FRIDAY'S SCORES
Louisville 76,
@Tennessee Tech 54
Jacksonville State 63, @Nicholls State 49
UT Martin 63, @Cincinnati 57
@IUPUI 62,
Belmont 59
LOUISVILLE 76, TENNESSEE TECH 54
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee Tech hung tough through the third quarter Friday night, but Louisville took advantage of a deep bench, effective ball-control and a defense that converted every Golden Eagle mistake into points on the way to a 76-54 non-conference victory in Eblen Center.
The Cardinals (6-5) forced 27 turnovers and held a 40-16 advantage in points off mistakes, along with a 44-12 margin in the paint to fend off a Tech (3-7) squad that had one of its best shooting efforts of the season.
Myisha Hines-Allen topped Louisville with 20 points and eight rebounds, one of three Cardinals in double digits. Mariya Moore and Brihanna Jackson netted 11 points each, and all 11 players who saw action put points on the scoreboard. Arica Carter had a solid game, as well, with nin points, five assists and four of Louisville’s 11 steals.
Senior Samaria Howard scored 17 of her team-leading 20 points in the first half to lead the Golden Eagles. Hannah Goolsby added 10 points, while Alliyah Smith finished with a game-high 10 assists.
Louisville shot a blistering 58 percent in the first quarter, but couldn’t shake the pesky Golden Eagles. After a 1-for-5 start, Tech went 5-for-7 and kept the margin within six through the first eight minutes, heading to the first break trailing 23-17.
Tech zeroed in on the rim from long range in the first half, hitting 7-for-10 to keep things close. The Cardinals used effective ball-handling and crisp passing to push the lead to 14 points, 37-23, with 3:39 remaining before the half.
A 5-for-6 effort from outside the arc, two by Howard and one from Goolsby, pulled the Golden Eagles back to within five at halftime, 39-34. The Cardinals owned a 20-13 advantage in rebounds and outscored Tech 24-4 in the paint in the first 20 minutes.
The UofL lead grew to 13 in the third quarter, but Tech was within nine to open the fourth quarter, trailing 57-48 with 9:17 remaining in the contest after a layup from Smith.
A 14-4 run over a six minute span moved the Cardinals out to a 19-point lead with three minutes left, Jackson and Arica Carter each hitting 3-pointers in the stretch. The Golden Eagles had four turnovers in that span and managed just four shot attempts.
The final 22-point difference was the largest Cardinal lead of the night.
The Golden Eagles face three more non-conference gamesbefore opening Ohio Valley Conference play on New Year’s Eve day. Tech visits Middle Tennessee Sunday for a 2 p.m. contest in Murfreesboro, then heads back to Eblen Center to host Wichita State Tuesday night at 6 p.m. The final non-league game comes on Dec. 28 with a visit to Athens, Ga., to take on Georgia in a 6 p.m. contest.
IUPUI 62, BELMONT 59
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Despite a gritty effort on the road, the Belmont University women's basketball team (8-3) fell 59-62 to IUPUI Friday night in Indianapolis.
In her return to her home state of Indiana, freshman point guard Darby Maggard (Larwill, Ind.) did not disappoint. The 5'5 guard was all over the court making plays, as she finished with 16 points and seven rebounds. Maggard had a shot to tie the basketball game as BU held possession with just 11 seconds left, but her attempt from the right wing came up just short as the buzzer rang in Indianapolis.
McCabe joined Maggard in double figures as she finished with 11 points. The Mt. Juliet native also snatched a team-high nine boards. McCabe lined up a three pointer that would have tied the game with 42 seconds remaining but her attempt from the top of the key went in and out.
BU out shot IUPUI from the field as it finished at a 43.9% clip, it also held the edge on the glass finishing with 40 team rebounds.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 63, NICHOLLS STATE 49
THIBODEAUX, La. - Sophomore Gretchen Morrison continued her stellar three-point shooting on Friday as she poured in 17 points from behind the arc to pace Jacksonville State to a 63-49 road win at Nicholls State.
The 14-point win was the third in a row for the Gamecocks and the first win away from Pete Mathews Coliseum this year. The win pushed JSU's overall mark to 5-6 on the season, while NSU dropped to 2-7 on the season.
Jax State put together a complete game as it connected on a season-high 47 percent from the field, including 30 percent from three-point range, while limiting the Colonels to 35 percent shooting for the night. JSU took advantage of 19 NSU turnovers and turned it in to 17 points on the other end and picked up the pace with 12 fast break points. The Gamecocks scored 30 of the 63 points inside the paint.
Morrison, the reigning Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week, will have a chance for a second consecutive honor after her last two outings after the award was announced Tuesday morning. After a career-high 31 points against Tuskegee to earn the weekly honor, she followed that feat with nine points on three made treys. On Friday, the South Lake, Texas guard finished 6-of-18 from the field and 5-of-17 from long range. She sparked JSU's 26-point first half effort with four of her five three pointers in the first 20 minutes. Morrison, who matched her career-high with 37 minutes, also had three rebounds and a pair of steals.
Over the last three games, Morrison is averaging 19 points per game and has drained 18-of-44 (41 percent) from three point range and has averaged six three pointers per game. JSU has also out-scored the opposition by a +18.7 margin and shooting 38 percent from the field and 30 percent from behind the arc (28-of-91).
The Gamecocks led from start to finish thanks to a quick start and a 14-10 lead after the first quarter. The lead was pushed out to double figures for the first time at 20-10 on one on Morrison's three points in the first half. JSU would take its third 10-point advantage with 5:50 left in the half on a Morrison trey, but an 11-4 scoring run by the Colonels cut the JSU down to four points at 30-26 heading in to the halftime break.
JSU maintained the lead in the third quarter and took the largest lead of the game through three quarters at 44-33 on a three pointer in the final seconds of the quarter. JSU would not relinquish its double digit lead the rest of the way as it held its largest lead of 19 points at 60-41 with 2:24 left in the contest.
For the second consecutive game, all eight Gamecocks scored in the win. Junior Briana Benson joined Morrison in double figures with 13 points and six rebounds. Benson was also credited with four steals in 27 minutes off the bench. Senior Destiny James added eight points and five assists, while junior Kelly Naughton posted seven points. Senior Courtney Strain and sophomore Tyler Phelion pitched in six points each. Freshmen Rayven Pearson and Chloe Long turned in four points and two points respectively.
Hope Pawlowski came off the bench to lead the Colonels with 18 points.
The Gamecocks will have a quick turnaround as they will wrap up the pre-Christmas schedule on Monday, December 21 in Macon, Georgia against the Bears of Mercer. Tip off is set for 6 p.m. CST.
UT MARTIN 63, CINCINNATI 57
CINCINNATI, Ohio - UT Martin defeated Cincinnati, 63-57, on the road on Friday night. The Skyawks have now won its last five games. UTM improved to 7-4 on the season.
Jessy Ward led the Skyawks with 20 points while Haley Howard posted a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Chelsea Roberts chipped in 12 points. DaiJia Ruffn brought down 11 boards to go with four points in the victory.
UT Martin will be back in action on Monday when it travels to Vanderbilt.