WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
@USC Upstate 75,
Morehead State 69
Eastern Kentucky 62, @Alabama A&M 56
@Northern Illinois 69,
SIUE 47
USC UPSTATE 75, MOREHEAD STATE 69
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- The USC-Upstate women's basketball team remained perfect at home in 2014-15, while the Morehead State women were left still searching for their initial road win this season as the Spartans edged the Eagles, 75-69, Wednesday at the Hodge Center.
The home team improved to 6-5 overall and 5-0 at home. MSU slipped to 4-7 overall and 0-5 away from Morehead.
MSU finished with 18 turnover and a season-low eight assists. USC-Upstate turned the MSU miscues into only 19 points though.
Raven Jefferson paced the hosts with 17 points. Brittany Clency registered 13, while Sharmayne Edwards tallied 12.
USC-Upstate led 67-59 with 3:58 left, but senior guard Almesha Jones ignited a 10-3 run, and the Eagles trailed only 70-69 with 1:17 left. However, MSU turned the ball over three times in the final minute.
Freshman forward Eriel McKee registered a career-best 21 points and completed her third career double-double with 10 rebounds in 39 minutes. Senior guard Maiki Viela tied her career-high with 19 points, while senior guard Almesha Jones scored 16 and had a team-high six assists in just less than a full 40 minutes. Senior forward Casey Ryans collected a game-high 12 rebounds, one short of her career high.
McKee swiped a team-best three steals.
Morehead State was 0-for-8 from three-point range. The last time an MSU team failed to hit a three-pointer was Dec. 9, 2006 against Murray State. The Spartans drilled five triples.
The Eagles shot 38 percent (24-of-63) but managed only 29 percent (9-of-31) after halftime. USC-U hit 39 percent (25-of-64) of its attempts.
MSU returns home to host Cleveland State Sunday at 2 p.m. ET before taking a break for Christmas. The final non-conference game is set for Dec. 30 at home versus Southern Illinois.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 62, ALABAMA A&M 56
NORMAL, Ala. – Junior Shameekia Murray scored a career-high 21 points as the Eastern Kentucky University women's basketball team held on to defeat host Alabama A&M, 62-56, on Wednesday night at T.M. Elmore Gymnasium.
It was EKU's (5-4) first true road win of the season.
The Colonels led by as many as 24 points in the first half, but the Lady Bulldogs created havoc with a second-half full-court press and pulled to within a possession – 57-54 – on a layup by Nashaye Sutton with 1:21 remaining in the game.
After junior Jasmine Henshaw responded with a bucket in the paint on EKU's ensuing possession, AAMU (0-9) again pulled to within three – 59-56 – on a pair of free throws by Janie Myles with just under 30 seconds to play.
Murray got loose for a layup on the Colonels' next trip down the court, though, and EKU's defense held on the opposite end, forcing a missed shot. Sophomore Michaela Hunter got the rebound, was fouled and sank two free throws to seal the victory.
Murray came off the bench to post her career night. She went 10-of-15 from the field and also pulled down a career-high six rebounds. Hunter added 13 points and six rebounds.
Sophomore Katie Pippen made her first-career start in the game and scored a career-high eight points on perfect 4-of-4 shooting from the field. Fellow sophomore Nicole Bowers made her first start of the season contributed six points and a team-high eight boards.
EKU shot a season-high 56 percent (28-of-50) from the field in the win.
Myles paced AAMU with 20 points.
The Colonels – who lead the Ohio Valley Conference in field goal percentage defense (36.8) – limited the Lady Bulldogs to 27 percent (17-of-63) shooting from the floor.
EKU shot 65.5 percent (19-of-29) from the field in a dominant first-half performance. The Colonels took their largest lead of the game, 39-15, on a layup by Murray with 3:02 remaining in the half.
However, AAMU used defensive pressure to slowly claw back into the game in the second half. The Lady Bulldogs forced the Colonels into 24 turnovers in the second half. EKU finished the game with a season-high 34 turnovers.
EKU will play its final non-conference game of the season at home versus Richmond on Sunday, Dec. 21. Tip is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS 69, SIIUE 47
DEKALB, Ill. - SIUE's Tierny Austin scored a team-leading 13 points and is now six points from becoming the 21st player in school history to score 1,000 points for women's basketball.
She'll get her first opportunity Saturday in a 2 p.m. game against Valparaiso at the Vadalabene Center.
On Wednesday, however, Austin's double-digit effort was not enough as Northern Illinois defeated SIUE 69-47 at the Convocation Center.
Amanda Corral led all scorers with 26 points. The Huskies improved to 3-5 while the Cougars dropped to 3-6.
SIUE finished with 20 turnovers, and Northern Illinois used it for 22 points off turnovers.
Northern Illinois raced out to a 36-17 lead by halftime and didn't budge in second half. The Huskies shot 28 of 53 (52.8 percent) for the game while SIUE shot 15 of 49 (30.6 percent).
Micah Jones was the only other Cougar scoring in double figures with 10 points.
Ally Lehman provided 15 points for the Huskies.
Wednesday's game was the final contest of a five-game road swing for the Cougars. Saturday's game against Valparaiso will be SIUE's first game at the Vadalabene Center in just less than a month.