THURSDAY'S SCORES
@Murray State 86, Southeast Missouri 81
Tennessee State 68, @Eastern Kentucky 62
TENNESSEE STATE 68, EASTERN KENTUCKY 62
RICHMOND, Ky. - The Tennessee State University women’s basketball team snapped a three-game losing streak after defeating Eastern Kentucky, 68-62, Thursday night in McBrayer Arena.
TSU (9-12, 6-4 OVC) had four players to score in double-figures led by I’mani Davis and Briana Morrow who each tallied 15 points. Briana Lawrence finished the game with 11 points while Rachel Allen posted 10 points and six assists.
Shameeka Murray led EKU (8-12, 3-7 OVC) with 15 points and Michaela Hunter scored 13.
The first half was a low-scoring, back-and-forth battle for the most part. The Lady Tigers were trailing, 22-20, when the offense went cold. TSU only scored one field goal in the final five minutes of the frame and went into halftime down, 29-25.
TSU outscored EKU, 23-13, to open the second half and took the lead by the 12-minute media. The rally, fueled by defense and timely buckets, gave the Lady Tigers a 50-42 lead at the 11:21 mark. TSU held EKU without a field goal for five minutes but the Colonels answered with a 6-0 spurt to pull within two.
A few possessions later, Briana Morrow scored consecutive buckets to give TSU a six-point cushion, 58-52, with 6:14 remaining.
EKU once again cut the deficit down to two points but Rachel Allen connected in the paint to put TSU on top, 66-62, with 50.6 seconds on the clock.
The Colonels’ shot attempt was off the mark on the ensuing possession and they were forced to foul. With 16.0 seconds left, Rachel Allen stepped up to the line and buried two freebies to ice the game.
The Lady Tigers shot 40.9 percent from the field and outscored the Colonels in the paint, 46-24. TSU also held the advantage in bench points, 12-0, and points off turnovers, 15-6.
MURRAY STATE 86, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 81
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State Racers scored a big Ohio Valley Conference win Thursday with an 86-81 victory over the Southeast Missouri Redhawks at the CFSB Center in Murray, Ky.
The Racers improved to 6-17 overall and 1-9 in the OVC, while SEMO fell to 8-15 and 1-9.
MSU was led by 26 points from Keiona Kirby, a season-high on 7-of-12 from the field and 9-of-10 from the free throw line. Ke'Shunan James poured in 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting. LeAsia Wright added 15 points to the MSU attack.
MSU jumped to a 25-10 start when they locked SEMO in a defensive vice and forced them into five turnovers in six possessions. MSU got on a roll on their home floor with a 11-of-22 start from the field, while SEMO was 4-of-18. Kirby's 3-pointer with 7:05 in the half gave MSU a 25-10 lead and at the 5:43 mark, James made a basket to put MSU in the lead 29-12.
The Racers had the lead for the first time at half in 10 games at 39-29.
SEMO came out in the second half and whittled the Racers lead down eventually taking a 55-54 lead with 10:37 remaining.
The Racers dug in and Kirby hit a 3-pointer with 3:58 left for a four-point MSU lead.
Leading 83-81 with 52 seconds left, Kyra Gulledge went to the line and hit one. SEMO fired up a 3-point shot for the tie and missed. Wright and Kirby sealed the win from the free throw line in the final seconds.
Southeast Missouri was led by Jasmine Robsinson with a game-high 24 points while Connor King added 19 and Brianna Mitchell had 11 points.