SUNDAY'S SCORES
@Cincinnati 59,
Eastern Kentucky 48
@Ohio 79,
Morehead State 72 (OT)
No. 14 Purdue 68,
@UT Martin 60
Lipscomb 67,
@Jacksonville State 54
@Austin Peay 84, St. Catharine 62
CINCINATI 69, EASTERN KENTUCKY 48
CINCINNATI, Ohio - The Eastern Kentucky University women’s basketball team led host Cincinnati at halftime; however, the Bearcats used a strong second half to defeat the Lady Colonels, 59-48, on Sunday afternoon at Fifth Third Arena.
Senior Jade Barber paced EKU (5-5) with 13 points, six rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Senior Alex Jones, who posted a double-double against UC as a freshman in 2009, also played well, scoring 8 points and grabbing five boards. Senior Raechele Gray scored only five points but dished out a career-high nine assists in the defeat. Gray has now dropped 16 assists in the Lady Colonels’ last two contests.
Alexis Durley led Cincinnati with 15 points, while Lesha Dunn scored eight points and collected a game-high 10 rebounds.
The back-and-forth first half featured six lead changes, the final one coming when Gray beat the buzzer with a three-pointer from the top of the key that gave the Lady Colonels a 24-23 advantage at halftime. EKU held Cincinnati to just 30.4 percent (7-of-23) shooting from the field in the first half.
The Bearcats, however, roared to an 11-2 run out of the break, taking a 34-26 lead when Durely hit a free throw less than four minutes into the half. UC’s lead grew to 12, 46-34, when Dunn knocked down a free throw at the 7:22 mark of the second half. EKU trimmed the lead to six, 46-40, when Barber converted a fast-break layup with 4:32 remaining in the game; however, a pair of three-pointers by Cincinnati’s Kayla Cook over the next two minutes of play sealed the win for the Bearcats.
UC shot nearly 50 percent (12-of-25) from the field in the decisive second half.
The Lady Colonels now have more than a week off before they return to action on Tuesday, Dec. 18 against West Virginia State at McBrayer Arena. Tip for that game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
OHIO 79, MOREHEAD STATE 72 (OT)
ATHENS, Ohio - Morehead State junior guard Terrice Robinson scored a career-high 39 points, just two shy of the school single-game record, but the Morehead State women’s basketball dropped a 79-72 overtime decision at Ohio University’s Convocation Center Sunday.
The Bobcats won their second straight game over an Ohio Valley Conference team to improve to 3-5, while the Eagles slid to 1-8.
Robinson had 11 by halftime but erupted for 28 second-half points before fouling out with 2:31 left in overtime. Her effort nearly equaled Bev Smith’s school record of 41. She was 16-of-32 from the field and hit four three-pointers while also grabbing a career-best eight rebounds. Her total was the most in a game since Chynna Bozeman notched 39 against Murray State on March 2, 2010.
Just three days after a 62-38 loss to Western Kentucky where MSU shot only 3-of-23 in the first half, the Eagles hit 43 percent (30-of-70) today and canned seven three-pointers.
Sophomore guard Almesha Jones netted 15 points, six assists and five steals, and sophomore forward Casey Ryans tallied 13 points on a 6-of-6 performance from the floor while also grabbing seven boards. Sophomore guard Whitney Kyle corralled a career-best seven rebounds as the Eagles were only out-rebounded 40-35.
Ohio placed four in double figures, led by Kiyanna Black with 19 and Shavon Robinson with 17. Alex’ie Brown tallied 14, and Mariash Byard scored 10.
The game featured 10 lead changes and nine ties. OU outscored the Eagles 11-4 in overtime to pull away.
MSU led by as much as five in the final half, but OU’s Robinson hit a pair of free throws with 10 seconds left in regulation to give her team a 68-65 advantage. MSU’s Robinson nailed a three-pointer with six ticks left to send the contest into extra minutes.
Ryans’ layup with 3:52 left in overtime had the Eagles on top 70-69, but MSU missed seven straight field goals, and the hosts scored the next 10 to lead 79-70.
MSU will be off this week for semester exams before returning to action on Dec. 16 at Georgia State.
LIPSCOMB 67, JACKSONVILLE STATE 54
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - With both teams searching for its first win of the season, Lipscomb used nine three pointers in the first half alone to turn back Jacksonville State, 67-54, on Sunday in Allen Arena on the LU campus.
The win by LU snapped a six-game losing skid, while JSU dropped its eight consecutive game to start to the season.
The Lady Bison finished the first half 10-of-24 from the field with nine of those made baskets from beyond the three-point arc. LU's fist nine baskets were three-point shots and the lone bucket inside the arc came with 53 seconds left in the first half. The Purple and Gold added four points from the free throw line. LU completed the contest with a 13-of-26 performance from behind the arc with four made treys in the second half. The 13 made three-pointers is the most since UT Martin scorched the nets for 16 made three pointers last February.
LU entered the game shooting just 29 percent from behind the three-point line and only knocking down 5.7 treys per game. Freshman Presley Stastny led LU's three-point barrage with four made treys. Stastny finished with 17 points in 33 minutes of action. Alex Banks recorded a game-high 18 points in the win for LU. Hannah Phillips added 11 points and nine rebounds. For just the second time this season, JSU was out-rebounded by the opposition, 39-32.
Jax State, trailing 33-25, at the halftime break had a solid shooting start with a 39 percent effort and erased LU's 11-point, 25-14 lead at the 5:09 mark of the half and got within a basket at 27-25 after an 11-2 run over a four-minute frame. LU would push the deficit back out to eight points after scoring the final six points.
After LU pushed the lead out to as many as 11 points on two occasions in the first five minutes of the second half and took a 45-34 lead at the 14:23 mark. Jax State would put together a 10-0 scoring run that covered the next three minutes to get within a point at 45-44 nearing the midway point of the half. LU would extend the JSU deficit back out to 11 points at 59-48 with 6:43 left in the game. LU connected on free throws down the stretch and turned in a 14-of-22 showing at the free throw line in the final 20 minutes.
Junior Dashauna Truss and freshman Destany McLin led the Gamecocks' second half charge as the pair combined for 16 of the 29 points in the second half. Truss, from Jacksonville, Fla., finished with a team-high 12 points. She has now scored in double figures in three consecutive games. Truss was also credited with three assists. McLin, who made her first career start, made the most of it with 11 total points and three buckets in the second half. The rest of the Gamecocks were limited in scoring as they hit just 33 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes and did not record a field goal in the game's final 2:41.
Nashville, Tenn.-native Briana Morrow contributed seven points, while Destiny James and Marikate Gardler added five points each.
JSU continues its December road trip on Wednesday as it travels to Chattanooga, Tenn. to face the Mocs of Chattanooga. Tip off is set for 6 p.m. CST.
No. 14 PURDUE 68, UT MARTIN 60
MARTIN, Tenn. - For more than eight minutes in the first half, The University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball team led No. 14 Purdue at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center Sunday afternoon. At halftime, the host Skyhawks led 29-25.
Purdue opened the second half with a 15-0 run and led, 40-29, when KK Houser canned a pair of free throws with 15:21 to play in the game. Purdue came from behind to claim a 68-60 victory over the Skyhawks.
In the first half the Skyhawks had the nationally ranked Boilermakers on the ropes. Junior guards Jasmine Newsome and Heather Butler led the way with 11 and 10 points respectively. Newsome finished the game with 21 points, while Butler scored 28 points.
UT Martin’s biggest lead of the first half was seven points with 2:29 to play. While the Skyhawks relied on Newsome and Butler to score, the effort on the boards was impressive. At one time in the first half, the Skyhawks had outrebounded Purdue 18-17.
True freshman Katie Schubert helped out in the first half with a pair of 3-pointers and three rebounds. Sydney Vanlandingham, also a true freshman, grabbed four rebounds in the four minutes she played in the first half.
Butler led the Skyhawks with six rebounds, while seniors Shelby Crawford and Rickiesha Bryant, freshman Cortrice Golden and Vanlandingham had four boards each.
Purdue, which is now 9-1, was led by Sam Ostarello and Taylor Manuel with 16 points each. April Wilson and Drey Mingo scored 11 points each. Ostarello and Mingo each added 10 rebounds in the game to record double-doubles.
The Skyhawks are now 4-7 on the year with four of the seven setbacks coming against Top 20 teams, Baylor (No.1); Stanford (No 4); Louisville (No. 6) and Purdue (No. 14).
The Skyhawks will be idle this week because of final exams, but return to action Sunday, Dec. 16, when they host Indiana State. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.
AUSTIN PEAY 84, ST. CATHARINE 62
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University women's basketball team used a 26-4 second-half opening run to break open a close contest and post an 84-62 victory over NAIA opponent St. Catharine, Sunday afternoon, at the Dunn Center.
Leading by two points at halftime, Austin Peay (3-6) only built a six-point advantage in the second half's first four minutes. However, the Lady Govs broke the game open with an 18-2 run over the next five minutes converting nine of its 12 shots during that stretch. APSU featured a balanced attack during the outburst with senior Meghan Bussabarger, senior Leslie Martinez, freshman Alexis Hardaway and sophomore Kristen Stainback each contributing at least four points during the burst.
More credit for the second half's opening should be given to the Lady Govs defense, which limited St. Catherine to 1-of-13 shooting, including 12 consecutive missed shots, and forced eight turnovers in the opening nine minutes.
Following the burst, Austin Peay's lead would fall below 20 points once - shrinking to 15 points with three minutes left - but it responded and closed the half with an 8-1 game-sealing run.
St. Catharine (6-5) certainly didn't look like a team that had played two games in the previous two days - piecing together a 13-2 run in the opening 4:28. Austin Peay did not help its cause with one basket in its first seven tries and three turnovers during that opening stretch.
Bussabarger, who had the Lady Govs only basket in the opening four minutes, hit a three-pointer at the 15:13 mark to stop the Patriots run. Her basket started a 16-4 run that gave Austin Peay its first lead and a 21-17 advantage with 9:37 left. However, Austin Peay could not build a larger advantage as the teams traded the lead nine times over the final 10 minutes before settling on a 38-36 APSU lead at the break.
Bussabarger finished with a game-best 25 points - four shy of her career high - and seven rebounds. She was 11-of-17 from the field, including a 2-of-2 effort from three-point range.
Martinez added a 13-point, 10-rebound performance that was her second double-double in the last three games. Stainback and senior Kaitlyn Hill added 10 points each.
Rianne Hofstraat led St. Catharine with 16 points - one of four Patriots players to score 10 points.
Austin Peay takes a seven-day break for finals before meeting Arkansas State in a 7:05 p.m., Monday, Dec. 17 contest in Jonesboro, Ark.