SATURDAY'S SCORES
@UT Martin 92, Murray State 62
@Jacksonville State 69, Tennessee State 55
@SIUE 87, Eastern Illinois 75
@Southeast Missouri 71, Austin Peay 69
@Eastern Kentucky 100, Morehead State 93 (OT)
Belmont 80, @Tennessee Tech 79 (2OT)
UT MARTIN 92, MURRAY STATE 62
MARTIN, Tenn. - Five different players scored in double figures, including a pair of 20-point scoring performances as the University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball cruised to a 92-62 victory over Ohio Valley Conference rival Murray State on Saturday afternoon.
The Skyhawks (14-7, 7-1 OVC) picked up their seventh straight victory and 21st straight home victory in OVC play, the league’s longest active home winning streak. The home squad posted yet another lopsided shooting effort, marking the second straight game that the Skyhawks have shot over 50 percent from the floor while holding their opponent to the mid-30s.
A total of five different players scored in double figures for the Skyhawks, led by the play of Haley Howard and Myah Taylor who each scored 21 points on the day, marking the second straight game and sixth time this season that UT Martin had two players eclipse the 20-point mark in the same game. The game also marked the third straight 20-point outing for Howard, notching her seventh of the season.
Katie Schubert also tallied four three-pointers on the day, resulting in 14 points. Freshman point guard Emanye Robertson tallied new career-highs with both 12 points and six rebounds while Jessy Ward tossed in 10 points as well.
Murray State (7-13, 3-6 OVC) dropped its sixth straight game to the Skyhawks despite placing three players in double figures. Abria Gulledge led the Racers with 19 points while her cousin joined in the action, tallying a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Local Jackson, Tenn. product Ke’Shunan James flirted with a triple-double in front of family and friends, tallying 14 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists in the contest.
Both teams would start out a bit slow before the Skyhawks began to put everything together midway through the first quarter. Through the first five minutes of the contest, UT Martin would hold a 10-4 lead heading into the media timeout.
Following the timeout, the Skyhawks immediately put their foot to the gas pedal, stringing together a 17-0 run highlighted by back-to-back three-pointers by Taylor, along with a pair of threes from the senior pair of Howard and Schubert. With several big runs in the first quarter, UT Martin would finish the quarter shooting 8-of-10 from the field while taking a 30-12 lead into the second.
The second quarter would start very similar to the end of the first with UT Martin starting the quarter on a 15-0 run to take a 33 points lead. Murray State would finally break its scoreless streak at the 2:52 mark behind back-to-back three-pointers from Abria Gulledge. Following the Skyhawks final basket of the first half with 2:11 to play, the Racers would finish the half on a 6-0 run to trim the margin to 49-24 at the half.
Murray State would look to trim the margin in the third quarter, outscoring the home team 13-11 in the opening few minutes to cut the margin to as close as 21 points behind five points from Abria Gulledge. With the Racer run in the rear-view mirror, the Skyhawks would finish the third quarter on an 11-4 run to take a 71-41 lead into the final quarter of play.
UT Martin would build upon its lead in the opening minutes of the fourth, stringing together a 9-0 run following three consecutive three-pointers from the combination of Taylor and Schubert, pushing the lead out to 38 points with just over six minutes to play. The final minutes would see the score settle at a final position of 92-62 with the Skyhawks picking up their seventh straight victory.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 69, TENNESSEE STATE 55
JACKSONVILLE, Ala - Junior Briana Benson collected a season-high 21 points and senior Destiny James recorded 11 points to propel Jacksonville State to a 69-55 win over Tennessee State in Ohio Valley Conference women's basketball action.
The 14-point win improved Jax State's overall mark to 9-13 and was the club's second consecutive conference win and fourth in the OVC after taking down Eastern Kentucky last Wednesday in Richmond, Kentucky. The Lady Tigers fell to 9-13 on the season and 4-5 in league play and have dropped the last four road contests. JSU has now won three of the last four meetings with TSU. The two teams will meet again in Nashville on February 20.
JSU's ability to knock down the three-point shot ignited the offense as it drilled 7-of-18 from behind the arc, especially in the second quarter with three key treys. After a 12-all first quarter, the Gamecocks turned in a 19-point second quarter effort to build a lead in which they would not relinquish the rest of the way. JSU opened the second quarter on a 13-2 scoring run to take its first double figure lead at 25-14 on a Benson bucket with 4:13 left in the opening half. Gretchen Morrison handed JSU its second 11-point lead of the period with a three pointer at the 2:47 mark of the quarter. TSU closed the half on a 6-0 run to trim the deficit to 31-26.
Benson, from Jonesboro, Georgia reached double figures by intermission with 11 of her game-high 21 points in the first half. Benson, JSU's leading scorer also grabbed a season-best eight rebounds. She drilled a pair of treys and turned in a 5-of-13 day from the field and was 9-of-10 from the free throw line. Benson was 6-of-6 from the line in the fourth quarter as she turned in eight points in the final quarter. The Gamecocks finished the affair 18-of-25 from the charity stripe.
The Lady Tigers kept making short runs at JSU throughout the second half, but could not get the deficit under two possessions after the opening moments of the half. The Gamecock lead was extended to double digits three times in the quarter, but held a 49-44 lead going to the final 10-minute session. JSU controlled the final quarter with 20 points and held four double digit leads before eventually taking the 14-point win.
James, the Gamecocks' floor manager, turned in a complete game with her 11 points and a pair of assists in 30 minutes of action. It's the second time this season that the Bartlett, Tennessee native has turned in double figures as she carded a career-high 12 points earlier this season against Alcorn State. Morrison was the third Gamecock to reach double figures in the scoring column with 10 points. Sophomore Tyler Phelion nearly had another double-double outing with nine points and nine rebounds. Strain finished with eight points and matched her career high in rebounds with eight Freshman Chloe Long pitched in seven points and five rebounds. For the fifth time in the first nine OVC games, JSU out-rebounded the opponent, 47-32.
TSU was led by Jayda Johnson's 17 points and seven rebounds. Brianna Lawrence added 14 points in the loss.
SIUE 87, EASTERN ILLINOIS 75
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Five SIUE players scored in double figures Saturday as the Cougars defeated Eastern Illinois 87-75 for their sixth straight victory.
The win also matched SIUE's best start in the Ohio Valley Conference at 9-1, equaling the start from last season. SIUE women's basketball, 14-9 overall, will now have a week between games before facing UT Martin at home next Saturday at 2 p.m.
Shronda Butts led the SIUE offense with 20 points and six steals. Donshel Beck recorded her third double-double of the season with 16 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Gwen Adams scored 14 and added three blocks. CoCo Moore was next with 12 points and five assists. Lauren White added 11 points and four steals.
The Cougars shared the ball well with a team-best 21 assists for the season. Butts and Beck each had six while Moore added five.
Eastern Illinois, 1-21 overall and 0-10 in the OVC, had a brief two-point lead 23 seconds into the game but couldn't match the Cougars on offense. Halle Stull led the Panthers off the bench with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
SIUE held a 45-35 lead at halftime and fought off the Panthers as they came within four at 68-64 with 7:52 to play.
The free throw line was a key for the Cougars, which hit 21 of 28 for the game. Butts was 12 of 17 to lead SIUE. Eastern Illinois shot 8 of 11 from the line as a team.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 71, AUSTIN PEAY 69
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri women's basketball (13-9, 6-3 OVC) came out victorious in a game against Austin Peay (7-15, 5-4 OVC) that featured 18 ties and 24 lead changes. Southeast outlasted the Govs to earn the 71-69 win.
Saturday's win was Southeast's fourth win of five points or less this season.
Erin Bollmann and Imani Johnson each tallied 15 points in the game to lead the Southeast offense.
The Redhawks and Govs exchanged baskets much of the opening frame. Tied at 13 with just under three minutes to play, Southeast put up six unanswered points to take an 18-13 lead on Austin Peay. A pair of made free throws by Keisha Gregory brought the score to 19-15 to end the first quarter.
Adrianna Murphy was 3-of-3 from the field including converting a 3-point play to finish with seven points in the first quarter.
With the Redhawks up 25-24 and 3:44 to play in the second quarter, the Govs tried three-straight 3-pointers and pulled down offensive rebounds on all three shots to hold four-straight possessions. Madison Rich drained a pair of foul shots before the Redhawks regained possession of the ball.
Bollmann hit a fast break jumper in the paint with 1:02 to play to end first-half scoring. The first half ended with the Redhawks on top by one, 29-28.
Murphy finished with nine points and five rebounds in the first half, leading the team in each category. Bollmann picked up eight first-half points.
Turnovers plagued the Redhawks in the half with 11. APSU converted the Redhawk mistakes for eight points.
Connor King hit a jumper on an inbounds play to begin the third quarter, 31-28 Redhawks. The Govs immediately followed with eight-straight points to take a 36-31 lead on Southeast.
The Redhawks responded with a 9-0 run of their own to recapture the lead, 39-36.
Southeast and Austin Peay went toe-to-toe the remainder of the quarter. The period ended with the Govs on top by one, 50-49.
The fourth quarter saw the scored tied an additional seven times.
With Southeast up by three with 2:01 to play, Tiasha Gray hit her third 3-point bucket of the game to tie the game for the 17th time, 67-67. Gray immediately followed it up with a layup off a Redhawk turnover to go up by two, 69-67.
Ashton Luttrull was fouled with 34 seconds left and drained both free throws to tie the game for the 18th time.
Gray got a shot off on the other side of the court but couldn't get it to go. Bollmann was fouled on the rebound to send her to the line to shoot two with six seconds to play.
Bollmann nailed both foul shots to give the Redhawks back the lead, 71-69. Gray attempted a 3-point shot at the buzzer but it was off the mark, securing the victory for the Redhawks.
Thirteen of Johnson's 15 total points came in the second half of the game. Johnson finished with seven rebounds while Bollmann complemented her 15 points with eight boards.
Murphy went scoreless in the second half but pulled down a season-high 10 rebounds. She dished out five assists and picked up two steals.
Deja Jones and Bri Mitchell finished with nine and eight points, respectively, in the contest.
Southeast shot 21-of-27 (77.8%) from the free throw line and 40.7% from the field.
Gray finished with 28 points against the Redhawks. Gregory rattled off 11 points for the Govs' offense.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 100, MOREHEAD STATE 93
RICHMOND, Ky - Trailing by two with 1:19 to play in overtime, junior Michaela Hunter drained a three-pointer to put the Eastern Kentucky University women’s basketball team in front for the final time in a back-and-forth affair against intrastate rival Morehead State University, 100-93.
The Colonels used a 10-0 run midway through the fourth quarter to pull away from the Eagles, but Morehead State finished the fourth quarter on a 20-10 run to force an overtime period with the score knotted at 85 at the end of regulation.
Eastern (11-9, 5-4 OVC) started the overtime period on a 4-0 run with a pair of jumpers from junior Jalen O’Bannon and senior Shameekia Murray, but Morehead answered with a 6-0 run of its own to take a 91-89 lead. From there, Hunter took over.
After hitting the three that gave EKU the lead, Hunter went on to score six of the Colonels’ final eight points, finishing with 23 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and three steals—two of which came in the final 17 seconds of the game.
Murray tallied 19 points, while O’Bannon logged her 10th double-double of the season with 18 points and 14 rebounds.
Six Colonels finished in double-digit scoring for the first time since 2008. Junior Mariah Massengill set a new season-high and tied her career high with 12 points in the win. Senior Miranda Maples also finished with 12 points, while pulling down six rebounds. Junior Alexus Cooper notched 10 points and dished out four assists for the Colonels.
Brianna McQueen led the way with 21 points, six rebounds and six assists for Morehead State. Miranda Crockett added 17 points for the Eagles.
With Saturday’s win, the Colonels have won seven of the last eight meetings over the Eagles.
BELMONT 80, TENNESSEE TECH 79
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - In their first overtime game of the season Belmont University women's basketball (14-7, 6-2 OVC) defeated Tennessee Tech (7-16, 3-7 OVC) in double overtime 80-79. Freshman Darby Maggard (Larwill, Ind.) recorded the game winning jumper, along with a team high 20 points on the evening.
Three other players finished the evening with double-digit points, redshirt sophomore Kylee Smith (Alpharetta, Ga.) had 18, followed by junior Sierra Jones (Huntsville Ala.) with 12, and freshman Jenny Roy (Brentwood, Tenn.) with 10.
Sophomore Sally McCabe (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) and Junior Frankie Joubran (Detroit, Mich.) each recorded double-digit rebounds on the evening.
Belmont started out strong taking the first five points of the contest, holding Tech to a two minute scoring drought to start the evening. Roy put up five of the Bruins first seven points but at 7-2 Tech went on an 8-0 run to go up 10-7. Maggard hit a three, followed by seven straight from the Bruins put them up 17-13. Tech retaliated with the last four points leaving the two teams locked in at 17 at the end of the first quarter. Roy and Jones paced the Bruins in the first quarter with five points each.
Bruins opened the second quarter on an 8-2 and took a four point lead. Both teams traded baskets but another huge 9-2 run put Belmont up by 10. Tennessee Tech hit a three as the clock ran out leaving Belmont up 36-29 at half. Maggard knocked down six points and Roy with four in the second quarter.
Two early three's from Smith held the Bruins lead to nine within the first minute of the second half. Tech took the next three points but back-to-back layups from Joubran and Harmeyer put Belmont up by 10 once again. It was all Tech for the majority of the quarter, two free throws from Jones brought the Bruins back within one, but a last second layup from Tech had the Bruins behind by three to end the third quarter.
Four lead changes in the fourth quarter led to an overtime result. Both teams knocked down a layup to start the fourth quarter. Back-to-back threes from Jones and Maggard gave the Bruins a three point lead. Tech responded with the next five points to once again take the lead. A huge three from Maggard with two minutes left pushed the Bruins ahead by one once again. Tech would knock down two free throws but Roy closed their lead with a free throw which tied it at 60 with 1:21 to play. Both teams had chances to knock down the last field goal; neither was successful, leaving the fourth quarter tied at 60.
Smith and Joubran jumped out early with a layup each which gave the Bruins a four point advantage. Tech retaliated by taking the next six to take a two point lead. Smith hit a crucial three with one minute left which put the Bruins up 67-66.
With 4.8 seconds left an out of bounds ball was called in the favor of the Golden Eagles but after further review the call was reversed. Belmont would take the ball at half court up by one with less than five seconds to play.
After multiple fouls McCabe stepped up to the line knocking both down which gave the Bruins a three point advantage with three second left to play.
Tech did not back down as they hit a three on the inbound pass to tie the game at 69.
Tech jumped out to an early four point lead in the second overtime.
Two made free throws from Smith cut the Golden Eagle lead to two. Tech hit two free throws and went up by four but two more free throws from Smith had the Bruins trailing by only two and two free throws from Joubran tied the game once again.
Tech hit two free throws and took the lead but a massive three from Maggard gave the Bruins a one point advantage. Tech hit a jumper but another clutch play from Maggard left Belmont with the advantage, and only nine seconds to play.
The Golden Eagles were led by Yaktavia "Shug" Hickson with 23 points while Samaria Howard added 21 points.