SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Tennessee Tech 61, Western Carolina 56
@Southeast Missouri 56, Western Illinois 47
@SIUE 61, IPFW 54
TENNESSEE TECH 61, WESTERN CAROLINA 56
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - It's been 36 years since the Golden Eagles won the battle of the purple and gold, and after losing last season in the Eblen Center to Western Carolina, Saturday's road win over the Catamounts tasted even sweeter. Tech defeated Western Carolina 61-56 thanks to a strong second half performance. The Golden Eagles shot 51.1% from the floor including a 66.7% shooting performance in the second half.
The Golden Eagles felt right at home in Cullowhee as purple and gold adorned the arena. Add in 50 screaming band members and a hostile crowd, and it appeared the Western Carolina would hold a home court advantage. But Tech's Purple Pride outshone the Catamounts as nothing fazed the strong Golden Eagle squad.
Leading the squad was Diamond Henderson with 16 points and four assists. Tech went into the locker room at half time trailing by two, but Henderson came out on fire driving to the hoop and drawing a foul for the three-point play and then draining a three-pointer for five unanswered points. With the momentum in Tech's favor, the shots just started to fall. Down by seven, the Golden Eagles went on an 11-3 run thanks to back-to-back three's from senior Kylie Cook, putting the Golden Eagles up 41-37.
Tech's play kept stretching the lead and at just past the four minute mark, the Golden Eagles held a 10-point lead over Western Carolina. The Catamounts would make what seemed to be a big shot, with the chance of a swing in momentum, but Tech would silence the crowd and stifle any chance of a comeback with the simple swoosh of the net. Tech missed only one shot in the final four minutes of the game and the game appeared to be all but one.
There was one factor that Tech hadn't anticipated, Lindsay Simpson. Simpson had only played five minutes the entire game but she drained three three-pointers in the final minutes of the game to keep the Catamounts in the game. With 25 seconds remaining in the game, Jala Harris found Molly Heady wide open in a press break for a lay-up, giving Tech a 59-53 lead.
The deal appeared to be sealed, but Simpson again drained another three to bring Western Carolina within three. Lashay Davis was fouled in the next possession, and drained a foul shot putting the Golden Eagles up four. Simpson would get another attempt from behind the arc, but the shot wouldn't fall and another free throw from Kylie Cook gave Tech the win.
Heady joined Henderson in double-digits, scoring 10 and grabbing a season high seven boards. Harris, Davis, and Kylie Cook each added eight points. Harris and Davis recorded four and two assists respectively, with Davis grabbing three steals.
The Golden Eagles are on a two-game win streak and will return to action Saturday, December 15 in New York City. Tech will face St. John's in the tip-off game of the St. John's Chartwells Holiday Classic. Tip-off is set for 11:00 a.m. CT.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 56, WESTERN ILLINOIS 47
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Olivia Hackmann scored a season-high 15 points to lead the Southeast Missouri women's basketball team to a 56-47 win over Western Illinois at the Show Me Center on Saturday night.
Hackmann's outburst was the freshman's second career double-figure scoring game.
The Redhawks (5-5) scored the game's first five points on a Courtney Shiffer low post score and an Allyson Bradshaw three-pointer. The lead stretched to 13-2 after Bradshaw scored in transition, Patricia Mack hit two free throws and Bailie Roberts scored twice on the break.
A Michele Salvatori three-pointer ended a scoreless drought of over four minutes for Western Illinois (4-5), making it 13-5. The Southeast bench provided a lift to extend the lead as Hackmann made a 15-foot jumper, Dru Haertling connected on a three-pointer and then Hackmann scored five in a row on a jumper and three free throws to make it a 23-9 Southeast advantage with less than eight minutes left in the first half.
With the score 25-12, Jordan Hunter made a three-pointer to extend the lead to 16 points. Jackie Rieger hit two free throws to pull the Leathernecks within 14 in the final minute, but Hackmann beat the buzzer with a jumper to send the Redhawks to the locker room with 30-14 lead. The Redhawks shot 52.4 percent from the field and held the Leathernecks to 22.7 percent shooting
Southeast extend the lead to 40-16 with 12:38 showing on the clock after a Roberts baseline jumper. WIU responded with a 10-0 run that cut Southeast's lead to 14, but Hackmann calmly hit a jumper from the elbow to end the spurt. The freshman then jumped a pass for a steal and Hunter went the other way for a transition hoop. With the Redhawks up 44-27, Bradshaw hit a three-pointer to make it a 20-point bulge once again with nine and a half minutes left.
Western Illinois cut the lead in half with a 12-2 run, which made it 49-39 with just over four minutes left to play. A Mack free throw and a Roberts jumper upped the margin to 13 with 3:18 remaining, but the Leathernecks cut the deficit to 52-44 with 2:05 left after a Saule Kontautaite three-pointer and a Salvatori layup.
With WIU closing, Hackmann once again stalled a run, hitting a mid-range jump shot with 1:38 remaining to make it a 10-point game and effectively secure the victory.
Hackmann finished 6-of-10 from the floor, contributing 15 of the Redhawks' 25 bench points. Mack pulled down 16 rebounds, her fourth consecutive game with 10+ boards. She also tied a career high with four assists while scoring six points.
The Redhawks shot 42.9 percent from the floor and held the Leathernecks to 28.1 percent shooting, the second time in three games they held their opponent to under 30 percent from the field. Southeast made 4-of-14 (28.6 percent) three-pointers and 10-of-14 (71.4 perent) free throws while WIU went 5-of-19 (26.3 percent) from three-point range and 10-of-16 (62.5 percent) at the line, respectively. The Redhawks finished with a 42-32 edge in rebounding. Both teams turned the ball over 20 or more times, with Southeast committing 24 and WIU finishing with 20 miscues.
The Redhawks are off until Dec. 16, when they travel to Western Kentucky.
SIUE 61, IPFW 54
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Raven Berry recorded her second double-double against IPFW and third of the season Saturday as SIUE downed the Mastodons 61-54 at the Vadalabene Center.
Berry led SIUE women's basketball with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Teammate Tierny Austin and CoCo Moore added 16 and 15 points, respectively. Moore was one rebound shy of her first double-double.
It was the second time this season that the Cougars, now 6-4, defeated the Mastodons, now 3-6. SIUE repeated a seven-point win over IPFW after opening the season with a 74-67 win in Fort Wayne, Ind.
The Cougars held strong by going to the basket and drawing fouls. Berry was 10 of 13 from the line herself. Moore was 7 of 8. As a team, SIUE was 22 of 29 from the charity stripe.
SIUE equaled its season low in turnovers with 10 and won the rebounding battle 47-32. The Cougars have won the rebounding battle by double digits in four out of their last five games.
SIUE led at halftime 28-23 despite IPFW spending much of its time in a zone defense. Moore helped provide some much-needed spark off the bench.
Amanda Hyde led IPFW in scoring with 15 points. She shot 5 of 16 from the field.
The Cougars now head to the road for a single game next Sunday. SIUE travels to Bloomington, Ind., to take on the Indiana Hoosiers in a 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT contest.