SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Belmont 69, Jacksonville State 49
Southeast Missouri 61, @Murray State 58
@UT Martin 81, Austin Peay 64
@Tennessee Tech 73, Morehead State 53
@Tennessee State 69, Eastern Kentucky 66
SIUE 70, @Eastern Illinois 62
BELMONT 69, JACKSONVILLE STATE 49
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Belmont women's basketball team (17-12, 11-5 OVC) defeated Jacksonville State (1-26, 1-11 OVC) in its regular season finale on Saturday afternoon at the Curb Event Center. The Bruins handed its senior class a victory with its dominating 69-49 win.
BU jumped out to an early 6-0 lead behind a pair of free throws by senior Katie Brooks (Maryville, Tenn.), a tip-in by sophomore Katie Carroll (Lilburn, Ga.) and fast break layup by senior Jordan Coleman (Orlando, Fla.), forcing the Gamecocks bench to burn a timeout to stop the streaking Bruins. Belmont continued to keep Jacksonville State off the scoreboard for the nearly the first five minutes of play as two more points came from senior Alyssa Visbeen (Franklin, Tenn.), who used a drop shot in the paint to extend the run to 8-0 by the 16:35 mark.
JSU was completely stagnated from the hardwood, unable to net a field goal until the 12:47 mark of the first stanza as the Bruins continued to roll. Junior Molly Ernst (Louisville, Ky.) opened up a flurry of shots from behind the arc, knocking down three while Visbeen and redshirt sophomore Jordyn Luffman (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) drained one apiece. At the end of the rapid fire pace, BU was on top 23-6 and Jacksonville State was forced to burn another timeout, hoping to develop a strategy to slow the Bruins.
The Gamecocks seemed to only find success at the charity stripe in the first half with the stringent defensive effort by Belmont which kept them at shooting less than 10 percent from the floor through much of the first half. BU continued to pile on the points and JSU nearly called its third timeout of the half after a triple by freshman Natalie Cohlmeyer (Evansville, Ind.), tallying the team's seventh of the stanza to put Belmont ahead 39-18, but was saved by the under four minute media timeout. In the final two and a half minutes of the half, JSU finally began seeing shots fall from the floor however, a completed three-point play by Luffman pushed BU ahead by 22, 42-20, as the clock headed into the final 90 seconds of the half..
After the break, the Bruins continued to roll behind back-to-back layups by Carroll and Coleman. Six minutes in saw sophomore Torie Vaught (Maryville, Tenn.) got hot on both sides of the ball, scoring from both the free-throw line and in the lane while simultaneously turning into a fierce one-woman-rebounding-crew, pulling down four offensive and one defensive in short succession. Her attack opened the door for Visbeen to drain a jumper in the paint to give Belmont its biggest lead of the day, 26 points, 57-31, with 12:28 remaining in regulation.
Jacksonville State looked to claw back and was able to close the gap to 18, 60-42, propelled by a 7-0 run but it was too little too late. Ernst drilled her fourth triple of the afternoon and the Bruins used a combination of strong clock management and baskets by Coleman and Luffman with a pair at the charity stripe by sophomore Adrienne Tarrence (Bowling Green, Ky.) to seal the 69-49 victory.
Jacksonville State shot 30.2 percent from the floor, zero percent from three-point range, and 85.2 percent from the free-throw line. The Gamecocks held the slim advantage in rebounds, 41-40.
JSU was led in scoring by Danielle Vaughn, who scored a game-high 16 points. Also reaching double figures were Miranda Cantrell and Candace Morton, who contributed 13 and 11 points, respectively. Vaughn also led the team in rebounds, grabbing 12 to record a double-double.
Belmont shot 35.7 percent from the hardwood, 40 percent from behind the three-point arc and 78.6 percent from the charity stripe. The Bruins held the advantage in assists, 15-7, blocks, 3-1, and steals, 10-2.
Ernst led the Bruins with 13 points, with the assistance of four three pointers. Luffman also reached double figures, adding 12 points. Reigning OVC Newcomer of the Week Coleman pulled down 10 rebounds and was just two points shy of tallying a double-double. Tarrence finished with a game-high six assists.
TENNESSEE TECH 73, MOREHEAD STATE 53
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - A 16-1 opening act by Tennessee Tech in the first four minutes brought the curtains down quickly on Morehead State Saturday night as the Golden Eagles clinched the top seed in the Ohio Valley Conference East Division with a crowd-pleasing 73-53 victory in Eblen Center.
First-year coach Jim Davis started his five seniors on Senior Night, and all five put points into the book, including a career-high 21 by Lashay Davis and 22 from Jala Harris. That departing pair each scored eight points in Tech’s opening flourish.
Sophomore Diamond Henderson added 14 points while junior Molly Heady finished with eight points and seven rebounds.
Morehead State (9-21/5-11 OVC) was topped by Terrice Robinson’s 23 points, while Kailee Howe added 11.
With the win, Tech (18-11/12-4 OVC) has earned the top spot in the league’s East Division standings, and will head to the OVC Tournament next week in Nashville sith byes into the semifinals on Friday.
Harris lit the fuse with a 3-pointer just 10 seconds into the night, and Davis made it 6-0 one minute later. Davis had a layup and Harris followed with her own, and the margin was at 10-0.
The pair wasn’t finished.
After MSU got one free throw, Davis drained another 3-pointer, and Harris knocked down Tech’s fourth trey of the contest at the 15:39 mark for a 16-1 lead.
Tech took its lead to as many as 23 points before the end of the half, finally heading to the break with an 18-point bulge, 35-17.
Morehead State rallied briefly early in the second half, using a 3-pointer by Allie Turner and a three-point play by Robinson to pull within 12 points, 35-23, with 18:17 to play.
But that was it for the visitors. Tech quickly regained a 20-point advantage and reached its largest lead of the night at 24 points when Harris made another 3-pointer with 8:17 to play for a 62-38 difference.
UT MARTIN 81, AUSTIN PEAY 64
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Senior forward Meghan Bussabarger finished her career with a 19-point performance but Austin Peay State University women’s basketball team saw its 2012-13 campaign come to a close with an 81-64 Ohio Valley Conference loss to UT Martin, Saturday, at the Dunn Center.
Austin Peay (7-21, 2-14 OVC) utilized a 2-3 zone to fluster UT Martin over the game’s opening 12 minutes. Bussabarger scored the Lady Govs first eight points, including a pair of three-pointers, keeping APSU close until the rest of the team warmed up. Freshmen Tiasha Gray and Alexis Hardaway combined for 11 of Austin Peay’s next 13 points as they built a 21-18 advantage with 7:23 left.
UT Martin (16-14, 11-5 OVC) finally started to find its range over the final seven minutes, using a 15-7 run to take a 33-28 lead with 2:19 left. Junior Jasmine Newsome scored eight of her 18 first-half points during the burst. The Skyhawks would nurse that lead the half’s remainder and led 39-33 at the break.
Austin Peay closed within four points early in the second half as five different players scored over the opening three minutes, Bussabarger hitting a jumper with 17:19 left to cut the lead to 46-42.
UT Martin responded forcefully, scoring the game’s next eight points to build a 12-point lead. Austin Peay would only get within seven points the rest of the way.
Turnovers proved critical throughout the contest, UT Martin committing only seven in the contest while forcing 19 Austin Peay miscues. That translated into 23 UTM points off turnovers while APSU scored only eight points off miscues.
Bussabarger finished with 19 points on 8-of-19 shooting, including 3-of-8 from three-point range. Freshman Tiasha Gray added 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Senior forward Leslie Martinez added a 10-point, nine-rebound and seven-assist performance.
UT Martin’s Newsome led all scorers with 26 points on 9-of-20 shooting. Junior guard Heather Butler finished with 19 points – pushing her past the 2,000 career point plateau. Senior forward Rickiesha Bryant chipped in a 13-point, 13-rebound double-double performance.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 61, MURRAY STATE 58
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State women’s basketball team was edged in its final regular-season game by Southeast Missouri, 61-58, on Saturday at the CFSB Center in Murray.
Before the game, seniors Tessa Elkins, Jessica Holder, Mariah Robinson and Kyra Watson were honored for their accomplishments with the Racer women’s basketball program.
In the first half, the Racers (16-12, 8-8) fell behind early and trailed by as many as 12 with under 10 minutes to go in the frame. However, the Races ended the half on a 12-1 run to take a 31-29 lead into the locker room at the break.
In the second half, Murray State once again allowed the Redhawks (11-18, 5-11) to surge ahead, this time with a 13-5 run midway through the half. MSU closed the gap to three with 3:09 remaining in the contest, and them again with 1:57, but was unable to convert and fell in their final home game of the season.
Senior Mariah Robinson led all scorers in the game with 23 points to aloing with six rebounds, while classmate Kyra Watson added 11 and five. Junior Jessica Winfrey led the Racers on the boards with seven rebounds, while freshman Kelsey Dirks added five, in addition to nine points.
Bailie Roberts led the Redhawks in the game with 17, while Kara Wright and Patricia Mack added 10 each. Mack was also just one rebound short of a double-double, with a game-high nine.
TENNESSEE STATE 69, EASTERN KENTUCKY 66
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee State erased a double-digit second half lead and hit some key free throws in the final minute to take down Eastern Kentucky 69-66 on "Senior Night" at the Gentry Center Saturday night.
The Lady Tigers (13-14, 9-7 OVC) trailed by as many as 14 points (49-35) with just over 16 minutes remaining. A pair of Kesi Hess free throws with 16:12 left was the beginning of a 34-17 TSU run to close the ball game.
Hess and Simone Hopes led the Big Blue with 18 points each with fellow senior Jasmin Shuler pitching in 15. Hopes added 10 rebounds for her second straight double-double, while point guard Rachel Allen set a career-high with 10 boards of her own.
Despite making only one field goal over the final 5:20, TSU tied the game at 62 after Shuler hit three free throws after getting fouled with 52 seconds left. Allen would step to the line and make one-of-two to gain a one point edge. After a traveling violation on Pilar Walker of EKU (17-10, 11-5 OVC) gave TSU the ball, Hess hit a pair of free throws to give the Lady Tigers the final three point margin.
TSU turned things around offensively and defensively after trailing 40-29 at the half. EKU was limited to 27 percent shooting in the second half compared to 43 percent in the first half. The Lady Colonels also cooled down from distance as 10 of their 11 three pointers came in the first 20 minutes. Guard Marie Carpenter led EKU with 26 points, three off her career-high, but only four came in the second half. The junior from Nashville was 6-of-7 from three in the first half.
On offense, TSU shot 50 percent in the second half compared to only 32 percent in the first. Free throws were a huge factor as well, as the Lady Tigers connected on 16-of-21 from the line in the second half.
The Lady Colonels were careless with the ball as TSU forced 25 turnovers, which turned into 31 points.
SIUE 70, EASTERN ILLINOIS 62
CHARLESTON, Ill. - For the second consecutive season, the SIU Edwardsville women’s basketball team spoiled the Panthers ‘Senior Day’ as the Cougars upended Eastern Illinois, 70-62, in overtime on Saturday night inside Lantz Arena. EIU concludes regular-season action as the Ohio Valley Conference Co-Champions with Tennessee Tech.
The Panthers (19-10, 12-4 OVC) earned the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament and will play in the semifinal round at noon on Friday, March 8. Fans interested in purchasing tickets for the tournament should contact the EIU Ticket Office at 217-581-2106.
With the game tied at 42 with 11 minutes left on the clock, EIU used a 12-5 run to take its largest lead of the night, 56-49, with just over six minutes remaining in the contest. The Cougars (15-13, 9-7 OVC) rallied to outscore the Panthers 9-2 in the closing minutes to force EIU’s third overtime game of the season. EIU went 0-for-4 from the field and 2-for-6 from the foul line in the final six minutes of regulation.
SIUE led the entire first half, racing out to an early 11-3 advantage until the Panthers used a 12-3 run to get within one (15-14) with 8:42 left on the clock. The Cougars had their largest lead of the contest, 30-21, with 1:40 left in the half and led by five (32-27) at intermission.
Mariah King led the Panthers with her ninth career double-double, scoring a game-high 16 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Sabina Orosozva added 12 points, eight rebounds and game-high five blocks. Sydney Mitchell rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 points. Ta’Kenya Nixon finished the day with eight points, six assists and five rebounds.
Defensively, both teams posted 44 rebounds while the Cougars had eight more steals (14-6) than the Panthers. EIU finished the contest with two more blocks (7-5) than SIUE.
The Panthers hit 38.6 percent of their field-goal attempts (22-for-57) in the loss. After going 7-for-28 from the floor in the first half, the Panthers drained 54.2 percent of their shots in the second stanza (13-for-24). EIU also went 2-for-11 from behind the arc and 16-for-22 from the charity stripe.
Raven Berry led the Cougars with 13 points and a game-high 17 rebounds. Tierny Austin added 14 points while CoCo Moore chipped in 11 points. SIUE hit 35.2 percent of its shots (25-for-71) and went 17-for-24 from the foul line.