SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Saint Louis 67,
Southeast Missouri 52
UT Martin 84, North Dakota 58
@Morehead State 121, Kentucky Christian 91
Arkansas State 77,
Tennessee Tech 55
@Austin Peay 74, Christian Brothers 55
UT MARTIN 84, NORTH DAKOTA 58
IOWA CITY, Iowa - The University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball team used efficient shooting and stingy defense to lead the squad to a decisive 84-58 victory in the team’s season opener against North Dakota.
Making the team’s second straight appearance in the Iowa Hawkeye Challenge, the Skyhawks (1-0) forced North Dakota into 26 turnovers – including 19 in the first half. The team took care of the ball, limiting the squad to just nine turnovers while tallying 20 assists on 31 made shots. The victory also marked the team’s first victory at Carver-Hawkeye Arena after dropping its first three games at the venue.
Preseason All-OVC honoree Jessy Ward got the season started with a bang, leading the team with a career-high 29 points, including seven three pointers and four assists. Freshman Myah Taylor made the most of her Skyhawk debut, scoring 22 points while making 6-of-8 attempts from beyond the arc while the team shot 50 percent from the field.
North Dakota (0-2) dropped their tournament finale despite winning the battle of the boards 43-17. UND was led offensively by Samantha Roscoe and Makailah Dyer who each tallied 12 points in the contest. Preseason
Big Sky Player of the Year Mia Loyd tallied a double-double with 11 points and 19 rebounds on the night.
The Skyhawks would use its stingy defense to take early command of the contest, jumping out to a 7-0 lead before allowing their first basket with 4:53 to play in the first quarter. During the sequence, the Skyhawks would force eight turnovers – scoring all seven points off turnovers. After North Dakota broke into the scoring column, they would strike with eight unanswered points to take an 8-7 advantage.
With the game back to a tight margin, Taylor would strive in her debut, scoring back-to-back three pointers to take the advantage back 13-8. The freshman sharpshooter would keep the Skyhawks on her back, scoring four three-pointers in the first quarter to take a 21-11 lead after one quarter of play.
UT Martin would stay on the defensive in the second quarter, posing several problems for North Dakota with a full-court press. The Skyhawks would outscore their opponents 14-8 in the opening five minutes of the second quarter behind five points from Taylor and four from Chelsea Roberts. North Dakota would find parity throughout the lineup, seeing four different player score during the span.
North Dakota would narrowly outscore the Skyhawks over the final five minutes of play before the half, putting together a 7-4 run to close the second period. Despite the final run, the Skyhawks would take a 40-26 advantage into the intermission after forcing 19 first half turnovers, converting those turnovers into 18 points, including 17 points from Taylor and 10 points from Ward, respectively.
UT Martin would come out of the second half on another 13-5 run to hold a 22-point advantage with just under five minutes to play in the third quarter. Much of the team’s offense came from Ward who scored eight points during the five-minute span to lead all scorers. After three quarters of play, UT Martin would hold a 62-42 advantage.
The Skyhawks would close out the final quarter of play strong, outscoring North Dakota in all four periods before picking up a decisive 84-58 victory. The final quarter saw Katie Schubert and DaiJia Ruffin both score six points while both Ward and Taylor padded their evenings with eight combined points.
UT Martin will return to the hardwood in less than 24 hours when the Skyhawks take on host and No. 23 ranked Iowa on Sunday, Nov. 15. Tipoff from Carver-Hawkeye Arena is scheduled for 1 p.m.
MOREHEAD STATE 121, KENTUCKY 91
MOREHEAD, Ky. - From the opening tip to the final buzzer, the Morehead State women's basketball team led the entire way for a 121-91 victory over Kentucky Christian at Johnson Arena Saturday afternoon in the Mickey Wells Classic. The 121 points breaks a 37-year-old MSU single-game scoring record.
The scoring record (115) was originally held by the 1978-79 team coached, ironically, by the former MSU Head Coach the tournament is named for.
The Eagles recorded their first win of the season (1-1) as the Knights moved to 1-4 on the year.
Five Eagles registered double figures in points, led by junior forward Shay Steele's first double-double of the season. She tallied a career-high 34 points and 13 rebounds in just 24 minutes. Sophomore forward Eriel McKee flirted with a quadruple-double, finishing with 16 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists and eight steals in 30 minutes.
For the second straight contest the Eagles scored more than 100 points and forced 20 or more turnovers as the Knights registered 35 miscues. The back-to-back 100-point games ocurred for the first time in program history.
Defensively, MSU wiped the glass clean with 61 total rebounds, compared to the Knights' 42 boards.
Junior guard Kay Kay Tate, a transfer from Walters State (Tenn.), recorded 12 points and five assists after tallying 31 in her debut Friday. Freshman guard Miranda Crockett scored 23 points, 14 of those in the second half, and dished out six assists to go along with seven steals. Sophomore forward Brooke Todd accomplished a career high with eight points and hauled in seven rebounds.
Kentucky Christian was led by Paige Warren's 21 points. The Knights drained 18 three-pointers on 45 attempts from the arc. MSU shot 50 percent (47-of-94) for the contest.
MSU heads to Lexington for a Wednesday evening matchup against No. 17 Kentucky at 7 p.m. ET. The Eagles and Wildcats have met in the regular season five of the last six seasons, all at Memorial Coliseum. The game will be broadcast live on the SEC Network and ESPN3.com.
SAINT LOUIS 67, SOUTEHAST MISSOURI 52
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The Southeast Missouri (0-1) women's basketball team opened the 2015-16 season Saturday with a 67-52 loss to Saint Louis (1-0).
The Redhawks finished with three players in double-digit points in the season-opening game. Bri Mitchell led the way with 18 points, falling just two shy of tying a career-high.
The first quarter remainder close throughout. A free throw and a layup by Mitchell put the Redhawks ahead 3-0. 6:50 into the quarter, Mitchell drained a layup to tie the match at 7-7. Mitchell was responsible for all seven of the Redhawks first points.
A jumper by Olivia Hackmann and a layup by SLU's Sadie Stipanovich finished out the first quarter with the Billikens just out in front, 11-9.
Much like the first quarter, the second remained close. Mitchell started the second quarter off with a jumper to tie the game at 11-11. A jumper by Hackmann at 5:26 opened up Southeast's largest lead of the game, 19-15.
After tying the game at 20-20, the sixth tie the game, the Billikens began to open up a lead to close the half. SLU finished the first half of the game on top, 29-23.
Mitchell was responsible for 13 of Southeast's 23 first-half points. Mitchell added five boards in the half.
Deja Jones finished with nine rebounds in the first half, a new career-high for the sophomore. Jones' previous career-high of eight came against Saint Louis last season on Nov. 21 at home.
The Redhawks shot 27.6% from the field in the first half and 9.1% (1-of-11) from beyond the arc. The Billikens also struggled to find the bottom of the net as they shot 28.9% from the field and 5.9% from the 3-point line.
The Billikens went on a 20-4 run to find a 22-point lead on the Redhawks with 3:42 left in the third quarter, 49-27.
After that, the Redhawks began to slow down the charging Billikens and fire their own offense. Southeast scored 10 points to SLU's three the remainder of the quarter to narrow the sudden lead to 15 going into the fourth quarter, 52-37.
The Redhawks narrowed the SLU lead to 11 points a couple times in the final frame but that would be the closest they would come to the Billikens. Adrianna Murphy capped the game with a jumper with five seconds left. Southeast fell to Saint Louis, 67-52.
Connor King, Mitchell, and Hackmann all finished with double-digit points. Mitchell added six boards in the game to compliment her 18 points. King finished with 10 points and seven rebounds while Hackmann had 12 points, eight of which came in the second half. King was good for Southeast's two 3-pointers in the game.
Patterson added on Mitchell: "Bri was her typical 'Memphis tough' this evening. Her toughness and fearlessness helped us early because we were a little tight and she didn't really care; she put her head down and was going to get to the rim. We need to figure out a way to get her those opportunities even more."
Jones led the Redhawks with 11 rebounds.
Southeast finished the game shooting 31.3% from the field and 58.8% from the free throw line.
Jackie Kemph led the Billikens with 15 points. Stipanovich recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
The Redhawks will return to the floor on Monday for the home opener against Harris-Stowe. The Redhawks and Hornets tip off at 6:30 p.m. from the Show Me Center.
The Redhawks will be holding Monday Night Madness when they host Harris-Stowe on Nov. 16.
ARKANSAS STATE 77, TENNESSEE TECH 55
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Arkansas State combined great shooting with balanced scoring to hand Tennessee Tech a 77-55 loss Saturday evening in Eblen Center in the regular season opener for both squads.
Aundra Gamble topped ASU (1-0) with 18 points on 7-for-8 shooting, one of four visitors in double figures. She also had six assists. Jessica Flanery added 15 points, while Khadisha Brown-Haywood had 12 and Brittney Gill scored 11 and led her team on the glass with seven rebounds.
Tech (0-1) had three players in double figures, with both Takisha Jordan and Samaria Howard scoring 12 and Hannah Goolsby 10. Alliyah Smith scored six and had a game-high nine rebounds.
It was the first time one of Jim Davis' Golden Eagle teams has dropped the home opener, after winning three straight years under the veteran coach in their first regular season game in Eblen Center.
Tech rallied in the fourth quarter, outscoring their guests 20-7 over the final 10 minutes, but it only served to shorten the lead which had grown to as much as 70-31 in the third period.
The Red Wolves used torrid shooting and strong rebounding to race out to an early lead, and owned a 26-10 advantage after shooting 75 percent (9-for-12) in the first quarter. Tech struggled to find the range in the opening stanza, hitting just 20 percent (3-for-15).
The Red Wolves cooled off to 44 percent in the second quarter and Tech improved to 25 percent, but Arkansas State was able to add slightly to its lead and went to halftime owning a 46-26 lead.
Gamble led the first half charge with 16 points on 6-for-7 shooting including 2-for-3 from long range. Tech's leading scorers in the first half both came off the bench, as Smith and Jordan netted six each.
Turnovers plagued Tech in the third quarter, not only preventing the Golden Eagles from making a dent in the ASU lead but the Red Wolves turned those miscues in points and grew the lead to 35 points, outscoring Tech 24-9 in the period.
It was the guard trio of Brown-Haywood, Gill and Flanery who did much of the damage. Brown-Haywood and Gill each scored seven in the stanza and Flanery added six.
Saturday's contest was the first game in a busy opening week for the Golden Eagles. On Monday night, Tech hosts Mercer in a 6 p.m. game, followed by a game Thursday night when Georgia State visits, also for a 6 p.m. tipoff. The week ends with a Sunday afternoon visit from Lipscomb for a 2 p.m. contest.
AUSTIN PEAY 74, CHRISTIAN BROTHERS 55
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Junior center Tearra Banks scored 18 points off the bench to help David Midlick post his first win as Austin Peay State University women’s basketball head coach with a 74-55 victory against Christian Brothers, Saturday night at the Dunn Center.
Less than 24 hours after a draining season-opener against California, Austin Peay (1-1) was back on the court and the fatigue showed as they had two turnovers and two missed shots in their first five possessions and trailed 4-2 until senior Tiasha Gray’s three-pointer with6:14 left.
The Lady Govs needed a little more than five minutes to get their legs under them. Banks scored five straight points to start a 10-point APSU run for a 17-7 lead with 1:04 left in the first.
Christian Brothers (0-1) could not halt the Lady Govs in the second half, APSU winning the quarter by an impressive 22-8 margin. A quick 8-0 APSU run featured three-pointers by redshirt freshman Falon Baker and freshman J’Nayah Hall and pushed the lead to 20 points for the first time, 33-12, with 4:37 left in the half. Austin Peay would take a 22-point, 39-17 lead into halftime.
Austin Peay opened the lead up to 26 points early in the third quarter after a Gray three-pointer and a Banks free throw. Christian Brothers would get back within 17 points with 1:06 left but had to settle for a 20-point deficit headed into the final frame.
Gray scored her final points at the 7:37 mark of the fourth and went to the bench for the game’s remainder. Austin Peay would maintain its lead the rest of the way to secure the win.
Banks led Austin Peay with 18 points in just 15 minutes off the bench. She made 7-of-10 from the floor and was 4-of-7 at the free-throw line. Gray added 17 points, five assists, four rebounds and four steals in a 27-minute outing. Freshman J’Nayah Hall chipped in 12 points.
Courtney Banks led Christian Brothers with 19 points. The Lady Bucs committed 19 turnovers leading to 24 Austin Peay points.
Austin Peay continues its three-game homestand with a 7 p.m., Monday contest against Trevecca.