WEDNESDAY SCORES
Arkansas State 76,
@UT Martin 74
@Kentucky 112,
Morehead State 57
@Illinois State 81,
Murray State 76
@Southeast Missouri 69, Alabama A&M 58
KENTUCKY 112, MOREHEAD STATE 57
LEXINGTON, Ky. - In the Morehead State women's basketball team's first road game of the the season, the Eagles fell at No. 13 Kentucky, 112-57, at Memorial Coliseum Wednesday evening.
In the Eagles' first two contests, the offense scored an average of 111 points per game, but the Wildcats only allowed 57 points and held MSU to 26 percent efficiency from the floor. MSU was also out-rebounded 67-42.
Freshman guard Miranda Crockett continued to shine with 14 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Sophomore forward Eriel McKee recorded a team-high 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Junior guard Kay Kay Tate continued to provide a spark off the MSU bench, adding 14 points and six rebounds. Tate scored 31 in her debut last weekend.
MSU matched UK early, trailing just 27-19 midway through the second quarter. The Wildcats separated themselves by going on a 14-5 run late in the half, carrying a 54-32 lead into the break. The hosts started the third quarter on a 16-5 run as the Wildcats built their lead to 70-37.
Sophomore guard Makayla Epps led the Wildcats, finishing the evening with a triple-double ( 21 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists). Sophomore forward Alexis Jennings added a double-double of her own, collecting 28 points and 13 rebounds.
MSU will head south to Atlanta, Ga., for a Saturday matchup against Georgia State with a 7 p.m. ET tipoff at the GSU Sports Arena.
ILLINOIS STATE 81, MURRAY STATE 76
NORMAL, Ill. - The first half was a tale of two quarters as the Racers (2-1) got out to a fast start, opening the game with an 11-2 run and led 25-13 at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter was the exact opposite for MSU as the Racers were outscored in the frame 25-13 and the two teams went to the break all tied at 38-38.
MSU went 10-for-18 in the opening quarter and went 4-for-4 at the free-throw line while hitting three 3-pointers. In the second period, the Racers went just 3-of-15. The Redbirds (1-1) went 9-of-22 in the second quarter and shot the ball well in the first (6-of-12) but committed seven turnovers in the opening 10 minutes and had just seven more miscues the rest of the game.
The Racers struggled to begin the second half, going just 4-for-16 in the third quarter, including just 1-of-8 from beyond the arc and were outscored in the period 17-11. MSU faced its biggest deficit of the game with 3:39 left to play and trailing 71-60. However, the Racers made a run at it, cutting ISU’s lead to three at 79-76 with 10 seconds left to play before the Redbirds closed it out.
Illinois State shot 28-for-65 (43.1 percent) from the field and made 5-of-12 (41.7 percent) 3-pointers while the Racers shot 35.8 percent (24-for-67) from the floor and made 10-of-29 (34.5 percent) from beyond the arc. ISU made 20 free throws in the contest on 30 attempts while MSU went 18-for-24 from the line.
MSU was outscored in the paint for the first time this season as ISU held a 38-24 edge in that department and also outscored the Racers 15-11 in second-chance points while also out-rebounding MSU 47-39. Both benches scored 24 points in the contest.
Wright’s 21 led all scorers as she went 7-for-19 from the field and 5-of-12 from long range. Wright also grabbed seven boards, had a team-high four assists along with Ke’Shunan James and added two steals. James scored 16 points in the loss and also had six rebounds. Bria Bethea and Kyra Gulledge each added 10 points while Gulledge grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
The Racers return home this weekend as Central Arkansas comes to the CFSB Center Saturday for a 1 p.m. contest. It will be the first of two meetings this season between the Racers and the Sugar Bears.
ARKANSAS 76, UT MARTIN 74
MARTIN, Tenn. - Wednesday night proved to be a basketball lover’s dream as the University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball team took on Sun Belt preseason favorite Arkansas State in the Skyhawks’ Kathleen and Tom Elam Center home opener. Fans who attended the game were given a treat as two of the nation’s top mid-major powers battled throughout the contest before the Red Wolves pulled out a 76-74 road victory.
The Skyhawks (1-2) dropped its second consecutive contest despite shooting 51 percent from the floor and over 55 percent from beyond the arc. The team’s short bench and post presence was exploited however, with Arkansas State winning the battle of the boards 33-24 while scoring 48 points in the paint.
UT Martin produced a balanced effort in the contest with four players scoring in double figures while senior Haley Howard scored a career-best 22 points while notching four rebounds and dishing four assists. Jessy Ward used her skills from distance, tallying five three-pointers for 15 points while Katie Schubert was 4-for-4 from beyond the arc for 14 points and a game-high five assists. Freshman DaiJia Ruffin rounded out the Skyhawks in double figures as she notched 13 points and five rebounds.
Arkansas State (2-0) was led in scoring by All-American Aundrea Gamble who paced the team with 22 points while filling the stat sheet with five rebounds, four assists and four steals. Gamble was joined in double-figures by Khadija Brown-Haywood (14) and Brittney Gill (10).
The Red Wolves would score the game’s first points just 48 seconds into the game, but the Skyhawks would respond by stringing together an 8-0 run which would span nearly four minutes before the visitors put their second points on the board with just under five minutes remaining in the first quarter. Another three-pointer by Schubert would give the Skyhawks an 11-4 lead at the first media timeout.
Arkansas State would look to close the gap in the final minutes of the first quarter, using an 8-0 run over the final minutes of the period. Gamble took over for the Red Wolves in the final minutes, scoring all eight of the team’s points to trim the margin to a 17-14 Skyhawk advantage.
Both teams would battle through the start of the second quarter with UT Martin narrowly outscoring Arkansas State through the quarter’s first six minutes of play. Five players would score for the Skyhawks while the Red Wolves added four players to the scoresheet during the segment with Gamble leading all scorers with four points.
With the Skyhawks clinging to a 28-24 margin, Arkansas State would push back to close out the first half on a 10-4 run. The Red Wolves would take their first lead of the game with 1:43 to play in the half following a jumper by Dominique Oliver. The visitors would lead by as many as four points before Ruffin scored a layup at the final buzzer to trim the margin to 34-32 as the Skyhawks went into the half trailing for the first time this season.
The third quarter would see both teams hang tough, scoring 41 combined points in the period with UT Martin holding out a slim 21-20 advantage in the quarter to cut Arkansas State’s lead to just one point. Howard would do much of the damage for the Skyhawks, scoring nine points in the third quarter to lead either side.
Facing a one-point deficit heading into the final period, the Skyhawks would finally take their first lead since the second quarter off a three-pointer by Howard with 5:40 left to play, giving the Skyhawks a brief 62-60 advantage. The lead would not stay on the home team’s side for long as Arkansas State quickly answered with seven unanswered points over the following two minutes before a three-pointer by Ward cut the margin to four with 3:11 to play.
The margin would reach seven points again in favor of the Red Wolves with just under two minutes to play, but another three-pointer by Ward would cut the lead to four before Ruffin would sink a pair of free throws with 37 seconds remaining to make it a two-point ballgame. A late game turnover would give the Skyhawks a chance with an inbounds play in front of their bench with seven seconds remaining, but a turnover would seal the team’s fate as they fell 76-74.
UT Martin will look to snap its brief two-game losing streak with a trip to Big 10 foe Illinois on Saturday, Nov. 21. Tipoff from Parkland College is scheduled for 2 p.m.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 69, ALABAMA A&M 58
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - Southeast Missouri earned its second straight win on Wednesday as it defeated Alabama A&M, 69-58, on the road.
Erin Bollman led the Redhawks with 19 points and eight rebounds while Brianna Mitchell chipped in 18 points and Olivia Hackman had 14.
Josta Totten paced Alabama A&M with 15 points.
Southeast Missouri will be back in action on Friday as it hosts UMKC.