SATURDAY'S SCORES
Murray State 73, @Evansville 54
@UT Martin 52, Samford 50
Morehead State 92, @Lipscomb 77
Tennessee Tech 73, @UNC Greensboro 64
@Western Kentucky 88,
Ausitn Peay 59
@Missouri State 82,
Eastern Kentucky 63
MURRAY STATE 73, EVANSVILLE 54
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Murray State went on a 24-8 run to end the second quarter and outscored Evansville 24-9 in the frame to help open up a big lead on its way to snapping a five-game losing streak Saturday as the Racers ran past UE 73-54 in Evansville, Ind.
Trailing 16-14 early in the quarter, the Racers (3-5) came alive offensively and went on a 13-0 streak at one point during the run as well. LeAsia Wright sparked the MSU attack as she hit a 3-pointer on three straight possessions to push the Racers in front for good at 20-18 with 7:50 left in the half. MSU took a 38-24 lead into the locker room. The Racers were able to maintain and even extend their lead heading to the fourth quarter, 53-37.
Wright had a huge afternoon, pouring in a career-high 27 points on 9-of-15 shooting and an incredible 8-for-12 from 3-point range. The eight 3-pointers is a new career-high for Wright and is just one shy of the school record. Ke’Shunan James had a solid all-around performance as she scored 17 points, grabbed seven rebounds, had seven assists and a game-high four steals. Kyra Gulledge added seven points and six boards while Jashae Lee and Bria Bethea scored nine each.
The Racers had a strong defensive effort in the win, holding Evansville (1-6) to just 40.8 percent shooting and 5-of-15 from beyond the arc. MSU also had a big advantage in turnovers and points off of turnovers as they scored 23 points on 19 Purple Aces turnovers. The Racers had a season-low 11 miscues in the win and UE had eight points off of those.
The Racers shot a season-best 54.7 percent from the field and went 10-of-21 (47.6 percent) from deep. The Racers were out-rebounded by Evansville 33-23. UE held a 15-7 edge in second-chance points in the contest.
Evansville was able to cut the Racer advantage to single digits just once the rest of the game, 58-49 with 5:13 left to play before Wright buried another three and pushed the lead back to double digits. MSU led by as many as 22 points in the second half.
MSU will have the upcoming week off due to finals week and will return to action and the CFSB Center Dec. 14 when the Racers host Blue Mountain.
UT MARTIN 52, SAMFORD 50
MARTIN, Tenn. - A pair of free throws by DaiJia Ruffin with 0.4 seconds remaining proved to be enough for the University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball team as they held off Samford in regulation with a 52-50 victory.
The Skyhawks (4-4) picked up their second straight victory against an opponent hailing from the state of Alabama after knocking off former Ohio Valley Conference foe Samford. In a sloppy game which saw the Skyhawks be held scoreless for nearly the entire third quarter, UT Martin scratched and clawed to protect their home court. Both teams struggled from the floor, shooting well below 40 percent on the afternoon.
UT Martin saw three players scored in double figures led by the play of senior Haley Howard who paced the Skyhawks in scoring for the second straight outing after tallying 16 points and six rebounds. Classmate Katie Schubert notched her third double-digit scoring output with 12 points while Ruffin scored seven of her 14 points in the final quarter, along with eight rebounds.
Samford (6-3) shot 36.4 percent from the floor while winning the battle of the boards 37-11 due in large part to the play of Destiney Elliot. Elliott paced the team in nearly every statistical category, scoring 13 points while notching 18 rebounds and a pair of assists on the day. The duo of Brittany Stevens and Kassidy Blevins scored nine points each.
The Bulldogs would jump out to an early 4-2 lead before seeing the Skyhawks rebound with a run of its own to take a 13-6 lead into the first media timeout. The Skyhawks would outscore the Bulldogs 11-2 during a two and a half minute stretch, including five points from Schubert.
The Skyhawks would then go dry from the field, going over four minutes between scores during which time Samford would trim the lead to as close as one point at 13-12. Howard would respond with three points in the final minute to take a 16-12 advantage into the second quarter of play.
UT Martin would win the second quarter, outscoring Samford narrowly by a 14-11 margin. Schubert would lead five different Skyhawks with five points in the quarter, marking her third double figure performance of the season with her 10th point. Cassidy Williams led the Bulldogs by scoring six points of the bench to pace the visitors.
Samford came out in the second half looking to make a statement. The Bulldogs would hold the Skyhawks scoreless for the opening 9:19 minutes of the third quarter while stringing together an 11-0 run. The Skyhawks would finally score with 40.3 seconds remaining the third quarter off a four-point play by Howard, notching the team’s first four-point play since Jan. 8, 2015 against Eastern Kentucky. UT Martin would eventually finish the quarter on a 6-0 run to take a 36-34 lead into the fourth.
The final quarter would see both teams hold a lead while seeing the game be tied on three different occasions. After trailing by two going into the quarter, Elliott would score a layup just 18 seconds into the fourth quarter to tie the game at 36-36. The Skyhawks would look to put the game away, pushing their lead out to six points following a jumper by Jessy Ward to make it a 45-36 margin but Samford would charge back again.
A pair of three-pointers by Blevins and Elliott would tie the game against 45 with just over two minutes left. Samford would complete its comeback attempt with a layup on the next possession, taking a 47-45 lead before Ruffin would take over in the final minutes. Trailing by two, Ruffin would knock down a three-pointer followed by another jumper to take a three-point lead in the final minute.
Blevins would respond by knocking down her second trifecta of the fourth quarter to knot the game at 50-50 with just eight seconds to play. With the game tied once again, the Skyhawks gave the ball to Ruffin who would take her defender 1-on-1 before drawing a foul to send the freshman to the line with just 0.4 seconds remaining. Ruffin would knock down both free throws, setting up a final attempt for the Bulldogs which wouldn’t get off before the final buzzer sounded as the Skyhawks clawed out a 52-50 victory.
UT Martin will return to action on Saturday, Dec. 13 when the Skyhawks travel to Missouri Valley Conference foe Evansville following a break for finals week. Tipoff from the Ford Center is scheduled for noon.
MOREHEAD STATE 92, LIPSCOMB 77
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Morehead State women's basketball team followed the lead of their lone senior, guard Natalie Greenwell, to a 92-77 road win against the Lipscomb Bison on Saturday afternoon at Allen Arena.
Greenwell finished her big day with 23 points, five rebounds, and four assists, helping the Eagles (4-5) snap a three-game losing streak, while the Bison (3-6) have now lost three in a row.
Freshman guard Miranda Crockett recorded her first career double-double in the win, scoring 19 points and snatching a team-high 11 rebounds. She also finished with six assists. Three other Eagles finished with double digit points, including junior guard Kay Kay Tate and junior forward Shay Steele, who both finished with 14. Sophomore forward Eriel McKee had 12 points.
MSU played back-and-forth with Lipscomb until late in the third quarter when the Eagles opened it up with an 18-to-3 run. MSU controlled the paint throughout, out-scoring the Bison, 44-to-24, between the blocks.
The Eagles entered the contest as the nation's best blocking team and finished with eight, led by Steele's six.
Next up, MSU travels to Carbondale, Ill. to take on Southern Illinois on Saturday, December 12. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. ET.
TENNESSEE TECH 73, UNC GREENSBORO 64
GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Tennessee Tech women's basketball team (3-5, 0-0 OVC) closed out their four day road trip with an afternoon matchup against UNC-Greensboro (3-5). The Golden Eagles held on to defeat the Spartans 73-64 after UNC-G made a strong fourth quarter campaign for a comeback.
The Golden Eagles took control of the game early on with Samaria Howard scoring first at the 8:57 mark. Tech then created a 7-3 lead off of back-to-back free throws made by Alliyah Smith, however, Greensboro would not relent and tied the game at 9-9. Smith with a put back gave Tech the lead again at 11-9 at the 3:18 mark and created the momentum for the Golden Eagles to break away. Tech then went on an 11-2 run to close out the first quarter 22-11, ending the period with a three from Howard.
The Golden Eagles picked up the pace further into the second period. Tia Nicholson opening the quarter with a layup at the 9:37 mark. Tech continued to force turnover on the Spartans, taking advantage of UNC-G fouls as well. At the 5:43 mark Goolsby competed a layup to take the score to 31-15 and forced the foul and connected on her free throw attempt to pull Tech further ahead at 32-15. Strong Golden Eagle defense continued to plague the Spartan attempts to complete field goals and gave Tech more opportunities to drive to the basket and score. Another 3-pointer at the 3:27 mark pushed the Golden Eagle's lead further to 38-19 gave them further momentum to close out the half with a 44-25 advantage over the Spartans.
After the half, UNC-G came out determined to battle back with Tech. Strong defenses on both sides caused for minimum scoring opportunities. The Spartans continued to force turnovers for the Golden Eagles and fast breaks were plagued with incomplete buckets. Asia Harper scored first in the third for Tech at the 9:33 mark, however, the momentum began to subtly shift over in favor of Greensboro. The Spartans got on a run and pulled the score to 52-38 with a three from Bailey Williams. Howard connected on two free throws at the 1:30 mark and Hannah Goolsby followed with a layup with 37 seconds remaining to try to keep pushing the Tech lead, however, the Spartan's Williams followed up with two made free throws of her own to end the third quarter with a Tech lead at 56-40.
Things began to pick up more for UNC-G into the fourth quarter. The Spartans made a jab at the Tech lead and out-scored the Golden Eagles 24 points to 17, however, the lead that Tech created in the first half was too great for a UNC-G comeback.
The Golden Eagles closed out the victory averaging 45.3-percent from the field, 37.5-percent from the three-point range, and 73.3-percent from the line. UNC-G averaged 35-percent from the field, 25-percent from beyond the arc, and 70.4-percent from the line. The Spartans gave just 9 turnovers compared to Tech's 11, but the Golden Eagles grabbed 36 rebounds to UNC-G's 34.
Smith captured her first double-double as a Golden Eagle putting up 13 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Howard scored a team-high 19 points, connecting on 5-of-14 from the field, 2-of-4 from the three-point range, and 7-of-10 from the line, while teammate Yaktavia Hickson posted 12 points and two assists in the matchup. Spartan powerhouse Lucy Mason led UNC-G with 25 points and five assists.
The Golden Eagles return to action on Dec. 13 when they host Clemson in a 2 p.m. matchup at the Eblen Center.
WESTERN KENTUCKY 88, AUSTIN PEAY 69
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - In a game where both offenses were largely unimpeded, Austin Peay State University women’s basketball team dropped an 88-69 decision to Western Kentucky, Saturday evening at E.A. Diddle Arena.
Both offenses had little trouble finding their range from the game’s opening tip. Western Kentucky shot a season-best 60.3 percent for the contest, largely thanks to a 71.4 percent shooting performance in the opening half. Austin Peay also posted a season-best shooting effort, but its 48.3 percent performance could not keep pace with the host Hilltoppers.
Western Kentucky (4-2) never trailed in the contest, scoring six straight points to break a 2-2 tie and build an 8-6 lead after Kendall Noble’s jumper with 5:23 remaining. The Hilltoppers would extend their lead to 10 points, 24-14, after a Tashia Brown layup with 24 seconds left, but senior guard Tiasha Gray countered with a jumper to end the quarter with APSU trailing by eight.
The Hilltoppers threatened to break the game open early in the second quarter, opening with an 11-4 run to build a 15-point, 35-20 lead. However, Austin Peay battled back with its own 11-1 run as sophomore guard Madison Rich and redshirt freshman Falon Baker combined for a trio of three pointers and a field goal, to get within five points with 3:49 left in the half.
However, Baker’s basket at the 3:49 mark would be Austin Peay’s (2-8) final field goal of the half. Western Kentucky closed the half with a 10-0 run to rebuild its 15-point advantage (48-33) which it took into the break.
The second half was an offensive stalemate with Austin Peay unable to get the deficit back to single digits while Western Kentucky could not completely break the game open. Both teams shot 50 percent or better in the second half, the only different in the half coming on Western Kentucky’s four three pointers in the half.
Rich led Austin Peay with a season-best 17-point performance, including eight points inside the arc. Gray added 17 points and had eight assists and five steals. Three other Govs players reached double-digit scoring territory.
Tashia Brown led Western Kentucky with a game-high 21 points, chipping in seven assists and six rebounds. Noble and reserve Dee Givens each had 16 points.
Austin Peay will take the upcoming week off for finals – its largest layoff between games this season – before returning to action with a 1 p.m. (CT), Saturday contest at Kennesaw State.
MISSOURI STATE 87, EASTERN KENTUCKY 63
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Offensive rebounding and 34 points off the bench helped the Missouri State University Bears to an 87-63 win over Eastern Kentucky University’s women’s basketball team Saturday at JQH Arena.
The Bears pulled down 19 offensive rebounds and tallied 22 second chance points in the win. Missouri State outrebounded the Colonels 47-35.
Eastern Kentucky opened the contest on a 6-0 run, converting on its opening three possessions. Michaela Hunter gave the Colonels a 2-0 lead and Shameekia Murray added back-to-back scores putting the Colonels up six.
The Bears, however, answered with five unanswered pulling within one, 6-5.
Trailing 15-11, Missouri State’s Hillary Chvatal connected on a jumper at the 4:35 mark, sparking a 10-0 run for the Bears. Minutes later, a three-pointer from Lexi Hughes gave the Bears a 17-15 lead—their first of the game. Missouri State would never trail the remainder of the contest.
The Bears carried a 43-31 lead into the locker room. The Colonels scored the first four points of the second half, cutting the lead to eight. Eastern was unable narrow the lead to less than eight during the second half, dropping just its second game of the season.
Murray led the Colonels with 17 points on 7-for-12 shooting, along with four rebounds and three assists. O’Bannon chipped in 14 points and eight rebounds.
Tyonna Snow paced the Bears with 25 points and 10 rebounds.
The Colonels return to McBrayer Arena on Sunday as they take on Wright State. Sunday’s game is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET.