FRIDAY'S SCORES
@Cincinnati 68,
Belmont 54
@Morehead State 51, Kent State 50
Missouri State 69,
@Southeast Missouri 55
@Austin Peay 69, Lipscomb 42
Southern Illinois 68,
@SIUE 63
CINCINNATI 68, BELMONT 54
CINCINNATI, Ohio - Despite waging a fierce comeback in the second half, the Belmont women's basketball team (5-7) was unable to regain lost ground from a first half deficit at Cincinnati (7-3). The Bruins were held off 68-54 on Friday afternoon on the road.
The contest opened with the teams trading baskets for the first four minutes with seniors Jordan Coleman (Orlando, Fla.) and Alyssa Visbeen (Franklin, Tenn.) finding the bottom of the net for the Bruins. The game was knotted twice by the 13 minute mark before the Bruins suddenly found their rim lidded. BU fell silent from the floor for almost four minutes before redshirt sophomore Jordyn Luffman (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) drove for a tip-in with 9:20 left on the clock.
Spotty shooting continued to plague the Bruins down the stretch of the first half, allowing Cincinnati to build a double digit lead two minutes later. The Bearcats grew their lead to as many as 16 in the final four minutes of the half. Coleman pushed for a layup and junior Molly Ernst (Louisville, Ky.) drilled a pair at the free-throw line but UC added the final point of the half with a free-throw to take a 36-21 lead into the locker room.
After the break, Coleman netted the first points of the stanza before UC followed with a quick flurry of jumpers to expand its lead to 21, 44-23, barely three and a half minutes in. The Bruins fired back with back-to-back triples by sophomore Katie Carroll (Lilburn, Ga.) and Ernst to spark a rally. BU forced a turnover and Visbeen was able to complete a three-point play on the other end of the floor to make it a 13-point game, 48-35, by the 15 minute mark.
The Bruins continued to chip away at the Bearcat lead, forcing turnovers and drawing frustration fouls on both ends of the floor. As BU turned up the heat, a pair of steals opened the door for buckets by Ernst and classmate Julianne Downs (Franklin, Tenn.) to help BU close within 10, 52-42, with just under 11 minutes left on the clock.
Belmont continued to surge as Cincinnati remained ice cold from the hardwood for more than five minutes. The Bruins used an 8-0 run to move within seven, 52-45, by the 8:22 mark, forcing the UC bench to burn a timeout in an attempt to contain the momentum. BU went frigid from the floor for more than four minutes but a strong defensive effort kept the Bearcats from adding to their point tally.
UC rebuilt its 10-point advantage but a pair of shots by Visbeen and a three-pointer by Ernst closed the gap to nine, 61-52, with 1:16 left in regulation. The Bearcats were able to use being in the bonus to their advantage in the waning time, using four trips to the free-throw line to add seven points to their tally, to aid in securing the win. Luffman added a pair from the stripe during the span but Cincinnati was able to hold on for the 68-54 win.
Cincinnati shot 46.7 percent from the floor, 57.1 percent from three-point range and 73.3 percent from the free-throw line. The Bearcats held the narrow advantage in rebounds, 34-33, assists, 14-12, and steals, 7-6.
UC was led in scoring by Dayeesha Hollis, who scored 19 points. Lesha Dunn added 16 while Alexis Durley and Chelsea Jamison contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Belmont shot 34.5 percent from the hardwood, 25 percent from behind the three-point arc and 52.9 percent from the charity stripe. The Bruins held the advantage in blocks, 5-0.
Three Bruins recorded points in double digits led by Visbeen with 15 points. Coleman and Ernst each added 13 points. Coleman was one rebound shy of a double-double with a game-high nine rebounds. Senior Katie Brooks (Maryville, Tenn.) notched a game-high five assists. Sophomore Torie Vaught (Maryville, Tenn.) finished with a career and game-high two blocks. Luffman, Coleman and Vaught recorded two steals each.
Belmont returns to action on December 29 at the Curb Event Center after a break for the Christmas holiday. The Bruins host first-time opponent SIU Edwardsville for its inaugural Ohio Valley Conference matchup. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
MOREHEAD STATE 51, KENT STATE 50
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Sophomore guard Almesha Jones exploded for career-highs of 31 points and six steals and scored the game-winning layup with 37 seconds remaining Friday night as the Morehead State women's basketball team hung on to edge the visiting Kent State Golden Flashes, 51-50, at Johnson Arena.
Jones, whose previous high-water scoring mark was 16, hit 5-of-9 from three-point range and also blocked a would-be game-winning three-point attempt with 13 seconds left as the Eagles won their seocnd straight game and improved to 3-9. KSU dipped to 1-10. She scored 12 in the opening half and tossed in 19 in the final 20 minutes while also contributing four assist and four rebounds.
The Eagles led by as many as 12 in each half and only trailed once. Tazmin Barroilhet's lay-in with 52 seconds left put the visitors ahead for the first time, 50-49. Following Jones' eventual game-winner, a heavily contested lay-in off the glass, the Golden Flashes had three oppotunities for the go-ahead bucket. Jones' block thwarted the first one with 13 ticks left, and KSU turned it over on an in-bounds play immediately after that. Daimon Beckford, who ironically hit a game-winner against MSU in last year's 65-64 KSU win, misfired on a short jumper as time expired.
Barroilhet registered career-highs of 26 points and 10 rebounds for KSU. She was 10-of-13 from the field and also had team-highs of three assists and four steals.
The Eagles led 24-15 at the break while shooting 44 percent (10-of-23). MSU cooled off to 36 percent (10-of-28) in the final half and saw KSU hit 50 percent (12-of-24). MSU forced 25 turnovers, resulting in a season-high 17 steals. A 30-19 Eagle lead with 18:51 left evaporated into just a 33-31 advantage at the 14:25 mark via a 12-3 Golden Flash run.
Freshman guard Kelsey Funderburgh added a career-best five assists, and sophomore forward Casey Ryans totaled a team-high seven rebounds. KSU out-rebounded MSU 36-26.
MSU finished at 39 percent (20-of-51) efficiency from the floor, including eight three-pointers.
Morehead State returns to action on Dec. 28 hosting Bethel University (Tenn.) in the first game of a doubleheader at 5:15 p.m. ET.
MISSOURI STATE 69, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 55
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - With nine minutes remaining, Southeast Missouri held a six-point lead over the defending Missouri Valley Conference champion, but Missouri State rallied to down the Redhawks 69-55 on Friday night.
The Redhawks fall to 5-7 after their second-straight loss. The Lady Bears are 7-4.
Southeast opened the game with the first nine points as Kara Wright made a layup and followed with a three-pointer on the following possession. Patricia Mack made a layup and Bailie Roberts hit a jumper to give Southeast its biggest lead of the night.
A 9-2 spurt by MSU cut made it an 11-9 ballgame with 16:31 remaining in the opening frame. Undeterred, the Redhawks extended their lead to 22-16 at the 10:54 mark.
The Lady Bears took their first lead of the night on the strength of a 12-0 run that lasted over five minutes and made it 28-22. The contest bogged down the rest of the half as the teams scored only five combined points the last four minutes and change. The Lady Bears took a 30-25 lead into halftime.
A 10-2 Southeast run to open the second half put the Redhawks on top 35-32 at the 15:14 mark of the second half. Roberts started the run with a transition jumper. After MSU hit two free throws, the Redhawks scored eight-straight points with Mack and Olivia Hackmann contributing four apiece.
An offensive rebound and put back by Mack made it 46-40 Southeast with 9:25 left on the clock, but that's where MSU put turned the tables.
The Lady Bears scored 10-straight points to take the lead back at 50-46. Roberts cut the deficit to two points twice, making a pair of free throws and hitting a jumper to make it 52-50 with 6:13 showing on the clock.
The Lady Bears followed eight-straight points to make it a 60-50 ballgame with 4:32 left. Southeast never got any closer than nine points as MSU outscored the Redhawks 29-9 in the final 9:25.
Mack led Southeast with 12 points and 10 rebounds, notching her fifth career double-double and second of the 2012-13 campaign. That is also the junior's sixth-straight game with 10 or more rebounds. Wright made her second-straight start and poured in 11 points, her second-straight double figure scoring output. Roberts was also in double digits, finishing with 10 points.
MSU's Whitney Edie tallied 21 points off the bench to lead all scorers while Christiana Shorter tallied 15 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
The Lady Bears had a decisive 62-35 rebounding advantage and made 37.1 percent of their shots compared to the Redhawks' 31.7 percent mark. MSU went 5-of-14 from beyond the arc while Southeast made only one of its 13 attempts from three-point range. Southeast forced MSU into 21 turnovers while committing 15 of its own.
The Redhawks are off until Dec. 31 when they open Ohio Valley Conference play at Belmont.
AUSTIN PEAY 69, LIPSCOMB 42
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University women’s basketball team led nearly wire-to-wire en route to a 69-42 non-conference win against Lipscomb, Friday night, at the Dunn Center.
Austin Peay (4-7) trailed for only 18 seconds in the entire contest. Lipscomb (1-9) grabbed its only lead, 20-19, after a pair of Mallory Charpentier free throws at the 6:05 mark capped a 7-0 run. The Lady Govs regained the lead, 21-20, at the 5:47 mark thanks to a pair of free throws by Jennifer Nwokocha.
Those free throws sparked an 11-0 Austin Peay run over the next three minutes. Senior Leslie Martinez and junior Nicole Olszewski chipped in three-pointers while freshman Amber Howard added a conventional three-point play. That run put the Lady Govs ahead 30-20 with 2:51 left and they would not look back, taking a 33-23 advantage into halftime.
Austin Peay put the game away with a 15-4 run in the second half – pushing the lead to 19 points, 52-33, with 11:12 left. The Lady Govs extended the lead to 26 points late in the game as freshman Tiasha Gray hit a three-pointer that gave APSU a 63-37 lead with 3:28 left.
Martinez led Austin Peay with a 12-point, eight-rebound, five-steal performance. Bussabarger added 11 points and Nicole Olszewski chipped in 10 points. Eleven Austin Peay players scored in the contest.
Lipscomb’s Hannah Phillips led all scorers with 17 points.
Austin Peay will take a seven-day break for the Christmas holiday before returning to action with a 3 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 29 contest at Alabama A&M to start a three-game road trip.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 68, SIUE 63
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE played its final non-conference tune-up, falling to 6-6, after a 68-63 loss to SIU Carbondale Friday night at the Vadalabene Center.
The Cougars now turn their attention to Ohio Valley Conference play. SIUE begins league play with three consecutive road games beginning with Belmont in a 2 p.m. game Dec. 29.
Raven Berry led SIUE in scoring with 14 points and added nine rebounds against the Salukis, 2-8. Tierny Austin and CoCo Moore added 11 points each.
SIUE forced 23 turnovers against the Salukis but weren't able to take full advantage. The Cougars shot just 30.3 percent (20-66) from the field.
The Cougars erased a nine-point halftime deficit (34-25) and took the lead on a pair of free throws by Tierny Austin with 11:08 to play in the game. SIUE held a three-point lead at 57-54 on a layup by Austin.
SIUE used second-chance opportunities to make the comeback. After having no second-chance points in the first half, the Cougars picked up 11 in the second half.
Cartaesha Macklin put the Salukis in a good position when she hit a pair of three-pointers. She scored nine points in an 11-0 run for SIU Carbondale that put the Salukis ahead 65-57 with 2:25 to play. Macklin would lead all scorers with 18 points.
SIU Carbondale shot 46 percent from the field and was even better from three-point range, hitting 9 of 18 treys. Rishonda Napier hit three three-pointers and scored 13 points. Alexus Patterson added 11 points off the bench for the Salukis.
SIUE pushed once again with a pair of layups by Berry and two free throws by Courtney Kenner. SIU Carbondale's Napier would make it a two-possession game with a pair of good free throws with 8.9 seconds left on the clock.