THURSDAY'S SCORES
@Tennessee State 82, Morehead State 57
@Tennesssee Tech 67, Eastern Kentucky 47
@UT Martin 82, Eastern Illinois 62
TENNESEE STATE 82, MOREHEAD STATE 57
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee State clinched a spot in the 2013 OVC Tournament with an 82-57 win over Morehead State in a Thursday matinee at the Gentry Center.
Senior guard Jasmin Shuler recorded her 1,000 career point with 3:24 remaining. The Clarksville native is the 15th Lady Tigers to score 1,000 points at TSU. Shuler led all players with 19 points, while Kesi Hess added 18 points, 12 of which came from beyond the arc.
Tennessee State (12-14, 8-7 OVC) held the advantage over Morehead State (9-20, 5-10 OVC) for much of the first half, but never held a more than a two possession edge until a run late in the first half. Over the final 4:30 of the half, the Lady Tigers went on a 12-2 run to head into the locker room up 37-28.
TSU closed the door on any hope that MSU had of a second half comeback as the Lady Tigers scored 23 points (6-of-8 from the floor and a perfect 9-for-9 from the line) in five-and-a-half minutes early in the half to take a commanding 60-38 lead.
After shooting 48 percent in the first half, TSU limited the Eagles to 26 percent in the second half.
Destiney Gaston had a strong showing off the bench scoring 14 points and collecting six rebounds in 23 minutes. Simone Hopes also had double figures putting in 12 points along with a career-high 14 boards, including 11 in the second half. Gaston and Hopes play on the glass played a big part in TSU winning the battle of the boards, 43-34.
The Lady Tigers took advantage of 23 Eagle miscues, turning them into 23 points. TSU also excelled from the charity stripe hitting 23-of-26 from the line.
TENNESSEE TECH 67, EASTERN KENTUCKY 47
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Junior Molly Heady recorded her best game of the season Thursday night, and her 19 points was a catalyst for Tennessee Tech as the Golden Eagles vaulted back into a tie for the top spot in the Ohio Valley Conference East Division with an emphatic, 67-47 victory over Eastern Kentucky in the Eblen Center.
Tech can now clinch the division’s highest position and one of the top two seeds in next week’s OVC Tournament by wrapping up the regular season Saturday with another win over Morehead State.
Eastern Kentucky (17-9/11-4 OVC) had won four in a row coming into Cookeville, including a 61-55 victory over the Golden Eagles in Richmond just 10 days ago, and had claimed seven of its last eight.
Tech (17-11/10-4 OVC) has won six of its last seven games, with the lone loss being the six-point fall at EKU.
Heady was 6-for-8 from the field, including 4-of-5 from long range, on the way to her game-best 19 points, one shy of her career-high. Diamond Henderson added 15 points while point guard Jala Harris finished with nine points and six assists. T’Keyah Williams led Tech to a 40-39 edge on the glass with 11 rebounds.
Marie Carpenter was the lone Lady Colonel to score in double figures with 10 points, while Brittany Cole added nine and Miranda Maples contributed eight points and six rebounds. Alex Jones topped EKU’s rebounding effort with 10.
Tech shot 8-for-18 from long range (44.4 percent) and managed 42.3 percent overall (22-for-52). EKU hit 25.5 percent (14-for-55) for the game and went 4-for-19 (21.1 percent) from outside the arc.
Kellie Cook dropped in back-to-back 3-pointers and Heady scored five points, including a 3-pointer, in a decisive 14-2 run during a four-minute span that allowed the Golden Eagles to rush from a one-point lead to a 33-20 advantage in the first half, a difference that the Golden Eagles rode to the finish line.
EKU had a couple of slim leads in the opening minutes, and the score was tied a twice in the first half, the last time coming at 16-all with 7:37 to play. After Raechele Gray’s layup made it a 19-18 Tech lead, the Golden Eagles used the long-ball to pull away before intermission.
The run started quietly, with a free throw by Henderson with 5:57 remaining. Cook then hit a three, and Henderson and Heady made layups to make it 27-18. A layup by LaRa’e Allen was the only damage EKU managed during the stretch, before Heady and Cook dropped bombs, with assists from Harris on both.
Tech was on top, 35-22, at halftime.
The Lady Colonels were within 11 in the second half, at 39-28, but Tech answered with a 12-4 run to spread the lead back to 19. It hit 20 points with 12:15 remaining, 52-32, on a free throw by Lashay Davis.
UT MARTIN 82, EASTERN ILLINOIS 61
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball team moved to 10-5 on the year with an 82-62 victory over visiting Eastern Illinois Monday night. The host Skyhawks knocked down a season-high 16 3-pointers.
Junior Heather Butler led the Skyhawks with 21 points, while Jasmine Newsome finished with 17 points. Freshman Chelsey Hall scored a career-high 13 points while senior Shelby Crawford scored 10 points.
Senior Rickiesha Bryant pulled down 10 rebounds to lead UT Martin. However, EIU outrebounded UT Martin 43-34.
Ta’Kenya Nixon led the Panthers with 20 points. Sabina Oroszova and Mariah King scored 12 points each.
The victory was the Skyhawks fourth consecutive victory over the Panthers in the friendly confines of the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center. It was also the sixth time this season the Skyhawks have won when they score more than 80 points.
However, victory didn’t come easy as EIU built an early 24-18 advantage. The Skyhawks took the lead for good, 28-26, when freshman Sydney Vanlandingham knocked down her first 3-pointer of the game with 6:02 to play in the first half.
The Skyhawks knocked down 10 3-pointers in the first half to build a 49-33 lead. Butler drained four treys, while Schubert and Crawford hit two each. Newsome and Vandlandingham hit one each.
However, the Skyhawks fell behind early, but battled back with three 3-pointers, two by Crawford and one by Newsome. Crawford’s jumper with 15:42 to play in the first half cut EIU’s lead to one point, 12-11.