MONDAY'S SCORES
@Vanderbilt 64,
UT Martin 61
Eastern Kentucky 88, Saint Francis 82
@Central Michigan 78,
SIUE 65
@Morehead State 112, Alabama A&M 69,
@Mercer 45,
Jacksonville State 39
@East Tennessee State 80, Austin Peay 76
VANDERBILT 64, UT MARTIN 61
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball team battled with Southeastern Conference foe Vanderbilt until the bitter end but could not get a potential tying basket in the final seconds, ultimately falling 64-61 at Memorial Gymnasium.
The Skyhawks (7-5) saw their five-game winning streak come to an end while the Commodores remained unbeaten at home. After trailing by just one point going into the break, the Skyhawks struggled from the field in the second half, shooting just 30 percent from the floor and 22.2 percent from beyond the arc.
Faced with foul trouble for much of the games, the Skyhawks played without their leading scorer for much of the second half after DaiJia Ruffin picked up her fifth and final foul early in the fourth quarter. Despite the early exit, Ruffin still paced the team with 15 points in the contest. Jessy Ward finished just behind with 14 points, including four three-pointers to keep the Skyhawks within striking distance. Seniors Chelsea Roberts and Katie Schubert also scored in double figures, notching 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Vanderbilt (9-2) picked up its eighth straight victory following a 10-day layoff due to finals. The Commodores saw two players score in double figures with Christa Reed leading the way with 20 points. Guard Rachel Bell also scored in double figures, notching 10 points on the afternoon.
The Commodores would start the game on a 5-0 run before UT Martin would respond with a 7-0 run of their own to take a 9-7 lead heading into the first media timeout. Following the pair of runs, scoring would level off as the home squad would take a 13-12 advantage into the second quarter.
UT Martin would make strides in the second quarter, stringing together a 6-0 run with back-to-back three-pointers from Ward and Haley Howard to turn a three-point deficit into a lead. The Skyhawks would push the lead up to as high as five following a trifecta from Katie Schubert with 5:49 play in the quarter. The Commodores would end the first half on a big push, retaking and expanding the team’s lead out to as high as four in the final minutes before taking a one-point advantage into the break.
Vanderbilt posted another strong quarter in the third, holding a 14-10 advantage in the period. The Skyhawks would tie the game at 39-39 with a three-pointer by Ward midway through the third quarter. After the tie, the Commodores proceeded to push the margin out to eight points with two minutes left in the quarter.
The Commodores would come out of the fourth quarter on a 6-0 run after Rebekah Dahlman knocked down a pair of three-pointers to push their lead out to 10 points. From there the Skyhawks would make their final push to close the gap. With the Skyhawks trailing by nine, Schubert would knock down four consecutive free throws to trim the margin to five.
UT Martin would trim the margin to one with 1:56 left in the contest following a three-pointer by Ward, making it a 60-59 margin. A pair of three throws by Vanderbilt would push the margin back to three points before the Skyhawks answered right back with a pair of free throws from Roberts, making the score 62-61. Another pair of free throws by Reed would give Vandy a 64-61 lead with nine seconds remaining. The Skyhawks would have a last opportunity to tie the game but could not get the potential game-tying shot off before the final buzzer.
The Skyhawks will return to action on Monday, Dec. 28 when they travel to national power Louisville. Tipoff from the KFC Yum! Center is scheduled for 6 p.m. CST.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 88, SAINT FRANCIS 82
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - A career-high 34 points from senior Shameekia Murray powered the Eastern Kentucky University women’s basketball team to a gritty 88-82 win over Saint Francis University (Pa.) Monday at the Gator Holiday Classic.
Trailing 78-76, Murray laid it in to tie it up at 78 with 3:07 to play. The Red Flash quickly regained the lead, however, as Jessica Kovatch knocked down a jumper in the paint, putting St. Francis up, 80-78.
Eastern’s defense stymied the Red Flash for the final 2:57, as Murray and the Colonels sealed the win with a 10-2 run.
Redshirt junior Alexus Cooper connected on one of her career-high three-pointers in the game to put the Colonels back on top, 81-80, with 2:39 showing on the clock.
Junior Jalen O’Bannon pulled down a critical defensive rebound as the Colonels looked to extend their lead. O’Bannon followed her own miss for the put back, giving the Colonels an 83-80 with 1:50 left in regulation.
Kovatch’s jumper narrowed the Eastern lead to 83-82 on the ensuing possession, but Murray drew the foul and calmly drained both free throws, extending the Colonels’ lead back to three, 85-82.
Eastern forced a Red Flash turnover and came away with another defensive rebound, before Zee Willix solidified the win with a layup in the closing seconds.
The Colonels got off to a hot start, hitting six of their first nine shots from the field. Eastern put together an 11-0 run over 3:11 to go up, 13-3. Murray scored eight of the 11, as Cooper netted her first three-pointer of the day to spark the run.
However, the Red Flash offense honed in and closed out the first period on a 27-6 run as St. Francis led 30-19 after one.
The Colonels responded, outscoring St. Francis 25-12 in the second period to take a 44-42 lead at the half. Eastern is now 4-1 on the season when leading at the break.
Murray added four assists and four steals along with 34 points. The senior finished 13-of-19 (68 percent) from the floor and 2-for-3 (66 percent) from deep. O’Bannon finished with 16 and Cooper chipped in a career-high 15 points.
For the game, Eastern shot 54 percent from the field and 53 percent from behind the arc. Defensively, the Colonels came away with 25 rebounds and eight steals.
Kovatch led St. Francis with 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting.
The Colonels (5-5) return home on December 30 against Davis and Elkins College.
CENTRAL MICHIGAN 78, SIUE 65
MT. PLEASANT, Mich. – Central Michigan surged in the fourth period Monday to defeat SIUE women's basketball 78-65 at McGuirk Arena.
Central Michigan, 5-4, used a 30-point effort from Cassie Breen to push past the Cougars, 5-8. Breen shot 10 of 19 from the field, including eight three-pointers. The Chippewas outscored the Cougars 16-2 to open the fourth period.
SIUE led at halftime 33-26 and held a 57-55 edge after three periods.
Central Michigan connected on 12 three-pointers, the most by a Cougar opponent this season.
The Cougars jumped out to an early 7-0 lead in the game and pushed the lead to as much as 13 points in the first half.
CoCo Moore scored all nine of her points over the first 20 minutes of play. Gwen Adams was the leading scorer for the Cougars with 14 followed by 12 each from Sidney Smith and Shronda Butts. Donshel Beck added 10 points for SIUE.
Presley Hudson scored the other four three-pointers for the Chippewas and finished with 16 points. Da'Jourie Turner and Tinara Moore added 13 and 10 points, respectively. CMU shot 40 percent for the game (26-65) and 42.9 percent (12-28) from three-point range.
Buscher challenged her team after Saturday's loss to improve their performance on the boards. The Cougars did just that with a 46-38 edge in rebounding against a team with a plus-seven rebounding margin.
SIUE completed its nonconference portion of the schedule and next begins Ohio Valley Conference play Dec. 31 at Jacksonville State.
MOREHEAD STATE 112, ALABAMA A&M 69
MOREHEAD, Ky. - A strong start and suffocating defense throughout propelled Morehead State women's basketball to a 112-69 win over the Alabama A&M Bulldogs on Monday night at Johnson Arena.
Junior guard KayK Tate made her first four three-pointers in the first quarter to elevate the Eagles to a 26-12 lead. The Eagles then jumped out to a commanding 21-point lead at halftime, 54-33.
The second frame saw more of the same as the Eagles opened with an 11-5 run and continued to extend the lead throughout the half.
MSU never trailed and their largest lead of the game was the 43-point margin at the final horn. With 112 points on the night, the Eagles eclipsed the 100-point plateau for the fourth time this season.
The Eagles shot an impressive 65 percent in the third quarter and finished the game at 54 percent, while limiting Alabama A&M to just 39 percent shooting. Morehead State held a rebounding advantage of 45-37, led by sophomore forward Brooke Todd and junior forward Shay Steele, who pulled down eight rebounds apiece.
The Eagles forced 31 turnovers on the night, which led to 41 points off of turnovers.
A very balanced offensive attack led the Eagles, as seven players finished with double-digit points. Steele led the way with a team-high 24 points, while freshman Miranda Crockett added 16 points. Tate finished with 12 points, all of which came in the first quarter.
10 different players scored overall.
Junior guard Aaliyah Wells finished with her first career double-double with 10 points and a career-high 10 assists.
After a short Christmas break, the Eagles head to California to face UC Santa Barbara on December 28
MERCER 45, JACKSONVILLE STATE 39
MACON, Ga. - Jacksonville State's three-game winning streak came to a halt on Monday as the Gamecocks closed out the non-conference schedule with a 45-39 loss at Mercer.
The six-point loss to the Bears dropped JSU to 5-7 on the season as the squad will break for Christmas holiday and return to action on December 31, hosting Ohio Valley Conference preseason favorite SIU Edwardsville at Pete Mathews Coliseum at 1 p.m.
The two things that fueled the Gamecocks the last three games were the three point field goal and rebounding. Against the Bears (7-5), Jax State went 4-of-22 from the three-point range and was out-rebounded by a margin of 11 boards, 48-37. MU took advantage of 14 offensive rebounds and converting them in to 15 second chance points.
In an offensive struggle for both clubs, the Bears were slightly better from the field, shooting 31 percent (20-63), while the Gamecocks turned in a season-low 22 percent from the field as they connected on just 12 baskets in the contest on 53 attempts.
JSU was unable to hold on to its 22-19 lead at halftime as the Bears took a 26-24 lead midway through the third quarter on a jumper by Kahlia Lawrence. Lawrence would lead all scorers with 14 points and added nine rebounds. The Bears would push the deficit out to as many as six points multiple times the rest of the way, but the Gamecocks could not put a run together to re-gain the lead. JSU trailed 32-28 after three quarters of play and got within a point at 38-37 after a trey by Destiny James with 3:31 left in the contest. After another key basket by MU's Lawrence, JSU had a chance for a three-point play after a Tyler Phelion basket and free throw, but the sophomore's free throw attempt rattled off the rim. Lawrence scored five of her 14 points in the final two minutes of the game.
Phlion pulled down a team-high eight rebounds off the bench, but contributed just three points in 21 minutes of action. The lone Gamecock to reach double figures was freshman Chloe Long. The Hazel Green, Alabama native posted 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting and grabbed five rebounds. Sophomore Gretchen Morrison, who was averaging 19 points over the last three games, was held to nine points on a pair of three pointers and three free throws. Freshman Rayven Pearson chipped in five points and seven rebounds.
MU's Linnea Rosendal scored 12 of her 14 points in the second half to spark the Bears.
EAST TENNESSEE STATE 80, AUSTIN PEAY 76
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - Senior Tiasha Gray finished with 27 points but could not lead Austin Peay State University women’s basketball team past East Tennessee in an 80-76 nonconference loss, Monday night at Brooks Gymnasium.
Austin Peay (2-11) brought a five-point, 56-51, lead into the fourth quarter only to watch East Tennessee erase the deficit with a 6-1 run to start the fourth. Gray willed Austin Peay back to a five-point lead with a jumper and three-pointer on the next two possessions for a 62-57 lead at the 8:07 mark.
East Tennessee (7-6) withstood Gray’s charge and went on a 10-0 run over the next 3:13 to build its own five-point advantage. The Govs came up empty of four straight possessions during the drought. Meanwhile, ETSU’s Tatiana Tarter scored seven points during the run, her free throw at the 4:43 mark setting up the closing stanza.
The Govs whittled away at the deficit from the free-throw line, sophomore forward Sydney Gooch tying the game with a conventional three-point play with 3:01 left. The two teams then traded blows over the next two minutes, Austin Peay gaining a one-point, 76-75, advantage after Gray hit a pair of free throws with 41 seconds left.
East Tennessee’s Shamauria Bridges gave ETSU the lead for good when she made a contested three-pointer on the ensuing possession. Austin Peay’s Gray then drove down the lane for a running jumper but it bounced off the rim. Tarter then converted a pair of free throws to seal the victory.
The late ETSU charge was foreshadowed in the opening quarter which saw the Buccaneers make five of six to take a 22-13 lead at the first break. Austin Peay stormed back in the second, making four straight shots to start the frame and carried the momentum to a 38-35 halftime lead. Neither team could gain an edge in a ragged third quarter which left APSU with a five-point advantage.
Gray led all scorers with 27 points – her third 20-point outing this season – on 10-of-21 shooting, including 3-of-7 from three-point range. Junior center Tearra Banks added 19 points, making 7-of-11 from the floor.
Tarter led ETSU with 22 points on 7-of-17 shooting. Chandler Christopher and Kendrick each added 13 points. The Buccaneers won the rebounding battle, 41-31, thanks to a staggering 17 offensive rebounds that led to 17 second-chance points.
Austin Peay will take an 11-day break for the Christmas holiday before returning to action with a Jan. 2 Ohio Valley Conference home contest against Eastern Kentucky at the Dunn Center.