SUNDAY'S SCORES
Stetson 68,
@Eastern Illinois 66
@Jacksonville State 74, Tuskegee 47
Central Arkansas 63,
@Southeast Missouri 54
@SIUE 90, Omaha 86 (OT)
Clemson 71,
@Tennessee Tech 53
@Tennessee State 77, Lipscomb 65
Wright State 71,
@Eastern Kentucky 69
JACKSONVILLE STATE 74, TUSKEGEE 47
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The nine day break away from competition didn't hamper sophomore Gretchen Morrison's three-point shot as she drained a school record 10 three-point field goals to lead Jacksonville State to a 74-47 win over NCAA Division II foe Tuskegee on Sunday at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
Morrison, who hit six of her 10 treys in the first half, finished with a career high 31 points after connecting on 10-of-20 from beyond the three-point arc. The South Lake, Texas guard surpassed the program's all-time mark at the 2:42 mark of the fourth quarter to give JSU a 64-40 lead over the Tigerettes (1-7). She broke JSU's NCAA Division I three-point record earlier in the quarter with a trey with 6:20 left in the game. Former Gamecock Terrance Spears held the previous record of eight in a game with eight against Valdosta State during the 1992-93 season. JSU's Division I record was held by Shneka Whaley sank eight treys against Jacksonville University on March 8, 2000. Morrison also etched her name in the Ohio Valley Conference record book as she matched Stefanie Holbrook of Tennessee Tech. Holbrook hot eight three pointers against Eastern Illinois during the 2004-05 season.
Morrison now owns the mark for three pointers made in a game in NCAA Division I basketball this season and was two off the NCAA record for three-point field goals in a game.
The Gamecocks entered the contest averaging 6.0 three point baskets, but doubled that mark with a program record 14 made three pointers. JSU finished 14-of-38 for the game and established a new team record for three-point baskets in a game. The JSU record was 12 entering the game, set twice by a JSU club and the last time it made 12 in a game was against UT Martin during the 2006 campaign. The total attempts by JSU was one off of matching the all-time mark for attempts as Jax State attempted 39 against Murray State in January of 2005.
Jax State used a huge 26 point second quarter to push the lead out to double figures with a three pointer by junior Briana Benson. JSU extended the lead with five of its six first half treys in the second 10-minute session out to 20-plus points and took a 27-point, 42-15 lead in to the halftime break. Morrison and Benson combined for 29 of JSU's 42 points. Morrison quickly surpassed her previous career high of 15 points with 19 in the first 20 minutes. Benson finished with 12 points with an added three pointer in the second half. As a team, JSU was 14-of-29 from the field and 9-of-18 from behind the arc.
The Tigerettes out-scored JSU in the third quarter, 14-13 and posted 18 points in the fourth quarter after JSU had a firm grip on the contest. JSU led by as many as 30 points with nine minutes left in the third quarter. TU's Rachel Brownlee posted a team-high 15 points in the setback.
Freshman Chloe Long extended her string of consecutive double figure scoring games to four with 11 points and six rebounds in 29 minutes of action. All seven Gamecocks available were included in the scoring total as Kelly Naughton added eight points and seven assists. Seniors Destiny James and Courtney Strain chipped in five points each, while Rayven Pearson had a basket to go with her three blocks.
JSU will play its final home game before the Christmas break on Tuesday, December 15 against Savannah State.
STETSON 68, EASTERN ILLINOIS 66
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois women's basketball had four players earn double figures, but cold fourth quarter shooting and a pair of last second free throws allowed the Stetson Hatters to creep back into the game and win 68-66. Erica Brown earned her third double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
With the loss the Panthers drop to 1-9 on the season while Stetson improves to 6-3.
The Panthers came out shooting in their first ever game against Stetson as Halle Stull drained a three-pointer to begin the scoring. The Panthers went on a 10-0 run to begin the game, finally snapped by two free throws from Stetson’s DeAsia Beal. The Hatters did not make a basket until the 5:32 mark in the first period as EIU led 12-6.
The Hatters worked their way back into the game thanks to a half court basket right as the buzzer sounded from SU’s Aisha Turner cutting the Panther lead to two. Stull scored eight points in the first period finishing the game with 14 points and eight rebounds. EIU led 21-19 going into the second period.
Kayla Steward opened the second period sinking a three-pointer at the 9:40 mark. The freshman went 2-3 from behind the arc earning six of her 10 points in the second quarter.
EIU was able to build up their lead to as high as nine points following four straight free throws from Grace Lennox with 3:51 left in the first half. Lennox scored six points in the second period all from the charity stripe. Stetson answered right back going on a 10-2 run capped off by a Turner three-pointer to cut the Panther lead down to one point with 1:11 left in the half. Two quick Panther layups including EIU’s own buzzer-beater by Brittin Boyer sent the Panthers into halftime leading 43-38.
The halftime score marked the first time all season the Panthers have gone into the locker room leading at the half. Their 43 first half points is also the most they have scored in the first half of a game all season.
The third period was much of the same as EIU attempted to stretch their lead earning as much as a seven point cushion thanks to five straight points to open the half by Lennox. Lennox scored seven points in the third quarter on her way to a final line of 15 points, six assists, and five rebounds. Stetson’s Brianti Saunders put the team on her back in the third period to keep the match close scoring nine of the team’s 16 third quarter points.
The Panthers went into the final period up 58-54 thanks to a jumper from Lennox with five seconds left. EIU shot 42.3 percent through the first three quarters.
The fourth quarter did not start out as well for EIU as Stetson opened the final period on an 8-2 run. Saunders hit a three-point shot to give the Hatters their first lead of the night as Stetson went up 62-60 with 6:54 left.
The rest of the period was decided by free throws as both teams went back and forth at the charity stripe until SU’s Beal made a layup to give the hatters a 66-63 lead with 50 seconds left in the game.
Brown missed her jumper on EIU’s next possession but managed to get her own rebound and reset the offense leading to a huge three-point shot from Shakita Cox to tie the game 66-66 with 28 seconds left.
Stetson looked for the last shot of the game as Breana Bey drove the lane drawing a foul from Brown, her fifth. Bey sank both of her free throws to give Stetson a two point lead and the eventual 68-66 victory.
EIU shot 18.1 percent in the fourth quarter only making two baskets.
Cox finished the game with eight points and two rebounds. Stetson had three players in double figures with Saunders scoring 23 points followed by Sarah Sagerer with 15 and Turner with 12.
The Panthers have the next week off for finals before traveling to Cincinnati Sunday [Dec. 20] at 1 p.m.
SIUE 90, OMAHA 86
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE women's basketball erased a 24-point first-half deficit Sunday to defeat Omaha 90-86 in overtime.
The 24-point comeback was the biggest of the Division I era.
Omaha, 7-3, hit 7 of 10 three-pointers in the first half and raced out to a 48-31 lead at halftime. Mikaela Shaw hit 16 of her team-high 26 points in the first 20 minutes of play.
As much as the first half was all Omaha, the second half was clearly all SIUE.
SIUE, 5-6, turned the ball over 11 times in the first period and turned that statistic around, giving up the ball twice in the third and fourth period while grabbing 11 turnovers from Omaha.
Omaha's biggest lead came at the 1:44 mark of the second period 48-24 on a pair of free throws by Amber Vidal, who led the Mavericks with seven assists.
SIUE's run began from there as the Cougars scored the final seven points before halftime.
Shronda Butts, who led all scorers with 30 points, pumped in 11 points in the third period. SIUE continued to push the tempo by forcing the ball into the paint either by passes into the post or dribble penetration.
Smith came off the bench for 14 points, including four three-pointers. The Cougar sophomore shot 4 of 11 from three-point range.
It was a tie game 77-77 with 2:00 to play in regulation when Butts hit a three-pointer. Butts would shoot 10 of 18 from the field with three-pointers and hit all seven of her free throw attempts.
The two teams exchanged baskets before the game was sent into overtime. Lauren White, who matched her season-high with 16 points, hit the final basket in regulation with 59 seconds left.
White and Gwen Adams joined Butts and Smith in double figures with 16 and 12 points, respectively.
With the game in overtime, Smith set the tone for the Cougars with a three-pointer 28 seconds into the period. Omaha picked up the fifth tie of the game with 3:20 left on a layup by Vanessa Barajas.
Omaha turned the ball over six times in the five-minute overtime period and had 26 turnovers for the game. The Cougars were able to convert free throws down the stretch, hitting 25 of 33 for the game.
SIUE is now idle until Saturday when it travels to Valparaiso for a 4 p.m. game. It is the start of a four-game road trip that includes the beginning of the Ohio Valley Conference season Dec. 31 at Jacksonville State.
TENNESSEE STATE 77, LIPSCOMB 65
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee State women’s basketball team earned its fifth win of the season with a 77-65 victory over cross-town rival Lipscomb University.
The Lady Tigers (5-4) had three players score in double-digits led by Senior Brianna Lawrence who matched a career-high 25 points to go with four rebounds and four steals. I’mani Davis collected 19 points and nine rebounds while Jayda Johnson tallied 15 points and nine boards.
Lipscomb (3-8) was led by Ashley Southern, who recorded a team-high 27 points on the afternoon with 14 rebounds.
Lawrence opened the game with a shot from beyond the arc to put the Lady Tigers on the board first but two back-to-back 3’s from Lipscomb would give the Lady Bisons an early 6-5 lead over Tennessee State. An 11-3 run, highlighted by a 3-pointer from junior Jayda Johnson, would put the Lady Tigers back in the lead with a 16-9 score before forcing Lipscomb into its first timeout of the quarter. The Lady Tigers would only allow Lipscomb to tack on three more points before the end of the first, leading 16-12 heading into the second.
The Lady Tigers extended their lead to 18 with a jump shot from sophomore Samantha Palma in the opening minute of the second. The Lady Bisons took advantage of TSU turnovers and outscored the Lady Tigers 11-3 to take a 23-21 lead with 6:46 left in the quarter. Tennessee State responded with a nine-point run, highlighted by a 3-pointer from Davis, to take a 30-23 lead over Lipscomb. TSU only allowed the Lady Bisons to score one more time before the end of the quarter, while tacking on seven more points for a 37-25 advantage going into the half.
An 11-5 run from Lipscomb allowed the Lady Bisons to eat away at their 12-point deficit, closing the gap in the score but still trailing TSU 42-36 before the media timeout. Tennessee State fouls propelled a 10-5 run for the Lady Bisons, cut the deficit in to two (47-45) with 2:05 left in the third. The Lady Tigers closed out the quarter with a 7-4 run, highlighted by a 3-pointer and a layup from Lawrence, to make the score 54-49 heading into the fourth.
The teams went scoreless the first two minutes of the final frame, until a TSU foul allowed Lipscomb to score the first couple of points of the quarter from the line. Up by three, the Lady Tigers battled to keep their lead with a 6-4 run before the final media timeout. Tennessee State finished up the quarter outscoring the Lady Bisons 15-10 for a 77-65 victory over Lipscomb.
The Lady Tigers are back in action on December 19, when they begin their seven-game road stint against Utah State.
CLEMSON 71, TENNESSEE TECH 53
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - If they could have been as productive in the first three quarters as they were in the final period, Tennessee Tech’s Golden Eagles might have put a notch in the win column Sunday against Clemson.
Instead, Clemson (3-7) shot 50 percent for three quarters while steadily building a lead, and got double figure scoring from three players on the way to a well-executed, 71-53 non-conference victory over Tech (3-6) Sunday afternoon in a matinee contest in Eblen Center.
Danielle Edwards finished with 17 points, six assists, two blocked shots and four steals to pace Clemson. Alexis Carter added 15 points and six rebounds, and Nelly Perry had 12 points for the Tigers.
Tennessee Tech also had three players dent the second column in scoring, led by senior Samaria Howard ‘s game-high 18 points, going 12-for-15 at the free throw line. She also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
Hannah Goolsby added 12 points and Lindsey Jennings went 4-for-4 from the floor to score 11 points.
It started early for the Tigers, who built a 19-8 leads after the first quarter. Tech missed its first six shots and fell behind 12-1 in the first six minutes, a deficit they could not undo.
Another 10-point margin in the second period, this time a spread of 23-13, sent the Tigers into the halftime break with a 42-21 lead.
Tech played it closer in the third period, being outscored 19-12, as Clemson pushed its lead to 61-33 heading into the final period.
The Golden Eagles finally found the range in the fourth quarter, outscoring Clemson 20-10 to cut the final margin to 18 after trailing by as many as 30 with 9:25 to play in the contest.
Clemson held a 42-16 advantage in the paint and a 12-2 edge fast-break points. A large portion of the Tigers’ success came from effective ball control, committing just nine turnovers compared with 20 by the Golden Eagles. Clemson had an 11-1 margin in steals.
Tech shot 30.2 percent (13-for-43) from the field, going 3-for-9 from long range for 33 percent. The Golden Eagles shot 24-for-35 at the free throw line (68.6 percent).
Clemson finished the contest hitting 44.8 percent (26-for-58) from the floor, including 3-for-11 (27.3 percent) from outside the arc. The Tigers hit 16-for-26 (61.5 percent) at the charity line.
Tech owned a 37-32 advantage in rebounds.
Tech hosts its second consecutive visitor from the tough Atlantic Coast Conference on Friday, opening one of the best doubleheaders of the non-conference season in Eblen Center. The Tech women welcome Louisville for a 5:30 p.m. contest, with the Golden Eagle men set to host Miami (Ohio) from the Mid-American Conference in the nightcap at 6:30 p.m.
WRIGHT STATE 71, EASTERN KENTUCKY 69
RICHMOND, Ky. - A three-point basket with eight seconds to play proved to be the difference, as Eastern Kentucky University’s women’s basketball team suffered its first home loss of the season, falling 71-69 to Wright State Sunday at McBrayer Arena.
Trailing 69-68 with less than 25 seconds to play, Symone Denham grabbed a key defensive rebound following an EKU miss. Anatania Hayes then found Symone Simmons for the game-winner as the Raiders escaped with the victory.
The Colonels took a 69-68 lead with 1:34 left to play on a layup from Jalen O’Bannon. Eastern’s defense came up with two late stops, but the Colonels could not convert on the offensive end to extend their lead.
The Raiders outrebounded the Colonels 46-35 for the game and went 7-of-11 from behind the arc in the second half, including the game-winning shot to put the game away.
Eastern grabbed an eight point lead—its largest of the game—as the Colonels put together a 6-0 run in the first period. Junior Michaela Hunter connected on her first free throw of the game, giving Eastern a 7-5 lead. The Colonels scored on their ensuing three possessions, as Hunter capped the run with a bucket with 1:30 left in the first.
The Colonels carried a 29-25 advantage into the locker room, but Wright State opened the second half with four straight to tie at 29.
After the Raiders built a 36-34 lead, Hunter connected on two free throws to knot it at 36. O’Bannon forced a Wright State turnover on the other end of the floor, as Mariah Massengill found Alexus Cooper on the wing for the three-pointer to put the Colonels up 39-36.
Wright State slowly built a five-point lead in the third, but the Colonels closed the period on a 7-2 run to tie it at 51.
The final period saw five ties and seven lead changes, as the gritty, physical matchup continued, before the Raiders were able to edge the Colonels in the closing minutes.
O’Bannon and Hunter both finished with a season-high 25 points for the Colonels, along with eight rebounds each.
Emily Vogelpohl paced the Raiders with 20 points and five rebounds.
The Colonels (4-3) travel to Bowling Green to take on Western Kentucky University Wednesday. Wednesday’s game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET.
CENTRAL ARKANSAS 63, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 54
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri women's basketball (6-5) fell to Central Arkansas (6-1) Sunday afternoon, 63-54. The Redhawks tried to mount a comeback in the fourth quarter but ultimately fell short in their efforts.
Deja Jones led the the way for the Redhawks with her second-straight double-double, putting up 13 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.
Southeast used a three-minute scoring drought by the Sugar Bears to capture a late lead in the first quarter. The Redhawks found themselves up 11-9 at the end of the first period.
The teams stayed neck-and-neck throughout the first 10 minutes of play with neither team taking more than a three-point lead and the lead changing four times.
The back-and-forth action continued into the second quarter. A layup by Adrianna Murphy gave the Redhawks a four-point lead, 13-9, to start the period. After that, the lead changed seven more times before the half was over.
Central Arkansas led by three, 26-23, to end the first half of play.
Imani Johnson led the squad with five first-half points followed by Hannah Noe with four.
Jones had four rebounds in the first half and complimented it with three points.
The Sugar Bears outscored the Redhawks 21-13 in the third period. UCA went on a 14-2 run over a five-and-a-half-minute span to go up 45-30 on the Redhawks.
Southeast used a 6-2 run to end the frame and narrow the deficit to 47-36 going into the fourth quarter.
Jones tipped the double-digit point mark in the third with 11 to that point. Jones also had nine rebounds at the conclusion of the third quarter.
UCA went up by 15, 51-36, with 7:47 to play in the game.
A 10-1 run for the Redhawks ensued, allowing them to pull within four of the Sugar Bears with a minute thirty to play.
With little time and down by a handful, the Redhawks began fouling and sending the Sugar Bears to the free-throw line. The Redhawks couldn't gain much ground on UCA as they drained seven of their last eight free throws to go back up by nine as time expired, 63-54.
Bri Mitchell and Johnson each put up 10 points in the game. Mitchell had five assists for the Redhawks. Erin Bollmann had eight points with three blocks in the game.
The Redhawks were once again strong in the paint as they put up 32 points in the paint Sunday.
The Redhawks will take finals week off from competition and will return to action on Tuesday, Dec. 22 when they welcome the Southern Illinois Salukis.