SATURDAY'S SCORES
Belmont 76, Eastern Kentucky 59
@Southeast Missouri 69, Eastern Illinois 65
@UT Martin 69, SIUE 58
Tennessee State 81, @Morehead State 74
Murray State 98, @Austin Peay 84
Jacksonville State 70, @Tennessee Tech 54
BELMONT 76, EASTERN KENTUCKY 59
RICHMOND, Ky. - -- The Belmont women's basketball team (9-15, 6-5 OVC) used a complete team effort to pick up its sixth OVC win on Saturday. The Bruins knocked off Eastern Kentucky (8-13, 3-8 OVC) on the road, 76-59.
The teams traded baskets to open the opening stanza but it was the Bruins who found their offensive rhythm first, going up by four in the first five minutes. Eastern Kentucky gave chase and made it a one-point game but BU rebounded and grabbed a five-point lead, 18-13, with 11:27 remaining. The Bruins ramped up its tough defense effort and forced the Colonels to make careless mistakes through the midpoint of the half. A trio of forced turnovers and a streaking Bruin lineup that saw points from senior Jordyn Luffman-Hartsfield (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.), freshman Sally McCabe (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) and senior Adrienne Tarrence (Bowling Green, Ky.) put BU on top, 23-16, with 7:51 left on the clock. The flurry forced the Colonels to burn a timeout.
EKU used back-to-back trips to the free-throw line to close the gap to three, 27-24, with just over three minute left on the clock but sophomore Lauren Thompson (Franklin, Tenn.) knocked down a pair of her own at the stripe to keep Belmont ahead. BU began to use the clock to its advantage and with just 60 ticks left in regulation found itself leading, 33-27. The Colonels attempted to hold out for the final shot but the shot bounced off the rim with 3.5 seconds left. Tarrence brought the ball over the midcourt and knocked down what would become just the second three pointer of her career as time expired to send the Bruins to the locker room leading, 36-27.
After grabbing its first double digit lead of the contest, the Bruins again leaned on its tough defense to open the second half, holding Eastern Kentucky to 0-7 in field goals for nearly the first six minutes of the stanza. EKU finally got into the contest and dug in its heels to begin whittling away at the Belmont lead around the nine minute mark and used a six-point flurry to close the gap to eight, 49-41. However, back-to-back triples by seniors Katie Carroll (Lilburn, Ga.) and Luffman-Hartsfield expanded BU's lead to 55-41 one minute later.
The Colonels would not go away down the stretch, despite Belmont pulling away by as many as 18 with 4:41 left in regulation. In the final two minutes, EKU made one final push to make up considerable ground but it was too little too late. BU never relinquished its double digit advantage and with the help of being in the double bonus, went on to hit 6-of-6 at the line in the final 90 seconds. The effort on both sides of the ball assisted the Bruins in securing the 76-59 victory.
Eastern Kentucky shot 34.4 percent from the floor, 26.3 percent from three-point range, and 90.9 percent from the free-throw line. EKU led in blocks, 2-1.
The Colonels had only one player reach double digits – Michaela Hunter with 22 points. She also led the team in rebounds with a total of eight.
BU shot 44.1 percent from the hardwood, 39.1 percent from behind the three-point arc, and 71.4 percent at the charity stripe. The Bruins led in rebounds, 43-34, assists, 20-10, and steals, 4-2.
Belmont saw four players in double figures in the win. Luffman-Hartsfield led with 21 points, followed by McCabe with 16 points. Carroll added 14 and Thompson had 10 points. Carroll led the Bruins with a career-high eight rebounds. Tarrence collected a game and career high 10 assists.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 69, EASTERN ILLINOIS 65
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri (9-15, 2-9) opened the second half on a 9-0 run and outscored Eastern Illinois (8-16, 5-6) by 10 in the final 20 minutes to earn a 69-65 win on Saturday afternoon. Erin Bollmann scored a career-high 22 points, including 16 in the second half.
Olivia Hackmann added 13 points while Brianna Mitchell recorded eight assists in her first career start. Jasmine Robinson reached double figures for the 18th time this season with 10 points.
Southeast shot season-highs of 49 percent (27-for-55) from the field and 53 percent (8-for-15) from 3-point range. In the second half, the Redhawks shot 65 percent (17-for-26) from the floor and 56 percent (5-for-9) from beyond the arc.
Early, on the teams battled back and forth as EIU held an 8-7 lead at the first media timeout. Olivia Hackmann scored five of the first seven Southeast points, including her 21st 3-pointer of the season, which set a new single-season career-high.
Hackmann added her second triple to pull within 14-10 with 11:08 left before halftime. It marked the sixth time in 2014-15 and 12th time in her career she has connected on multiple shots from beyond the arc.
Allyson Bradshaw connected on her 155th career 3-pointer to cut the lead to one at 14-13. Following a steal by Yelena Rosado, Bollmann gave Southeast on 15-14 lead on a mid-range jumper, capping an 8-0 run by the Redhawks.
T answered with a 9-0 run to gain a 23-15 lead with 7:26 remaining in the opening half.
Hackman and Sabina Oroszova scored 20 of the game's first 40 points with 10 each.
Bollmann scored and drew a foul on a driving layup off of a backdoor pass from Hackmann to trim the margin to 27-21 with 2:03 left in the half.
At the break, EIU lead 29-23, paced by Oroszova's 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Hackmann finished the first half going 4-of-7 from the field and 2-for-3 from long range.
The Panthers shot 48 percent (13-for-27) from the field in the first half while Southeast converted on 35 percent (10-for-29) of field goal attempts, including a 50 percent (3-for-6) mark from 3-point range.
Southeast opened the second half on a 14-3 run, led by 3-pointers from Bollmann and Hackmann, who established a new career-high with three. Jasmine Robinson added a 3-point play to pull ahead 35-31 with 17:44 remaining.
Connor King connected from beyond the arc and Hillary Lively added a layup on the following possession to open up a 46-39 lead with 13:34 left.
Bollmann followed with another triple to push the lead to double digits at 49-39 with 12:58 remaining. It marked the first time in her career that she has drained multiple 3-pointers. She added an up-and-under layup to make the score 51-39 the next time down the court.
EIU chipped away at the lead, pulling with three at 55-52 on a jumper by Oroszova with 8:08 remaining. Erica Brown made it a one-point game on a layup with 7:16 left.
Lively answered by scoring on a jump hook on the following offensive set.
Grace Lennox made a layup on a fast break as the Panthers regained the lead at 58-57 with 4:38 on the clock.
Robinson tied the score 58-58 on a free throw with 2:39 left and gave the Redhawks a 60-58 lead on the following possession with a layup.
After two free throws by Oroszova to tie the game at 60-60, Bollmann connected on her third triple of the game with 1:30 remaining to establish a new career-high with 22 points. The Redhawks went ahead 63-60 and would not trail again.
Robinson followed with a short jumper in the paint and Mitchell drained two free throws with four seconds left to secure the victory.
Oroszova finished with a game-high 26 points and 13 rebounds while Brown also recorded a double-double with 16 points and 10 boards. Grace Lennox added 11 points.
There were seven lead changes and four tied scores throughout the contest.
UT MARTIN 69, SIUE 58
MARTIN, Tenn. - – Drama was aplenty as the University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball team played host to title contender SIU Edwardsville on Saturday afternoon. Both teams would see the lead change hands on 11 occasions as the Skyhawks held on to beat the Cougars 69-68 and remain perfect in conference play.
The Skyhawks (15-9, 11-0 OVC) became the first team in program history to start 11-0 in conference play while picking up their sixth consecutive road victory and 18th straight win over conference opponents dating back to last season.
As a team, the Skyhawks shot 44.6 percent from the floor while placing four players in double figures. Ashia Jones led the squad with 16 points while the duo of Jessy Ward and Tiara Caldwell both tallied 11 points each. Chelsea Roberts joined in the action with 10 points and five rebounds.
SIUE (14-10, 9-2 OVC) saw three players score in double figures, led by the play of Shronda Butts with 18 points. Gwen Adams tallied 16 points for the Cougars while Micah Jones joined in the action with 13 points. Tierny Austin finished just short of notching a double-double with nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
The Cougars would score the first basket of the game, but the Skyhawks would respond by making four consecutive shots before a posting a 14-3 run over the following three minutes of play. The visitors would finally snap a stretch of 2:45 minutes where they failed to score with a layup by Adams. The Skyhawks would take a 14-7 lead into the first media timeout.
SIUE would respond with a 10-0 run of their own while taking its second lead of the game at 15-14. The lead would change hands four times during the four minute stretch with the Skyhawks retaking the lead right before the second media timeout at the 11:34 mark.
After seeing the lead change hands another four times over the ensuing stretch, the Skyhawks would begin to find some breathing room late in the first half. A 9-2 run would see the Skyhawks go from trailing by one to leading by six with four minutes left in the half.
With the Cougars creeping into striking distance, the Skyhawks would find back-to-back three-pointers from Roberts and Ward on alternative wings within 29 seconds to push their advantage out to 39-31.
Consecutive turnovers by the Cougars would seal the Skyhawks lead heading into the break with a 41-31 lead. Ashia Jones would lead home squad with nine points while Ward chipped in eight at the break. Adams would lead all players with 10 points for the Cougars.
The Cougars would come out of the second half looking to be the aggressors, outscoring the Skyhawks 9-4 in the opening minutes of the half. The Skyhawks would quickly respond with a quick 6-0 run of their own to hold a 51-40 lead.
SIUE would cut the lead to single digits once again with a 6-2 run over the following five minute stretch. Butts and Jones would both score during the segment to give the Cougars three players in double figures with just over 11 minutes left to play and trailing by eight.
Katie Schubert would snap a three minute scoring drought for the Skyhawks with her third three-pointer from the right wing as the shot clock rang. Combined with a pair of free throws from Caldwell, the Skyhawks would post a quick 5-0 run.
SIUE would hit four consecutive shots while posting a 7-0 run over the course of just over a minute. With the run, the Cougars would trim the margin to just four points, trailing 64-60 with four minutes to play in the contest. The Cougars would see scoring from the trio of Butts, Jones and Donshel Beck during the span.
From there the game got tighter by the minute. Beck would tally another layup following a turnover to cut the margin to just two points. The Skyhawks would see their lead teeter between two and four points for the rest of the game until the Cougars would knock down a three-pointer with just three second remaining to trim the margin to one point.
The Skyhawks would throw a lob pass to the opposite end of the court in the final seconds before committing a turnover which would give the Cougars one last chance at a prayer. A last second heave would sail wide right as the final buzzer sounded and the Skyhawks preserved their perfect OVC mark.
TENNESSEE STATE 81, MOREHEAD STATE 74
MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Tennessee State University women’s basketball team knocked down a season second-best 10 three-pointers in an, 81-74, victory over Morehead State Saturday night in Johnson Arena.
The win was TSU’s second straight victory and improved the Lady Tigers to 7-4 in the OVC (10-12 overall). Morehead State fell to 11-13 (7-4 OVC).
Brianna Lawrence led TSU with 22 points behind a stellar shooting performance. The junior went 8-of-14 from the field and 6-of-8 from three-point range. I’mani Davis also reached double-digits with 14 points while Chelsea Hudson added 12. Rachel Allen posted her second career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Allen also only committed one turnover in the contest.
Morehead State had three players in double-figures led by Shay Steele’s 25 points. Almesha Jones scored 16 and Maiki Viela tallied 12.
Despite shooting 55.6 percent from three-point range through the first sixteen minutes of the game, TSU fell behind, 37-31 at the 3:34 mark. The Lady Tigers, however, used an 8-2 rally, capped by a Brianna Lawrence three-pointer to pull even, 39-39, just before the end of the half.
Lawrence christened the second stanza with a triple from the corner before an old fashioned three-point play by Jayda Johnson put the Lady Tigers on top, 45-40.
Morehead State battled from behind to reclaim the lead and the teams traded buckets. Both squads had played to a 54-54 tie at the 11:35 mark.
The rest of the contest was a fiercely contested battle as neither team would let up. TSU was holding on to a slight, 65-64, lead when Brianna Lawrence buried her fifth triple of the game to give the Lady Tigers a four-point cushion.
A few possessions later, Rachel Allen found Lawrence in the corner for another long range bomb. MSU answered with a score on its trip down the floor and forced a TSU turnover on the next play.
The Lady Tigers maintained their composure and made timely free-throws down the stretch to secure the win.
MURRAY STATE 98, AUSTIN PEAY 84
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - MSU took down the Lady Govs 98-84 in aa huge conference road win. Murray State women’s basketball took only their second win in program history at Clarksville, Tennessee in an important game for the Racers.
The game started off as most rivalry games would, with both teams fighting for the lead. Austin Peay (8-16, 5-6 OVC) took a quick 6-0 start, but Murray State (7-17, 2-9 OVC) went on a 7-0 run to take a 7-6 lead. The game was tied 13-13, but the Racers made some big stops on defense and had three big offensive plays. Ke’Shunan James, Keiona Kirby, and Netanya Jackson made the basket and tried to make it a three-point play. MSU then took a 19-15 lead. Both teams remained close and tried to gain an advantage over the other, but going into the locker room Murray State had a 43-38 advantage.
James had 17 points in the first half, the most in a half by her all season. James also led the team with six rebounds, while the team has 23. The 43 point scored in the first half is the most since the Brescia game on Dec. 30.
The Murray State-Austin Peay rivalry was in full effect in the second half. Everything both teams did seemed faster, stronger, and more intense than the first half. Both teams wanted that OVC win, and a chance to say they beat the other. MSU remained in control for the whole second half. Austin Peay had a lot of foul trouble in the second half, and the worst of it coming when Tiasha Gray and Brianne Alexander fouled out after scoring a combined 43 points for the Lady Govs. Murray State ran away with it at the end and took a 98-84 road win.
James led the Racers with a career-high 31 points. Kirby and Jackson added 19 and 16 points respectively. The team grabbed 40 rebounds compared to Austin Peay’s 35, which makes the Racers 5-3 when they outrebound their opponent this season. James tied her career-high six assists, and seven free-throws made, while Jackson tied her career-high three assists.
Tiasha Gray led Austin Peay with 31 points, her fifth 30-point performance this season, five assists and four steals. Madison Rich added 14 points, Brianne Alexander chipped in 12 points and Kristen Stainback supplied 11 points.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 70, TENNESSEE TECH 54
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Sophomore Briana Benson ended Tennessee Tech's season last year with a buzzer beater in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament, on Saturday evening she poured in a season-high 20 points to lead Jacksonville State to a 70-54 win at the Eblen Center on the TTU campus.
The 16-point win pushes JSU to 16-7 overall and 7-4 in the OVC, while Tech falls to 5-19 overall and 2-9 against OVC competition. The Gamecocks shook off a six-game losing streak to the Golden Eagles on their home floor and won for the first time in Cookeville since the 2006 season. The double-digit win over TTU is the first one since a 10-point, 71-61 win at TTU in 2005. JSU has carded three consecutive double figure wins for the first time since the 2003-04 season. The win was also a milestone for second-year JSU Head Coach Rick Pietri. It marked his 250th career win on the collegiate level.
Jax State continued a recent trend of solid shooting offensively and lockdown defense on the other end. By holding the Golden Eagles to 54 points, the Red and White have held its last three opponents to 55 points or less - the first time that has happened in the program's NCAA Division I era. JSU held Eastern Kentucky to 53 points on Jan. 28 and limited Tennessee State to 50 points last week.
Benson, one of the top three-point threats in the OVC with 2.5 made three-point baskets in the first 10 conference games, bettered that average by matching her career high with five three pointers en route to a season-high 20 points. The Jonesboro, Georgia-native finished the night 7-of-13 from the field and 5-of-9 from beyond the arc. Benson reached double figures by halftime with 11 first-half points. Since the Morehead State game, Benson is 15-of-33 from long range and averaging 3.7 treys per game over the four-game span.
Jax State maintained the advantage for over 38 minutes of the contest and built a double digit lead by the 9:43 mark after a three pointer by Courtney Strain. Strain's bucket capped off a 16-5 scoring run after Tech held its last lead at 6-5 early in the half. The Golden Eagles strung together a scoring run to get with three points at 22-19 with 4:58 on the first half clock after a Samaria Howard jumper. Howard led TTU with 16 points and 12 rebounds. JSU would push the lead back out to 10 points on two occasions before the end of the half, including Benson's third three pointer of the half with 15 ticks on the game clock. JSU would take a 34-26 lead in to the halftime break.
JSU had one if its better first half shooting performances as it knocked down 52 percent from the field, while limiting Tech to 11-of-29 from the field.
Tech quickly got back in the contest with an 11-6 spurt to get within three at 40-37 at the 15:23 mark. JSU responded with a 13-0 run to extend the lead out to 16 points at 53-27 after a McLin field goal. For the second consecutive game, the Athens, Alabama-native was hard to stop in the second half. After being held to four points and five rebounds in the first 20 minutes, she posted six points and eight rebounds to record her sixth double-double of the season and eighth of her career with 10 points and 13 rebounds - all on the defensive end of the floor.
With the game in control, JSU pushed the lead out to 20 points at 66-46 with a pair of free throws by Candace Morton. Morton would be the third Gamecock to hit double figures in the scoring column with 12 points. The Lexington, Kentucky-product had seven of the 12 points in the second half.
JSU would finish the game shooting nearly 49 percent from the field, while clamping down defensively and holding Tech to 35 percent field goal shooting. The shooting mark was the second-best of the season for JSU. The season high was 49.1 against Wofford back in November.
Tennessee Tech was led my Samaria Howard with 16 points and 12 rebounds.