SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Illinois 77, Belmont 72
@Jacksonville State 78, Murray State 73 (OT)
Eastern Kentucky 57, @Southeast Missouri 54
@UT Martin 99, Morehead State 70
@SIUE 91, Tennessee STate 83
@Tennessee Tech 73, Austin Peay 71
EASTERN ILLINOIS 77, BELMONT 72
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Sabina Oroszova scored all 24 of her points in the second half as the senior helped Eastern Illinois power past Belmont, 77-72, on Saturday afternoon in Lantz Arena. Oroszova was one of five Panthers that scored in double figures in the victory.
EIU improved to 6-11, 3-1 in the OVC. The Panthers will play at Eastern Kentucky on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. Belmont fell to 4-13 overall, 1-3 in the OVC.
Oroszova had one rebound and no shots in the opening half. She hit a 3-pointer with 17:39 to play which put EIU up 41-40 at the time.
Belmont would go back in front on free throws by Frankie Joubran with 16:01 to play. The Bruins would built a seven point lead with 8:42 to play as Lauren Thompson hit a jumper in the paint. Thompson was one of five Belmont players in double figures finishing with 10.
Oroszova would hit a 3-pointer with 4:48 to play which started a 12-0 run by the Panthers as they took a one-point lead at 67-66. After a block by Erica Brown on the defensive end of the floor, Oroszova drained another 3-pointer to extend the lead to four. Grace Lennox would cap the EIU run with a four free throws.
Brown finished with a double-double for EIU with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Lennox and Bh'rea Griffin both had 11 points. Griffin scored nine points for EIU in the opening half going 3-of-3 from 3-point range. Arnisha Thomas rounded out the EIU double figure scorers with 10 points.
Belmont shot 52 percent in the opening half as the Bruins led 38-35 at the half. Belmont would shoot 48 percent for the game. Sierra Jones led Belmont with 15 points and eight assists. After not scoring in the opening half Joubran finished with 12 points. Jordyn Luffman-Hartsfield and Katie Carroll rounded out the double figure scores for the Bruins scoring 11 and ten points each.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 78, MURRAY STATE 73 (OT)
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - - Jacksonville State matched its season-high in points and needed all of them in a 78-73 overtime win over Murray State on Saturday afternoon in Ohio Valley Conference women's basketball action at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
The win snapped a two-game losing streak with the five-point win over the Racers and improved Jax State's season's mark to 11-5 overall and 2-2 in league play. The road loss was MSU's third consecutive to open the conference schedule at 0-3. JSU turned back the Racers for the first time in the all-time series between the two programs in games played on its home floor. MSU was 9-0 against JSU in Jacksonville. The Gamecocks also set another first in the process as it's the first time the Red and White have claimed back-to-back wins over the Racers. Last season's win at the CFSB Center snapped a 13-game winning streak by the Racers.
After suffering a tough 57-54 defensive struggle on Thursday to Austin Peay, the Gamecocks came out of the gates with more energy and offensive production. MSU jumped out to its largest lead of 10 points in the first three minutes of the contest at 12-2 before JSU mounted a comeback to take the lead the rest of the first half. The Gamecocks put together a 13-2 run over a four-minute span to take their first lead of the game at 15-14 with 13:20 left in the opening half. After the fourth tie of the game at 22-all at the 8:29 mark, JSU finished the half on a 21-8 run over the final 8:29 and pushed a lead out to double figures at 37-25 with 4:07 left in the half after a Briana Benson three-point basket. Benson sparked the run off the bench with 10 of her 15 points in the opening half. The Jonesboro, Georgia-sophomore drilled a pair of three pointers in the first 20 minutes. The Jax State defense locked down on the Racers defensively as they finished the half 1-of-16 from the field. JSU took a 43-30 lead in to the halftime break. The 43-point output is the most in a half for Rick Pietri's squad.
In the first half alone, JSU knocked down 47 percent from the field and limited the Racers to 27 percent from the field. Last season on the Racers' home floor, the Gamecocks held a 13-point advantage and had to stave off a second-half rally by MSU - JSU had to repeat that performance and outlast the Racers in an extra session on Saturday.
The Gamecocks pushed its halftime margin out to its biggest lead of 20 points at the 16:28 mark after a Destany McLin bucket gave JSU a 52-32 lead. From that point, the Racers' offense started to heat up as the Gamecock lead started to dwindle down to one point at 54-53 with 9:43 left on the clock after a 21-2 scoring spurt. JSU never trailed in regulation, but had to nurse its lead the rest of the way. The lead was pushed back out to double figures at 67-56 with 6:31 left on the clock.
The Racers would mount another comeback as they would score the final 11 points to extend the game in to overtime. Both teams had chances to win in the final minute of the game.
MSU would take its first lead since the 13:51 mark of the opening half with a three-point basket by Ke'Shunan James. James finished with a game-high 28 points on 8-19 shooting, including 6-of-11 from beyond the three-point line. She nearly had a double-double with nine rebounds.
JSU went to the verteran guard Candace Morton throughout the extra period as she drilled answered James' trey with her lone three pointer of the contest to give JSU a 74-73 lead - a lead it would not relinquish the rest of the way. McLin and Benson scored the final four points as McLin connected on her 12th point with a field goal. Benson iced the contest with a pair of free throws in the waning seconds.
McLin registered her fourth double-double of the season with her 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Athens, Alabama-native grabbed her 10th board at a critical time in overtime. Morton tallied her second 20-plus point contest of the season with 21 points. The Lexington, Kentucky-senior guard matched her season high in assists with five. Freshman Tyler Phelion made her first start of her young career against a lengthy Racer squad. The Mobile, Alabama-post player pulled down 10 total rebounds and had four points in 26 minutes. It was her second-straight game to grab double figure rebounds after hauling in 12 against Austin Peay on Thursday. Junior Destiny James added seven points and five assists in 34 minutes of floor action, while freshman Gretchen Morrison drilled a trio of three pointers in the second half to give JSU a boost offensively.
Keiona Kirby, MSU's leading scorer, posted 19 points, while Netanya Jackson added 12 points in the setback.
UT MARTIN 99, MOREHEAD STATE 70
MARTIN, Tenn. - – University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball coach Kevin McMillan accomplished yet another record – tying the program’s record for all-time coaching victory with 105 – as the Skyhawks cruised to their third consecutive victory against Ohio Valley Conference foe Morehead State 99-70.
The Skyhawks (7-9, 3-0 OVC) broke the school’s long standing single-game assists record with 31 in the contest, shattering the previous record of 29 set against Lambuth on Nov. 21, 1986. Along with their ability to share the ball, the Skyhawks set new season bests in points (99), field goals made (39), three-pointers made (16) and turnovers committed (six).
As a team, five players scored in double figures for the first time this season behind the stellar player of Ashia Jones yet again.
Jones notched her third career outing with 30 points – including her second in as many games. Jones found help from four teammates in the score column as Jessy Ward (17), Karisma Tyson (14), Chelsea Roberts (12) and Katie Schubert (12) all reached double figures.
Morehead State (6-10, 2-1 OVC) came into the game unbeaten due in large part to the play of its standout performers. Three players scored in double figures for the Eagles, including 19 points and seven rebounds from Shay Steele. Joining Steele in double figures was Natalie Greenwell and Eriel McKee.
Despite Morehead State knocking down their first shot out of the gate, it was UT Martin that would respond with a 6-0 run and three consecutive three-pointers from Ward and Roberts. With the Skyhawks out to a quick 9-4 lead, the Eagles would call a quick timeout just 90 seconds into the contest.
With both teams shooting a high percentage, the teams combined to score 32 points over the next five minutes alone. Jones scored eight points during the span for the Skyhawks while Steele was just as impressive for the Eagles with eight of her own. With the potent offenses on both ends, the Skyhawks would hold a 27-18 advantage with just under 12 minutes to play in the half.
The Skyhawks would keep the momentum rolling over the next four minutes while posting a 13-4 run. Consecutive forced turnovers would turn into five points during the span as Roberts and Jones would both expand upon their respective shooting performances.
The trio of Roberts, Ward and Schubert would each tally three-pointers during the run to give the Skyhawks their largest lead of 18.
The Eagles would use the next segment to trim into the Skyhawk advantage. Trimming the lead from 18 points to as close as 11 during the span, the Eagles received significant efforts from the pair of Steele and Greenwell while outscoring the Skyhawks 11-3.
UT Martin would respond by stretching its lead back out to 16 heading into the halftime break. Nine combined points from Schubert, Ward and Jones led the way for the Skyhawks as they held a 52-36 advantage. The Skyhawks 52 first half points ranked as the most points scored by the squad in a single half this season while Jones and Morehead’s Steele led their respective squads with 14 points each.
The Skyhawks would continue their hot shooting coming out of the second half, posting an 18-9 run to open the second half. Jones would score nine points in the opening five minutes while Ward would toss in six points from distance as well. Much of the offensive works were provided by the defensive stops for the Skyhawks as Roberts tallied three steals out of the break.
Morehead State would respond with a 14-8 run of their own to trim the lead to 19 points going into the under 12 media timeout. Greenwell would lead the way for the Eagles with eight points during the run, putting three players in double figures.
The Skyhawks would retaliate once again with an 11-0 run of their own to stretch the advantage back out to 27 points. During the run the Skyhawks held the Eagle scoreless for over four minutes while finding baskets throughout the scoresheet and putting their fourth and fifth players in double figures.
UT Martin would close out the game on an 8-4 run, cruising to the team’s largest win of the season 99-70.
SIUE 91, TENNESSEE STATE 83
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Five players scored in double figures Saturday as SIUE's offense turned up the heat with a 91-83 victory over Tennessee State at the Vadalabene Center.
SIUE's 91 points was the most during the Division I era and the most by a Cougar women's basketball team since Jan. 3, 2008, when Missouri Baptist yielded 104 points.
Gwen Adams scored a career best 26 points. Shronda Butts, the reigning Ohio Valley Conference Player and Newcomer of the Week, recorded 22 points. Tierny Austin earned her second double-double of the season with 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Micah Jones and Donshel Beck added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Adams, who helped the Cougars outshoot the Tigers in the paint 42-32, shot 8 of 13 from the field and 9 of 10 from the free throw line.
Adams said her team's guards provided good passes.
The Cougars, who improved to 3-1 in the OVC and 8-9 overall, took advantage of Tennessee State on the free throw line, converting 35 of 38 for 92.1 percent. It was the most free throws made by a Cougar team since the Missouri Baptist game in 2008.
Austin hit a career-high 11 of 12 from the free throw line.
Tennessee State, now 5-9 overall and 2-1 in the OVC, finished with four players in double figures. Chelsea Hudson led the Tigers with 21 points followed by 16 from Rachel Allen, 10 from Briana Morrow, and 10 from Jayda Johnson.
SIUE shot 51 percent (26-51) from the field while Tennessee State shot 45.5 percent (30-66). The Tigers also collected 11 three-pointers.
TENNESSEE TECH 73, AUSTIN PEAY 71
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - It was a roller coaster ride and Tennessee Tech fans can finally exhale.
The Golden Eagles (5-12/2-2 OVC) held on through the ups and downs and hairpin turns to escape with a 75-71 victory over rival Austin Peay (5-11/2-1 OVC) Saturday night in noisy Eblen Center.
It was a win the wasn't clinched until the final five seconds, as the Governors clawed their way back from double digit deficits to lead off-and-on throughout the final 10 minutes.
A clutch layup by Tionne Herron with 29 seconds left put Tech ahead by three, 72-69. The Govs were within two points with eight second left on a jumper by Kristen Stainback, but Hanah Goolsby calmly sank two free throws with four seconds remaining to ice the win.
Goolsby and senior Candace Parson led Tech's offense with 16 points apiece, with Parson adding nine rebounds, three assists, two steals and three blocked shots. Goolsby was 7-for-8 at the free throw line and added five rebonds and two assists. Samaria Howard added 14 points and Herron finished with a career-high 11 points. T'Keyah Willams had seven points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots in the victory.
Three Lady Govs reached double figures, topped by Tiasha Gray's 24 points. She also had seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Jacey Scott scored 13 points and Brianne Alexander notched 11 points and added six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Beth Rates managed six points and eight rebounds.
Austin Peay came storming back in the second half after trailing by double digits at halftime. Down 41-28 early in the second, the Lady Govs used an 18-5 run to tie the score at 46-all with 12:22 to play.
From that point to the end of the ride, the largest margin was four points and the score was knotted six more times.
The Golden Eagles led the entire first 20 minutes, building a double digit lead and returning to that margin four more times throughout the half before heading to the intermission with a 37-26 edge.
A pair of Goolsby 3-pointers early on gave Tech its largest lead of the half at 12 points, when her second trey made it 18-6 with 15:31 to play. APSU used an 8-0 run to cut it to four points, and the roller coaster ride was underway.