WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
@UT Martin 83, Alabama A&M 65
Western Illnois 92,
@Eastern Illinois 69
Southern Illinos 70,
@Murray State 57
@West Virginia 93,
Morehead State 56
Belmont 90, @Lipscomb 68
@Missouri 74,
Southeast Missouri 32
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 70, MURRAY STATE 57
MURRAY, Ky.- Southern Illinois scored 28 points in the third quarter and made 11-of-16 from the floor for 68.8 percent to open the second half as the Murray State women’s basketball team let a lead to start the third quarter slip away, on the way to a 70-57 loss for the Racers.
It was a tale of two halves for the Racers (2-5) in the game as they shot 36.7 percent from the floor and went 4-of-8 from 3-point range in the first half, only to see that drop to just 30 percent shooting in the second half and 1-for-12 from beyond the arc. SIU shot just 25 percent from the field in the opening two quarters and hit 58.6 (17-for-29) in the second half.
Ke’Shunan James led the way offensively for MSU with 19 points on 7-of-18 shooting and also added seven boards. Jashae Lee scored a career-high 15 points on the night while Kyra Gulledge grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. It’s the fourth time this season Gulledge has had 11 rebounds. LeAsia Wright had a solid all-around game, scoring seven points, grabbing six rebounds, dishing-out five assists and led the team with four steals.
MSU had a 26-24 edge in points in the paint in the game and also had an 8-0 advantage in fast break points. The Salukis scored 13 points off 14 Murray State turnovers while the Racers had 11 points off of just 10 Saluki miscues. SIU held a 7-2 edge on second-chance points and had a slim 40-39 edge in rebounding. Both teams grabbed 10 offensive boards.
Dyana Pierre scored 21 points and had 9 rebounds in the game after scoring just four points and having two boards in the first 20 minutes. Cartaesha Macklin led all scorers with 24 points and had seven assists for SIU.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair, featuring seven lead changes and a pair of ties. The Racers went on a 7-1 run to end the first quarter and led 15-13 after one. In the second quarter, MSU closed on a 10-3 run over the final 3:54 of the half and took a 29-26 lead into the locker room, despite trailing for a majority of the half.
MSU will play its third Missouri Valley team of the season Saturday as the Racers travel to face Evansville in a 1 p.m. contest from the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind.
WEST VIRGINIA 94, MOREHEAD STATE 56
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Morehead State women's basketball suffered its third straight loss in a 94-56 defeat to the West Virginia Mountaineers Wednesday evening at WVU Coliseum.
The setback for the Eagles (3-5) was their third straight on the road, and for West Virginia (5-2), it was its third straight win. The Mountaineers remained undefeated at home for the year.
The Eagles took it to the Big 12 powerhouse Mountaineers during the first half, leading as much as 10 in the second quarter. Sophomore forward Eriel McKee and junior forward Shay Steele combined for 27 points in the first half. WVU answered as it ended the second quarter on a 20-8 run to go up at the half 42-38. The deciding part of the contest occurred in the third quarter when MSU was outscored 34-8.
McKee finished the night with 17 points and nine rebounds. Steele followed her teammate with 12 points and six boards. Junior guard Kay Kay Tate finished with a career high seven rebounds and also added seven points and three assists.
Bria Holmes led the hosts with 29 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Lanay Montgomery pulled down 18 of the Mountaineers' 62 rebounds. The Eagles secured 41 boards.
The win was recorded as victory No. 302 for WVU Head Coach Mike Carey, surpassing the school's coaching legend Kittie Blakemore for the most wins all-time at WVU.
MSU will travel to Nashville, Tenn., for a Saturday afternoon affair against Lipscomb at 2:30 p.m. ET. The matchup is a return game from last season when the Bison squeaked by with a 61-59 victory at Johnson Arena.
WESTERN ILLINOIS 92, EASTERN ILLINIOS 69
CHARLESTON, Ill. - - Eastern Illinois women's basketball struggled to pull the game close after a strong 23-14 first quarter from Western Illinois. The Leathernecks ended the night earning a 92-69 victory. Freshman Kayla Steward had a breakout night leading the Panthers with 18 points, but couldn't pull EIU within reach.
EIU has yet to win following their season opening overtime victory over IUPUI as the loss drops the Panthers to 1-6 on the season while the Leathernecks improve to 4-3.
WIU came out shooting in the first quarter opening the game with a 16-4 run finally snapped by an Erica Brown layup followed by two free throws to cut the Leatherneck lead to 10 with 2:18 left in the first quarter. Brown would continue her scoring opening the second quarter with a quick layup to pull the Panthers within seven points.
That would be as close as EIU would get the rest of the game as WIU scored the next 11 points to lead 34-16 at the 6:55 mark. Browns six first half points were the only she would score all night as the junior forward got into foul trouble early. Brown finished the night with a team leading eight rebounds. Steward scored seven points in the last 2:36 of the first half to cut the Leatherneck lead down to 12 as the first half ended 44-32.
The Panthers shot 50 percent from the field despite trailing at halftime, but were losing the battle on the boards as Western Illinois pulled in 27 rebounds to EIU's 14.
The third period was a much more even battle as the two teams traded buckets for most of the period, but EIU was unable to break through the 12 point barrier. Shakita Cox did her best to rally the team scoring nine of her 14 points in the second half. Cox finished the game with a team leading five assists and two steals.
Steward's nine fourth quarter points helped push the Panthers close but back-to-back three pointers from WIU's Taylor Higginbotham and Taylor McClintock extended the Leathernecks lead to 23 with 4:32 left to play. Steward finished the game with three assists and four rebounds, but Western Illinois came away with the victory 92-69.
Brittin Boyer had eight points, two rebounds, and two assists for the Panthers after missing the last game at Saint Louis. Western Illinois had four players score in double figures led by Higginbotham with 16 points. The Panthers lost the battle beneath the rim being outscored 53-36 in the paint and out rebounded 50-33 by the Leathernecks.
EIU will be in action again this Sunday [Dec. 6] as they travel to Omaha to take on the Mavericks at 2 p.m.
UT MARTIN 83, ALABAMA 65
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball team proved that the friendly confines of the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center is not as welcoming to opposing teams once again tonight. The Skyhawks trailed for just 29 seconds before defeating Southeastern Conference foe Alabama 83-65 in front of an impressive midweek crowd.
The Ohio Valley Conference’s top attended facility hosted 3,018 fans as the Skyhawks appeared in just their second home contest of the season along with a double feature which included a performance by Unspoken as a part of their “A Christmas Together” tour. The Skyhawks wasted very little time getting the home crowd on their feet after opening the game with a 20 points lead just eight minutes into the contest. The win secured the Skyhawks a series advantage against Alabama after splitting two previous matchups the past two seasons.
The Skyhawks (3-4) snapped Alabama’s unbeaten season behind a balanced scoring effort with four players scoring in double figures while winning the battle of the boards, turnover margin and shooting percentage. The home squad outrebound a much taller opponent narrowly, winning the battle of the boards 33-30 while forcing the Crimson Tide into 12 turnovers – turning those turnovers into 23 points. The squad also shot an impressive clipping from the field, shooting 50 percent – including 45.7 percentage from beyond the arc.
The familiar duo of Haley Howard and DaiJia Ruffin led the Skyhawks in scoring for the third consecutive game. Howard notched her third 20-point plus outing of the season, scoring 21 points – including 15 in the third quarter alone. Ruffin took the game over at times en route to 21 points and eight rebounds, marking her sixth straight double figure performance.
Another standout performer was senior Chelsea Roberts. Roberts not only scored a career-high 15 points but notched her first career double-double with 12 rebounds. Junior sharpshooter Jessy Ward rounded out the Skyhawks in double figures after scoring 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting.
Alabama (6-1) dropped its first contest of the season despite shooting 46.6 percent from the floor. After scoring 23 points against the Skyhawks last season, Hannah Cook posted another impressive showing, leading the Crimson Tide with 21 points and eight rebounds on the night.
UT Martin would come out of the gates looking to make a point against its SEC foe, jumping out to a 14-5 run in the opening five minutes of play. The Skyhawks would knock down five field goals in the opening minutes, including four three-pointers from Ruffin, Schubert and Howard.
The Skyhawks would continue to knock down shots over the final couple minutes of the first half. Roberts would lead the Skyhawks with 10 points in the segment while the home squad pushed their lead out to as high as 20 points with just over two minutes to play at 27-7. Alabama would respond however, finishing the first quarter on a 9-0 run to trim the margin to 27-16 after one quarter.
The second quarter would start out with Alabama outscoring UT Martin 9-6 in the quarter’s first six minutes. Trista Magee would score six points for the Crimson Tide during the span while three players scored for the Skyhawks. The Tide would finish the quarter by narrowly outscoring the Skyhawks 14-13 in the second quarter, but home squad would take a 40-30 lead into the halftime break following a jumper by Ruffin with two seconds left.
Much like the first quarter, UT Martin would come out of the halftime break looking to put the game away. After exchanging baskets in the opening minutes of the half, the Skyhawks would string together an 11-2 run, taking a 57-39 lead with 4:26 to play in the quarter. Much of the success came from the trio of Ruffin, Roberts and Howard who scored 15 points – including eight from Howard.
Howard would continue her hot shooting, scoring 15 points in the third quarter to push the Skyhawks margin out to as high as 24 in the final seconds of the third. The Skyhawks would win the third quarter margin with a score of 30-16, with much of that responsible to a 24-9 run over the final seven minutes of play.
Alabama would outscore UT Martin 19-13 in the final quarter as seven different players scored for the Crimson Tide. The Skyhawks would get all of their scoring output off the shoulders of Ward and Ruffin, with the duo scoring eight and five points, respectively. Despite the final quarter, the Skyhawks would be too much for the visitors, holding the ball as the final buzzer sounded with an 83-65 victory.
The Skyhawks will return to action on Saturday, Dec. 5 when they take on another team from the state of Alabama when they play host to former OVC foe Samford. Tipoff from the Elam Center is scheduled for 2 p.m.
BELMONT 90, LIPSCOMB 68
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Paced by a 20 point, 10 rebound game on the part of freshman Ellie Harmeyer (Kenosha, Wis.), the Belmont University women's basketball team claimed a 90-68 victory over Lipscomb in the Battle of the Boulevard Wednesday evening at Allen Arena.
Darby Maggard (Larwill, Ind.) fell just shy of a triple double as she scored 12 points, dished out 10 assists and grabbed eight rebounds. Sally McCabe (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) was a force in the paint all night with 18 points and eight rebounds. Kylee Smith (Alpharetta, Ga.), Jenny Roy (Brentwood, Tenn.), Lauren Thompson (Franklin, Tenn.) also scored in double digits. Belmont featured six double-digit scorers for the first time this season.
Following the lead of the Belmont men's team who exploded for 105 points last night in its version of the Battle of the Boulevard, the women put on an offensive show of their own on Wednesday night. The Bruins shot a sizzling 52.2% from the field and 42.9% from three point land. The Bruins assisted on 29 of their 35 field goals (82.8%) and exceptional mark.
Harmeyer, who has combined for 46 points in her past two games, provided a nice lift off the Belmont bench. She helped put the game out of reach early in the fourth quarter when she knocked down three early 3 pointers.
Smith followed up her great 24 point performance against Troy with a 16 point performance against the Bisons. Roy added 12 off the bench, including two 3 pointers. Thompson nearly recorded a double double with a 10 point, nine rebound performance. The 6'1 junior blocked three shots and added three assists in addition.
After Lipscomb outscored BU 21-19 in the second quarter, Belmont put together a string of several impressive offensive possessions to open the second half. This run, which at its largest was 13-2, helped BU take control of the game. McCabe was the fed the ball early and often during this run as she finished the third quarter with six points on 3-of-3. Belmont stretched its lead to as many as 19 in the third quarter and allowed Lipscomb to score just 12 points in the quarter.
The Bruins headed into half time with a 45-37 lead over the Bisons. Belmont shot 50% from the field in the first half, while knocking down 46.7% of its 3 pointers. BU hit seven 3 pointers in the first half, and scored the almost half its first half field goals via the three ball. McCabe had 12 points and five rebounds at the break, while Maggard finished the half with nine. Maggard carried the momentum gained during her strong second performance against Troy last time out, into the Battle of the Boulevard, as she knocked her first three 3 point attempts.
Belmont started off the game scorching hot from the field with a 12-2 run. The Bruins converted their first five field goal attempts. Lipscomb responded with an 11-3 run of its own to get itself back into the game. Belmont led 26-16 after the first quarter.
Belmont is now 6-1 for the first time since the 2002-03 season.
BU now leads the Battle of the Boulevard series 45-28.
The Bruins used their size in the paint to help them outrebound Lipscomb 50-31.
The Bruins return to action Sunday afternoon as they travel to Wake Forest for a 1 p.m. tilt in Winston Salem, North Carolina.
MISSOURI 74, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 32
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Southeast Missouri (4-4) women's basketball team fell to the undefeated Missouri Tigers (8-0) Wednesday evening, 74-32.
Southeast found themselves down 18-8 at the end of the first quarter. The Redhawks finished the quarter shooting 2-of-9 from the field. Olivia Hackmann recorded four points in the frame to lead the Redhawks while Connor King put up four boards.
Southeast was outscored 21-7 in the second quarter. The Redhawks were held scoreless the second half of the second quarter with the last field goal coming from Hackmann at the 5:02 mark.
The Redhawks scored a season-low 15 first-half points and trailed the Tigers, 39-15, going into halftime.
Hackmann led the Redhawks with six points in the first half while King had six rebounds to lead the squad.
The Tigers scored 22 points off 15 Redhawk turnovers in the half. Mizzou finished the second quarter on a 14-point run.
The Redhawks were held to just two points in the third quarter off a pair of free throws by Bri Mitchell.
At the end of the third quarter, Southeast trailed 66-17 to the Tigers.
The Redhawks never backed down and came out and put up 15 points in the final 10 minutes of the game.
In the end, Southeast fell to the Tigers 74-32.
Hackmann kept her double-digit point streak alive with 12 points, bringing the streak to eight games for the senior.
King finished with eight rebounds in the game for the Redhawks with a pair of blocks and played 28 minutes. Erin Bollmann put up six points and four rebounds in the game.
The Tigers were led by freshman Sophie Cunningham with 15 points. Jordan Frericks earned a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Southeast Missouri will return to action on Friday at Wichita State. The Redhawks and Shockers tip off at noon on Friday.
Patterson concluded, "I was very happy to see a lot of Redhawk fans in the stands tonight in Columbia. With Ashton Luttrull and Olivia's families living nearby along with other Southeast fans making the trip to cheer us on, it always makes it better to play in front of fans."