THURSDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Kentucky 70, UT Martin 61
@Murray State 56, Tennessee Tech 50
@Austin Peay 61, Jacksonville State 69
Southeast Missouri 89, @Morehead State 79
EASTERN KENTUCKY 70, UT MARTIN 61
RICHMOND, KY. - Clutch second half shooting from Shameekia Murray propelled the Eastern Kentucky University women’s basketball team to a 70-61 win over the University of Tennessee at Martin on Thursday evening in McBrayer Arena.
UT Martin pulled out in front by four, 49-45, early in the fourth quarter on a lay-up by Chelsea Roberts. However, the Colonels scored four straight to tie the game for the eighth time. Lead changed hands five times over the next five minutes. Murray’s three-pointer from the top of the key with 2:35 left to play gave EKU the lead for good. The senior’s triple began a 9-1 run that turned a two-point deficit into a six-point lead, 63-57, with less than a minute to go. Murray scored seven of the nine points in the run.
Eastern Kentucky made 5-of-6 from the free throw line in the final 31 seconds to secure the victory. In the fourth quarter, the Colonels outscored UTM 25-14.
Murray contributed 15 of her game high 19 points in the second half.
The Colonels grabbed 44 boards, six more than the Skyhawks. Michaela Hunter led all players with 13 rebounds. Jalen O’Bannon was a close second with 11 to compliment her 15 points, notching her sixth double-double this season and her third in as many games.
UT Martin’s DaiJia Ruffin led her team with 17 points, followed by Jessy Ward with 13.
The Colonels were the first on the board, but the teams would exchange points for the remainder of the quarter. UTM came out of the gate on a 10-3 run to open the second. The run sent the Colonels into the locker room trailing by three at the half, 37-34.
During the third quarter the Skyhawks stretched their lead to 45-38, but with a jumper from Murray and two shots from freshman Abby Wright, EKU tied the game at 45 and trailed by just two heading into the final period.
MURRAY STATE 56, TENNESSEE TECH 50
MURRAY, Ky. - For the first time since 2007-08, the Murray State women’s basketball team is 2-0 in the OVC after the Racers recorded a 56-50 victory over Tennessee Tech Thursday at the CFSB Center.
Ke’shunan James led the Racers (6-7) with 19 points in the victory while LeAsia Wright added 15. Kyra Gulledge had a monster game on the glass, recording a career-high 21 rebounds on the night. The 21 boards are tied for the sixth-most for a single game in program history. Nine of those rebounds were on the offensive glass. Gulledge also added eight points and a block.
After a sluggish start to the game, MSU found itself down after the first period, 16-11. The Racers shot just 5-of-16 from the floor in the opening quarter, including 0-for-7 from 3-point range and 1-of-6 from the free-throw line.
Murray State really flourished however in the second and third quarters, outscoring the Golden Eagles (5-11, 1-2 OVC) 17-7 in the second to take a 28-23 halftime lead and pushed its lead to as many as 14 points, 41-27 with 4:59 left in the third. MSU outscored TTU 18-12 in the third. The Racers were able to hold on in the fourth quarter as they went scoreless the final 2:04 of the game. MSU led 54-40 with just 5:27 left to play before the Golden Eagles closed the game on a 10-2 run.
MSU shot just 36 percent (22-for-61) for the game and went 5-of-20 from 3-point range. The Racers were 4-of-10 from beyond the arc in the second half. Tennessee Tech shot 35.2 percent (19-of-54) from the floor and was 2-for-8 from distance. The Golden Eagles were 10-of-12 at the free-throw line while MSU went just 7-of-12.
The Racers held a 39-36 edge in rebounding in the win and had a 13-10 advantage in second-chance points. MSU also held a slim 22-20 lead in points in the paint and had 19 points off of 20 TTU turnovers. TTU scored 14 points off of 17 Racer turnovers. MSU turned the ball over five times in the final five minutes of the game to help TTU claw back into the contest.
Samaria Howard led Tennessee Tech with 28 points.
AUSTIN PEAY 61, JACKSONVILLE STATE 59
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Senior guard Tiasha Gray scored 12 of her 16 points in the second half and blocked a potential game-tyign shot to help Austin Peay State University women’s basketball team escape with a 61-59 Ohio Valley Conference victory against Jacksonville State, Thursday night at the Dunn Center.
Despite a listless first half performance, Austin Peay (4-11, 2-0 OVC) trailed by just eight points, 30-22, entering the break. The Govs used a 22-point third quarter – the best single-quarter scoring effort by either team – to tie the game briefly midway through the quarter but eventually resulting in a one-point, 45-44 deficit.
That set up a frantic fourth quarter that saw the teams trade the lead seven times – there were only two lead changes in the first 30 minutes. Austin Peay opened the quarter with an 8-2 burst led entirely by its frontcourt – junior forward Beth Rates, sophomore forward Sydney Gooch and junior center Tearra Banks.
Jacksonville State (6-9, 1-2 OVC) responded with the game’s next six points, courtesy back-to-back three-pointers by senior guard Courtney Strain and junior guard Briana Benson, to retake the lead 53-52. Gray then steped up with the game’s next six points and assisted on redshirt freshman guard Falon Baker’s three-pointer to give APSU a five-point, 61-56 advantage with 2:36 left.
Austin Peay would not score the game’s remainder, but Jacksonville State could not erase that five-point advantage. The Gamecocks hit a jumper then converted on one of two free throws on their next two possessions, but would not score again. Down the stretch, Gray led an APSU defense that stifled the JSU offense and capped the effort by blocking the game’s final shot as time expired to seal the win.
The second half largely erased a sub-par first half effort by Austin Peay. The Govs made just 28.1 percent (9-of-32) of its shots in the opening half and committed seven turnovers. In addition, APSU was without Gray – its leading scorer – for 10 minutes of the opening half due to foul trouble.
Yet for all of Austin Peay’s woes, Jacksonville State could not deliver a knock-out blow in the opening half. The Gamecocks would build a 12-point lead with 4:55 left in the second quarter. But Austin Peay head coach David Midlick gambled and put Gray back in to the game with two fouls. The hunch paid off as APSU halved the JSU lead in less than three minutes before settling on an eight-point, 30-22, halftime deficit.
Gray finished with a game-high 16 points despite struggling with her shot to the tune of a 6-of-23 shooting performance. Freshman Keisha Gregory chipped in career highs in points (11), rebounds (5) and assists (3) to help offset Gray’s woes. Baker added 13 points and four rebounds.
Strain led Jacksonville State with 15 points. Benson (13) and sophomore guard Gretchen Morrison (10) also reached double-digit scoring territory. That trio each had three three-pointers as Jacksonville State went 9-of-21 from three-point range. Sophomore forward Tyler Phelion added 11 points.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 89, MOREHEAD STATE 79
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Southeast Missouri remained undefeated in OVC play with a 89-79 win at Morehead State on Thursday.
The Redhawks had four players reach double-figures in scoring with Brianna Mitchell leading the way with21 points. Corneisha Henderson added 12 points while Erin Bollmann added 15 and Ashton Luttrull had 12. Connor King brought down a team-best nine borad in the win.
Shay Steel paced the Eagles with 20 points while Natalie Greenwell had 15 points. Eriel Mckee sored 14 points to go with a team-high eight boards. Brianna McQueen scored 13 points and dished out eight assists.