FRIDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Illinois 72, Sacramento State 67 (OT)
Reinhardt 65,
@Jacksonville State 60
EASTERN ILLINOIS 72, SACRAMENTO STATE 67
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Senior forward Mariah King scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Panther women’s basketball team to its second overtime win in three games, defeating Sacramento State 72-67 on Friday night in Lantz Arena. EIU improves to 5-3 on the year.
The Panthers outscored the Hornets 7-2 in the extra stanza to with their third consecutive game. Defensively, EIU held Sacramento State to 1-for-5 shooting in overtime to seal the victory. In the Panthers two overtime contests this year, EIU has outscored its opponents 20-4 while holding them to 2-for-16 shooting.
Sacramento State had its largest lead 45-37 with 12:52 remaining in regulation before the Panthers went on a 14-4 run over the next five minutes to take a 51-49 advantage. EIU was able to cut down on its miscues down the stretch to stay in the game. After committing 23 turnovers in the game’s first 28 minutes, EIU only turned it over two more times for the duration of the game.
The Hornets led by six points (63-57) with 3:33 left on the clock in regulation, but the Panthers fought back by using an 8-2 run in the final minutes to tie the contest for the ninth time. The game also had 10 lead changes.
King scored 16 of her 21 points in the second half to pace the Panther offense. Sydney Mitchell added her first double-double of the season with 12 points and 13 rebounds in 24 minutes of action off the bench. Ta’Kenya Nixon and Kelsey Wyss both added 13 points in the win. Nixon also dished out a team-high five assists.
On the glass, EIU outrebounded Sacramento State 57-39. King added eight rebounds while Nixon pulled down seven.
Kylie Kuhns led the Hornets with 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting to go along 10 rebounds. Megan Kritscher added eight points, rebounds and blocks. Alle Moreno finished the night with 13 points.
The Panthers return to action at Big Ten member Wisconsin on Dec. 15 at 2 p.m.
REINHARDT 65, JACKSONVILLE STATE 60
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Reinhardt knocked down 18-of-24 free throws in the second half to highlight a 65-60 win over Jacksonville State in women's college hoops action at Pete Mathews Coliseum on Friday night.
Reinhardt, a member of the NAIA, notched its first win over a Division I program with the five-point win. The loss dropped the Gamecocks to 0-7 on the season and will look to end the skid on Sunday at Lipscomb. The Bisons of Lipscomb are also searching for their first win of the 2012-13 season. Tip off is set for 2 p.m. at Allen Arena on the LU campus.
The Eagles entered the contest only knocking down 59 percent from the free throw line, but rectified that number with a final tally of 22-of-29 from the charity stripe. RU's Tara Hay led all scorers with a 25-point effort, including a 10-for-12 night at the free throw line.
Jax State took its largest lead of the contest at 28-23 with a fast break lay up by freshman Destiny James at the 3:18 mark of the opening half. James made her first career start against the Eagles. After a Miranda Cantrell jumper with 2:27 left in the half, the Gamecocks would go cold from the field the rest of the first half and the first eight minutes of the second half. JSU would take a narrow, 30-29 lead in to the halftime break, but a 13-0 scoring run over a 10:45 period gave RU a 39-30 lead at the 14:30 mark of the second half. James hit a free throw at the 13:43 mark for JSU's first points of the half and did not hit its first basket until sophomore Briana Morrow connected on a lay up and trim the deficit to 39-33 with 11:59 left in the game.
Morrow, who shared team-high scoring honors with 14 points, got the Gamecocks within a point at 41-40 with 7:55 to go, but that was as close as the contest would be as RU went on a 12-3 scoring run over the next four minutes and equal its largest lead at 53-44 nearing the three-minute mark of the half.
Morrow returned to action with a solid outing with seven rebounds, one block and a career-high four steals.
Junior Dashauna Truss matched Morrow in the scoring column with 14 points. Truss knocked down a pair of three-point shots in her 30 minutes of action. For the fourth consecutive game, Cantrell reached double digits in the scoring with ten points. Freshman Destany McLin pulled down a team-best eight rebounds off the bench.
Sunday's contest at Lipscomb can be heard on the Gamecock Sports Network with Mike Parris court side. Air time is set for 1:45 p.m. The game begins a five-game road trip for JSU