to within nine, 51-42, with just over six minutes left in regulation. Spotty shooting plagued Belmont in the waning minutes and that would be as close as it would come as Ole Miss rebuilt its double digit lead with the help of multiple trips to the free-throw line. Despite some quick points added by BU in the final two and a half minutes, the Rebels went on to take the contest, 63-48.
Ole Miss shot 36.8 percent from the floor, a frigid 9.1 percent from three-point range and 74.1 percent from the free-throw line. The Rebels held the advantage in rebounds, 47-31, and steals, 14-8.
UM had three players reach double digits, led by Tia Faleru's 13 points. Valencia McFarland and Diara Moore each added 12 points. Moore also led the team in rebounds, grabbing nine.
Belmont shot 35.1 percent from the hardwood, 12.5 percent from behind the three-point arc and 75 percent from the charity stripe. The Bruins held the advantage in assists, 14-9. The teams were even in blocks with one apiece.
Coleman notched her third double-double of the season with a game-high 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Visbeen added 11 and Luffman added eight points in the effort. Brooks finished with a game-high six assists.
Belmont returns to action on Thursday, December 21. The Bruins are on the road for a contest at Cincinnati. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. CT.
CLEVELAND STATE 66, TENNESSEE STATE 59
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee State Lady Tigers let a hot start go to waste as they lost to the Cleveland State Vikings 66-59 Sunday afternoon at the Gentry Center.
TSU (3-6) made six of their first eight shots on the way to a commanding 16-3 advantage in the first six minutes, 20 seconds. Despite the good shooting early on, the Lady Tigers shot just 34.8 percent from the field. It's the sixth time in nine games this season that TSU has shot under 35 percent.
Cleveland State (5-4) chipped away at the 13 point deficit pulling to within one with three minutes left in the half.
TSU went into halftime with a five point edge, 29-24.
The Vikings took their first lead of the game with 13:11 remaining. It was the early stages of a 15-4 run over 5:20 that ended with TSU trailing 46-39.
The Lady Tigers fought back and retook the lead twice in the final six minutes; once on a Tanesha Stenson free throw and on a Kesi Hess layup. There was a pair of ties and four lead changes over that span.
A Jasmin Shuler layup knotted the game up at 57 with 2:59 left, but CSU closed the game scoring seven of the final nine points. TSU missed six of their last seven shots in the final 2:16.
Shuler and Rachel Allen each had a team best 11 points, while Simone Hopes also scored in double figures with 10.
Shalonda Winton of CSU led all players with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
The Vikings outrebounded TSU 42-33 and attempted 17 more free throws (26-9). The Lady Tigers did win the turnover battle forcing 17 CSU miscues vs. just eight for the Big Blue.
TSU returns to the court on Tuesday as they head across town to take on Lipscomb (1-7) at 6 p.m.
MURRAY STATE 69, ALABAMA A&M 54
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State women’s basketball team won its seventh consecutive game by taking down Alabama A&M, 69-54, on Sunday afternoon at the CFSB Center to sweep a six-game homestand.
The now seven-game win streak is the longest since the Racers won 10 straight in the middle of the 2008-09 season. The six-game home streak is the longest since MSU won 21 straight at the CFSB Center from Feb. 2, 2007, to Nov. 21, 2009.
The game started slow for the Racers as they trailed the Lady Bulldogs (1-5) by for over the first 15 minutes of the contest. With 3:27 left in the first half, senior Mariah Robinson hit a three to give MSU (7-3) its first lead of the contest, one they would never relinquish.
The Racers led by as many as 17 in the second stanza and outshot the Lady Bulldogs by more the 20 percent in the frame. However, Alabama A&M was able to cut the lead to just three with 5:48 remaining in the game, but MSU pushed through to end the game on an 18-6 run and claim 15-point victory.
The second half saw the Racers raise their field goal percentage from 28.1 in the first half to 57.9 in the second. Murray State also got to the line 13 more times in the second half to finish the frame by going 16-for-24 from the charity stripe.
Robinson finished the afternoon with a game-high 19 points to lead the Racers offensively for the sixth time this season. Freshman Kelsey Dirks led MSU on the glass for the third-straight game, as she and senior Kyra Watson pulled down six boards each.
The Racers will now take their seven-game win streak to Columbia, Mo., where they will meet SEC-foe Missouri (9-2) on Thursday night. Tip-off from the Mizzou Arena is set for 7 p.m
INDIANA 72, SIUE 56
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana hit 10 three-pointers Sunday and went on to a 72-56 victory over SIUE in women's college basketball action at Assembly Hall.
SIUE freshmen CoCo Moore and Jessie Wendt led the Cougars off the bench. The duo scored 14 and 11 points, respectively, for the Cougars which fell to 6-5.
The Cougars shot better than the Hoosiers from the field with SIUE holding a field goal percentage of 42 percent (21-50) and Indiana coming in at 41.9 percent (26-62). The Hoosiers, however, made 10 of 24 three-pointers and led from the opening possession on a three-pointer by Aulani Sinclair.
Sinclair was the difference maker for the Boilermakers. She poured in a game-high 34 points for the Hoosiers. Sinclair shot 12 of 23 from the field and 7 of 13 from three-point range.
The Cougars were down by just three points in the first half when Sinclair created some distance with her three-point shooting. Indiana held a 25-22 lead with 4:58 to play in the first half after a jumper by Kiara Conner. Sinclair answered with three of her seven three-pointers in the final four minutes of the first half.
After falling behind 36-28 at halftime, the second half turned out to be an identical half in terms of scoring.
The Cougars are idle until Friday when they play their final non-conference matchup of the season. SIUE entertains SIU Carbondale at the Vadalabene Center in a 7 p.m. contest.
INDIANA STATE 73, UT MARTIN 71
MARTIN, Tenn. - Despite a valiant second-half run where The University of Tennessee at Martin out-scored visiting Indiana State 29-14 over the final 11:48 in regulation, the Sycamores escaped the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center with a 73-71 overtime victory over the Skyhawks.
Junior Heather Butler scored 24 second-half points to lead UT Martin and all scorers with 26 points. Jasmine Newsome and Rickiesha Bryant scored 10 points each, while senior Shelby Crawford netted nine points.
Butler forced the five-minute overtime when she made a layup with six seconds left in regulation. She had a chance to put the Skyhawks up by two with 12 seconds left in the overtime, but missed the back-end of a two-shot foul.
Bryant led the Skyhawks with nine rebounds and four blocks.
True freshmen Chelsey Hall and Sydney Vanlandingham scored nine and seven points respectively. Each player made a 3-pointer in the second half of the game. Hall opened the overtime period with a 3-pointer and then made a free throw to give the Skyhawks a 64-60 advantage with 4:33 to play. Vandlandingham came through with a 3-pointer with 2:41 to play and gave the Skyhawks a 70-65 cushion.
However the game was tied twice in the final 38 seconds, once at 70-all and then again at 71-all.
Indiana State’s Natasha Zurek gave the Sycamores a 72-71 lead with six seconds left and then Anna Munn sealed the victory for the visitors when she made the front-end of a two-shot foul with less than a second to play in overtime.
Munn led Indiana State with 25 points, while Racheal Mahan tossed in 19 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.
The Skyhawks are now 4-8 on the year and return to action Tuesday, Dec. 18, when they host Southern Miss in the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Indiana State is now 7-2 on the year.