SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 83, Kennesaw State 77
Utah State 63,
Tennessee State 46
@Florida State 101,
Murrray State 59
@Valparaiso 69,
SIUE 56
MOREHEAD STATE 83, KENNESAW STATE 77
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Free throws and a clutch three-pointer paved the way for Morehead State women's basketball in their 83-77 win against Kennesaw State at Johnson Arena on Saturday afternoon.
With a little over three minutes left in regulation, KSU sophomore guard Kelly Dulkoski hit a three-pointer from the right corner to pull within one of the Eagles, 68-67, the closest the Owls had been since early in the second quarter. But, with 2:39 on the clock, MSU sophomore guard Eriel McKee stepped up and answered with a three-point shot of her own from the top of the key to extend the Eagles' lead back to four.
The Eagles then hit six straight free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
Freshman guard Miranda Crockett led the way for the Eagles, recording her third double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 rebounds, including four offensive rebounds. McKee finished with 16 points and eight rebounds.
MSU welcomed junior guard Brianna McQueen to the rotation, who sat the past year after transferring from East Tennessee State. She came off the bench and finished with 10 points and eight rebounds in her debut.
MSU (5-7) ended a two-game skid with the win and has won two of their last four games. KSU (4-8) remains winless on the road and has lost three of their last four contests.
It will be a quick turnaround for the Eagles as they square off against Alabama A&M on Monday night at Johnson Arena. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. ET.
UTAH STATE 63, TENNESSEE STATE 46
MISSOULA, Mont. - The Tennessee State University women’s basketball team suffered a disappointing, 63-46, loss to Utah State Saturday afternoon in the Lady Griz Classic.
I’mani Davis led TSU (5-5) with 16 points to go with seven rebounds while Tiana Parker pulled down a team best eight boards.
The Lady Tigers could not find an answer for Utah State’s Funda Nakkasoglu who had 23 points and five assists on the day. Antonia Robinson also reached double-digits for the Aggies who improved to 5-5.
Tennessee State came out flat and went 0-of-9 from the field in the opening four-minutes of play. Michelle Cox connected in the paint to finally give the Lady Tigers their first points of the game but the team continued to struggle offensively. The Lady Tigers only managed to make three more field goals in the frame and trailed, 21-10, at the end of the first quarter.
Another scoring drought to start the second period saw the Lady Tigers fall behind, 26-10, with four minutes ticked off the clock. Tennessee State tried to get its rhythm but Utah State maintained the momentum. With seconds on the clock, I’mani Davis scored on a break-away lay-up to make the score, 35-21, in favor of the Aggies heading into the halftime break.
TSU shot 29 percent (9-of-31) from the field and had nine turnovers in the first half.
In the opening moments of the third quarter, TSU outscored Utah State, 4-2, to cut the deficit down to 12 points but the Aggies poured in 10 unanswered to stretch their lead to, 47-25. I’mani Davis knocked down a three-pointer and a free-throw to make the score, 47-29 but another spurt by the opponent increased the difference to 20-points.
In the final quarter, Davis knocked down another triple to pull TSU to within 16 but the deficit proved to be too much to overcome.
Tennessee State struggled the entire night and finished the game shooting 31.7 percent from the field (19-of-60) and 25 percent from three-point range (4-of-16). The Lady Tigers were 4-of-8 from the free-throw line. TSU loss the battle of the boards (42-37) and committed 16 turnovers in the contest.
TSU returns to action tomorrow against the loser of the Montana versus Florida Atlantic game.
FLORIDA STATE 101, MURRAY STATE 59
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The size and strength inside of 10th-ranked Florida State proved to be too much for Murray State Saturday as the Racer women were defeated 101-59 by the Seminoles in Tallahassee.
The Racers (4-7) came out shooting the ball well from 3-point range and trailed by just one, 18-17 at the end of the first period. MSU took the lead to begin the second quarter as a pair of LeAsia Wright free throws put the Racers up 19-18. The Seminoles (9-2) then began to exploit their size inside and turn up the defensive pressure, going on a 23-2 run over the next 5:35 of the second quarter and led 41-21.
MSU proved to be up for the fight however, closing the half on an 11-6 run and went into the locker room trailing 47-32. The beginning of the second half went all Florida State, as the Seminoles outscored the Racers 23-8 in the third period and led 70-40 after three.
FSU controlled the fourth quarter and extended its lead further in the frame and led by as many as 44 with just over six minutes left to play in the game. MSU continued to fight in the period, going on runs of 7-0 and 6-0 later in the period.
The Racers shot the ball well from beyond the arc, going 16-of-40 from long range, shooting at a 40 percent clip. 16 of MSU’s 18 made field goals were 3-pointers. The Racers shot 33 percent from the field in the loss while FSU shot 60 percent, while going 5-of-15 from long range.
The Seminoles controlled the inside in the contest with their big height advantage, gaining a 62-2 edge in points in the paint and out-rebounded the Racers 51-14. FSU also scored 27 second-chance points and had a 10-3 edge in fast break points. FSU scored 21 points off of 17 Murray State turnovers while the Racers forced 13 Seminoles miscues and scored 18 points off of those.
Ke’Shunan James led all scorers with 24 points in the loss. James and LeAsia Wright both went 6-of-12 from 3-point range in the loss. The 24 points scored are the second-most by an individual this season against FSU. Wright scored 21 in the game. Jashae Lee added six points. Wright led the way for MSU with four assists while Ajee Smith chipped in with three. The Seminoles got 21 each from Adut Bulgak and Shakayla Thomas. All-American Leticia Romero scored nine points, had nine assists and grabbed seven rebounds for the Seminoles.
The Racers are off next week for the holidays and return to action Dec. 30 when Lindenwood-Belleville comes to the CFSB Center for an exhibition contest at 5 p.m.
VALPARAISO 69, SIUE 56
VALPARAISO, Ind. - Shronda Butts was the lone player in double figures Saturday as SIUE women's basketball dropped a 69-56 contest at Valparaiso.
The Cougars fell to 5-7 while the Crusaders improved to 3-7.
SIUE led 10-0 after hitting five of its first six shots of the game. The Cougars, however, found foul trouble as they were called for 25 fouls overall. Five players ended the game with at least four fouls.
Valparaiso would erase SIUE's lead by halftime, taking a 33-32 lead into the break. The Crusaders, led by 15 points from Abby Dean pulled ahead in the third period. Imani Scott-Thompson scored all eight of her points in the third period, including a three-pointer that put her team up by double digits for the first time.
Valpo turned 12 offensive rebounds into 17 second-chance points. SIUE also finished with 12 offensive boards but were able only to score five points with those extra opportunities.
The Crusaders shot 55 percent in the second half and outrebounded the Cougars 50-31 for the game.
Butts was a couple of points ahead of her scoring average with 22 points after shooting 9 of 22 from the field while adding seven assists and four steals.
As a team, SIUE grabbed a season-high 16 steals.
The Cougars will look to rebound Monday with their final nonconference game of the season at Central Michigan. Game time is 1 p.m. CT. Buscher said she hopes the Cougars can put together a strong, consistent 40-minute game before Ohio Valley Conference plays opens Dec. 31 at Jacksonville State.