TUESDAY'S SCORES
@Belmont 80, Lipscomb 60
@Eastern Kentucky 73, Asbury 48
@Jacksonville State 78, Georgia Southern 52
@Memphis 65,
Austin Peay 60
BELMONT 80, LIPSCOMB 60
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Led by a flawless performance from the floor by sophomore Frankie Joubran (Detroit, Mich.), the Belmont women's basketball team (2-5) notched its second consecutive win of the season on Tuesday night. The Bruins dominated rival Lipscomb (2-5) in the annual Battle of the Boulevard contest, 80-60.
The long-time rivals took a few minutes to feel each other out before the Bruins jumped ahead, 12-6, behind shots by senior Katie Carroll (Lilburn, Ga.), and sophomores Lauren Thompson (Franklin, Tenn.) and Frankie Joubran (Detroit, Mich.) four minutes into the matchup. Lipscomb attempted to regain some ground but senior Natalie Cohlmeyer (Evansville, Ind.) drilled a triple to extend BU's lead to 17-10, four minutes later.
LU moved as close as four, 21-17, by the 9:34 mark and continued to threaten for the next two minutes. Back-to-back trifectas by seniors Katie Carroll (Lilburn, Ga.) and Jordyn Luffman-Hartsfield (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) put an end to the spark as they helped put the Bruins on top by its largest lead of the half, 33-24 with 6:24 left on the clock. Belmont held on to its eight-point advantage until the final 30 seconds when LU managed to find the back of the net, including the final shot of the half. Despite the late push by their rivals, the Bruins carried a 39-35 lead into the locker room.
After the break, the Lady Bisons opened aggressively against Belmont but the Bruins held steady. LU would move to within four points, 45-41, in the first three minutes before BU flexed once again and expanded its lead. Joubran converted an and-one opportunity to expand BU's lead to double digits for the first time, 51-41, with just under 14 minutes left in regulation. LU hustled and closed the gap to five, 56-51, four minutes later but Carroll knocked down a triple from the left corner to make it a 10-point game again, 61-51, with 8:25 remaining.
The Bruins never let Lipscomb move closer than 13 points in the waning minutes. BU went on to grab its biggest lead of the day, 20 points, 80-60, after a layup by senior Adrienne Tarrence (Bowling Green, Ky.) and cruised to the victory by the same score.
LU shot 38.7 percent from the floor, an icy 13.3 percent from three-point range, and 58.8 percent from the free-throw line.
Lipscomb was led in scoring by Ashley Southern, who netted a game-high 26 points. Sara Bliss also reached double digits, adding 17 points. Southern also led the team in rebounds, grabbing seven.
Belmont shot a season-high 50.9 percent from the floor, 30.8 percent from behind the three-point arc and 61.5 percent from the charity stripe.
Joubran led the Bruins with a career-high 18 points, after going 7-for-7 from the floor, followed by freshman Sierra Jones (Huntsville, Ala.) with 13, one point shy of matching her season best and senior Jordyn Luffman-Hartsfield (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) with 11 points. Joubran also tallied her fourth double-double of the season with a game-high 13 rebounds. Senior Adrienne Tarrence (Bowling Green, Ky.) recorded a game and season-high seven assists. Thompson collected a game-high two blocks.
Belmont returns to action on December 11 at the Curb Event Center when it hosts in-state rival Chattanooga.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 73, ASBURY 48
RICHMOND, Ky. - Twelve Colonels scored as a balanced Eastern Kentucky University women’s basketball team won its third consecutive home opener, pulling away from visiting Asbury, 73-48, on Tuesday night at McBrayer Arena.
EKU (3-3) leads the Ohio Valley Conference in field goal percentage defense (38.3 percent), and the Colonels lived up to that billing on Tuesday night. Asbury shot just 23.6 percent (13-of-55) from the field and 17.9 percent (5-of-28) from the field in the second half. EKU, meanwhile, shot 41.4 percent (24-of-58) from the floor.
Junior Shelly Harper led the Colonels’ balanced effort on Tuesday night, notching her second straight double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore Michaela Hunter added 11 points, six rebounds and five assists, while junior Shameekia Murray tallied 11 points and came up with a team-best six steals.
The win was not easy, though. Behind a deep bench and a frenetic pace, Asbury (6-1) jumped out to an early lead. The Eagles used a 14-4 run to take their largest lead of the game, 18-11, on a three-pointer by Brittany Warren with 14:37 to play in the first half.
EKU absorbed the early blow and slowly began to find its composure, as a three-pointer by Hunter tied it, 22-22, with 8:37 on the clock.
The Colonels then ended the back-and-forth first half with a run of their own – this one of the 6-1 variety – and headed into the locker room up by seven, 39-32.
EKU took its first double-digit lead of the game, 49-38, on a three-point play by junior Jasmine Stafford less than five minutes into the second half.
The Colonels then used a 14-1 run to put the game away, as another three-point play – this one by sophomore Amadi Brooks – made it 67-43 in favor of EKU with just over five minutes to play in the game.
Warren paced Asbury with 18 points, all of which she scored in the first 13:38 of action.
The Colonels return to action on Saturday, Dec. 6, when they host Marshall at McBrayer Arena at 4:00 p.m.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 78, GEORGIA SOUTHERN 52
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The Jacksonville State women's basketball winning streak was extended to five games with an impressive 78-52 home win against Georgia Southern on Tuesday at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
The win pushed JSU's season-opening start to 5-1, which is the best since the 1990-91 season. The five-game winning streak is the first for Jax State since it compiled five in row since the 2005-06 campaign. JSU has now won 16 of the last 24 games and 10 of the last 11 games at home since January, 1, 2014.
The 26-point win was keyed by a 41-point second half effort by the Gamecocks and nine three-point baskets in the contest. The nine made treys is the second time this season that JSU has knocked down that number in a game. The other game was the Alabama contest that started the string of wins for JSU.
The Eagles of GSU entered the game with a sizable advantage in the post and used it to their advantage early as they jumped out to a six-point, 11-5 lead by the 13:24 mark of the opening half. Senior Candace Morton went end-to-end with 10:44 left in the half to give Jax State a lead that it would not relinquish. Morton, who was named the Ohio Valley Conference's Player of the Week earlier in the day, was limited to three first-half points, but finished strong with 14 points.
JSU would extend its lead out to double digits moments before intermission after senior Courtney Strain drilled a three-point basket with 41 ticks left in the half to give JSU a 37-27 margin at the break. The Woodland, Alabama-native scored 10 of her career high 18 points in the first half. Strain connected on 6-of-12 from the field and 3-of-7 from long range.
GSU made a brief run at the Gamecocks to open the second half, but an 11-0 run by JSU clipped the Eagles momentum coming out of the locker room. The run was sparked by the three-point shooting as Morton and Strain combined for three treys in four trips down the floor. A layup by Miranda Cantrell was sandwiched between the three pointers. The run pushed a seven-point, 37-30 Jax State lead out to 48-30 at the 16:40 mark of the half. Another three pointer with 8:05 left on the clock by Briana Benson gave JSU its first 20-point lead of the season at 66-46.
JSU, who has the best scoring defense in the OVC, once again held the opposition to less than 60 points. The Eagles didn't crack 50 points until 1:34 left to play. Jax State pushed its lead out to as many as 30 points just prior to GSU reaching the 50-point mark. The Gamecock defense forced 16 GSU turnovers and only turned the ball over eight times. JSU was credited with 19 assists in the win and a season-best 10 steals.
For the second time this season, JSU placed four players in double figures in the scoring column. Strain's 18 points led all scorers, while Cantrell had her best point production of the season with 12 points. Cantrell shared team-high rebounding honors with Benson as both pulled down seven. JSU had a plus-two advantage on the boards at 48-46. Benson came off the bench for 11 points.
Patrice Butler and Brian Jones paced the Eagles with 17 and 10 points respectively.
The Gamecocks will play their final home game before the Christmas break on Friday as they host Jackson State. Tip off is set for 6 p.m. at Pete Mathews Coliseum
MEMPHIS 65, AUSTIN PEAY 60
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - A nearly six-minute long second-half opening drought doomed Austin Peay State University women’s basketball team in a 65-60 nonconference loss to Memphis, Tuesday night, at Elma Roane Fieldhouse.
Leading 30-28 at halftime, Austin Peay (1-6) went scoreless for the opening 5:34 of the second half, going 0-for-6 from the floor and committing two turnovers. Memphis (3-4) opened the half with a 13-0 run, converting on five of its first six shots to take an 11-point lead, 41-30.
Junior guard Tiasha Gray broke the drought with a backdoor cut and layup at the 14:26 mark. Junior forward Jennifer Nwokocha followed with a fast-break layup to slash the deficit to seven points. But a 7-2 Memphis run, punctuated by a Mooriah Rowser three-pointer, pushed the deficit to 12 points, 48-36, just two minutes later.
Austin Peay did not fold and spent the next four minutes chopping away at its deficit, ultimately cutting it to three points, 51-48 with 8:42 left, as a Gray jumper ended a 12-3 run. The Lady Govs would have two opportunities to tie or take the lead in the final 6:45 but could not convert either time. Austin Peay closed the game by making just one of its final nine shots.
The Lady Govs got a full-team effort in the first half as eight different players scored in the frame. Sophomore forward Beth Rates scored the game’s first six points, but the first half was dominated by see-saw play that included seven ties and five lead changes.
Austin Peay broke the final tie with a 6-0 run that was keyed by five points from junior forward Jennifer Nwokocha. The Lady Govs held a six-point lead again at the 1:20 mark, but Memphis closed the frame with a 6-2 run to leave Austin Peay holding a 30-28 halftime lead.
Gray led Austin Peay for the third consecutive game, scoring a game-best 19 points while adding seven assists, six rebounds and three steals. Rates finished with 10 points while sophomore guard Rivers and Nwokocha each added seven points off the bench.
Ariel Hearn and Rowser each scored 15 points to pace Memphis’ offense. The Tigers dominated the boards in the second half, posting a 24-13 edge in the half after both teams fought to a 20-20 rebounding stalemate in the first half.
Austin Peay returns home to start a three-game homestand with a 2 p.m., Saturday contest against NAIA foe Brescia.