WEDNESAY'S SCORES
@Belmont 56, Jacksonville State 42
@Eastern Illinois 64, Austin Peay 56
Tennesse Tech 64, @Tennessee State 56
@UT Martin 95, Southeast Missouri 65
Murray State 79, @SIUE 76
EASTERN ILLINOIS 64, AUSTIN PEAY 56
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois shot 52 percent in the second half as the Panthers picked up an 64-56 win over Austin Peay on Wednesday night at Lantz Arena. The Panthers defense also stepped up in the second half holding APSU to 25 percent shooting.
EIU won its second straight to improve to 3-21 overall, 2-10 in the OVC. APSU fell to 7-18 overall, 5-7 in the OVC.
The score was tied at 28-28 after Jalisha Smith ended the half for EIU with two free throws. APSU had grabbed a two point lead on a jumper in the paint by Tearra Banks.
EIU used a 7-0 run midway through the third period to open up the score. Halle Stull started the run with a 3-pointer followed by jumpers by Phylicia Johnson. EIU led 43-36 with 3:27 to play in the third period. Johnson was one of two EIU players in double figures finishing with 15 points.
Grace Lennox had a pair of baskets to open the fourth period as EIU led by ten points with 8:07 to play. The lead would grow to 12 points on free throws by Johnson.
APSU cut the margin to three points with 4:02 left in the game as Tiasha Gray converted a lay-up. The two teams exchanged free throws before Shakita Cox put EIU up for good with a 3-pointer with 2:52 to play. Cox scored the final four points for EIU in the game finishing with a team high 16 points.
Beth Rates led APSU with 16 points. Sydney Gooch had a double-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds. Gray finished with 13.
BELMONT 56, JACKSONVILLE STATE 42
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Belmont University women's basketball team (17-7, 9-2) cruised to its ninth-consecutive victory as it defeated Jacksonville State 56-42, Wednesday evening at the Curb Event Center. Belmont is now 12-0 at home.
Sally McCabe (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) paced the Bruins in points with 14 and rebounds with 13 as she notched her fourth double double the season. Darby Maggard (Larwill, Ind.) scored 11 points on a trifecta of three pointers and Lauren Thompson (Franklin, Tenn.) rounded out the Bruin double digit point scorers with 10 points.
Belmont's streak of nine straight wins is its longest consecutive victories streak since 2006-07 since it won 10 in a row.
The Bruins were in the control for the entire game as they never trailed. Belmont held the Gamecocks to just 27.6 percent shooting from the field and 23.1 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
Freshman Jenny Roy (Brentwood, Tenn.) collected eight rebounds for the Bruins.
Jacksonville State would cut the Belmont lead to just five points, early on in the final quarter at 40-35. The Bruins responded with seven-straight points to grow their lead back to 12 with 5:40 remaining. A Maggard pull up transition three pointer gave Belmont a 50-35 lead and forced the Gamecocks to a call a timeout. BU would not take its foot off the gas from this point forward as it never trailed by less than 13 from this point forward to close out the game.
Jacksonville State led an early charge out of the second half gate to trim the BU lead to eight at 32-24 at the 4:54 mark of the third quarter. After Belmont stretched its lead back to double digits, the Gamecocks finished the quarter hitting their final three shots and narrowed the deficit to just 40-33. Belmont looked to McCabe early and often in the third frame, and the 6'3 sophomore cashed in with seven points on 3-of-5 shooting.
Belmont held the Gamecocks to just six first quarter points, the fewest points given up in a quarter since the Bruins limited Alabama A&M to just two in the fourth quarter on Nov. 24. At the first quarter media timeout, Belmont led JSU 10-2. In the Jan. 20 matchup at Jacksonville, BU scored five points in all of the first quarter. Maggard found her rhythm from beyond the arc early, as she knocked down a pair of triples to help BU jump out to an early advantage.
At the half, Belmont held a 27-15 advantage over the visiting Gamecocks. The Bruins' 15 points allowed were the fewest they have conceded in a half all season and they held Jacksonville State to just 21 percent shooting from the field. All eight Bruins to see action in the first half scored, Maggard and Smith paced the BU offense with six points apiece.
Freshman Chloe Long sparked 18-point third quarter with 10 points in the 10-minute session. The Hazel Green, Alabama post player was the lone Gamecock in double figures with 13 points and grabbed a eight rebounds, two blocks and a steal in 34 minutes of action.
TENNESSEE TECH 64, TENNESSEE STATE 56
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A big second and fourth quarter surge gave the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team (8-17, 4-8 OVC) the momentum they needed to secure a 64-56 victory over Tennessee State (10-15, 5-7 OVC).
The Golden Eagles came out on fire in the second quarter off of a 14-12 lead from the first. Tech went on a 9-0 run to pull ahead 23-12, holding the Tigers scoreless in the second until the 5:54 mark when TSU's Jordan Brightwell hit a jumper from the top of the key. The Tigers tried to gain some momentum in the latter half of the quarter hitting five buckets with less than three minutes to go in the quarter and pulled the game within seven at 35-28 going into halftime.
Despite Tech opening the third quarter with a three from Howard and a layup from Smith, TSU made a strong campaign for a comeback. The Tigers began to close the gap with under four minutes to go in the quarter when they pulled within three at 42-39 with 3:54 to go. A three from Diamond Beatty followed by a layup from I'mani Davis tied up the game at the end of the third at 44, putting the pressure on the Golden Eagle squad.
Another surge in the fourth quarter helped give Tech the push they needed. The Golden Eagles opened the quarter with a bucket by Howard who drew the foul and went to the line to put down another and give Tech the 47-44 lead. Tiger foul trouble helped secure a Golden Eagle victory allowing Tech to make 10-of-11 free throws in the fourth quarter, while holding TSU to just 12 points to Tech's 20 in the quarter.
The Golden Eagles shot 38.6 percent from the field compared to the Tigers 33.9 percent for the game. Tech outrebounded TSU 44-36, but the Golden Eagles gave up 13 turnovers to the Tigers eight. Howard led the Golden Eagles with 18 points and six rebounds, while Alliyah Smith tied her career high with 13 points and added eight rebounds to the Tech win. Jayda Johnson led the Tigers with a game-high 23 points and eight rebounds.
MURRAY STATE 79, SIUE 76
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - On a night where Shronda Butts became the 22nd player in school history to score 1,000 points it was the Murray State Racers who left victorious, slipping past SIUE women's basketball 79-76 at Vadalabene Center.
SIUE dropped consecutive games for the first time since late December and is now 14-11 overall and 9-3 in the Ohio Valley Conference. Murray State improved to 9-14 overall and 5-7 in the OVC.
Butts scored 29 points to lead all scorers and was one of three SIUE players to score in double figures. She now has 1,001 points in less than two seasons with the Cougars.
Donshel Beck scored a career-high 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds. CoCo Moore scored 13 points and led the Cougars with nine boards.
A true back-and-forth game, the contest featured 12 lead changes yet was tied only once. The Cougars carried a 20-19 lead into the second period but trailed 38-33 at halftime, despite connecting on 51.9 percent (14-27) of their shots through the first 20 minutes.
SIUE built as much as a four-point lead in the third period when Beck knocked down a free throw to complete a three-point play with 5:20 left in the period.
Murray State scored six of the last eight points in the third period and led 57-56 heading into the fourth.
The visitors never trailed in the final period, but the Cougars made things interesting down the stretch.
With the Racers leading 77-72 following a Ke'Shunan James layup, the Cougars took over with 1:51 to play. Butts missed a three-pointer, but SIUE got the ball back thanks to a Murray State foul, when Butts missed another three, the Cougars' Gwen Adams hauled in the rebound. Sidney Smith tried to drive the ball, but her shot was blocked. Moore finally found the hoop from the left baseline to cut the lead to 77-74 with 43 seconds to play.
On the ensuing inbounds play, Moore was able to steal the ball but was stripped by Murray State's LeAsia Wright before she could get a shot off. Wright tried to keep the ball from going out of play and threw it to Beck, who laid it up and in for SIUE, trimming the Racers' lead to 77-76. It was as close as the Cougars would come.
James led the Racers with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Kyra Gulledge scored 19 points and pulled in 11 rebounds. Abria Gulledge scored 12 points and Jasmine Borders scored 10.
UT MARTIN 95, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 65
MARTIN, Tenn. - Southeast Missouri women's basketball (14-11, 7-5 OVC) dropped its second-straight game Wednesday evening at Ohio Valley Conference leader UT Martin (17-7, 10-1 OVC), 95-65.
Deja Jones put up a double-double performance in Wednesday's game with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Jones' double-double is the first for the Redhawks since she had a double-double against Central Arkansas on Dec. 13. Jones was a perfect 6-for-6 from the field.
Six Skyhawks reached double-figures in points with Katie Shubert leading the way with 21 points. Chelsea Roberts scored 18 points while Myah Taylor added 15 points. Jessy Ward had 14 points while Shy Copney chipped in 11 points and Emanye Robertson scored 10.
Turnovers plagued the Redhawks in the first quarter of the contest. The Redhawks committed 13 turnovers, mainly the result of a full-court press by the Skyhawks. UTM converted those turnovers into eight points.
Tied at six, the Skyhawks put up eight unanswered points to go up 14-6. Ashton Luttrull hit the Redhawks' second 3-point bucket to cut the Skyhawk lead to 19-11.
The Redhawks went scoreless the remainder of the period as UTM dished out 12-straight points. The Skyhawks hit six 3-pointers in the first 10 minutes.
The first quarter ended with the Skyhawks on top, 31-11.
Southeast and UT Martin went toe-to-toe in the second quarter. Down 26 points, the Redhawks went on a 10-point tear to cut the Skyhawk lead to 39-23.
Southeast didn't commit a single turnover in the second quarter and kept the Skyhawks to just three 3-pointers.
Bri Mitchell put up eight second-quarter points to finish with 11 total points at halftime including hitting all three 3-point shots she took.
Twelve of the Redhawks' 13 available players played in the first half. Three Redhawks had four rebounds each in the half.
Erin Bollmann single-handedly opened the third quarter with nine-straight points to open the period 9-2 on UTM and cutting the lead to 13, 52-39.
Luttrull hit her second 3-pointer of the game to cut the Skyhawk lead to 10, 62-52, with 2:58 to play in the period.
The third quarter ended with a good jumper by Adrianna Murphy. UT Martin led the Redhawks 70-55.
Southeast outscored the Skyhawks 25-20 in the period. The Redhawks shot 52.9% from the field in the quarter.
The surging Redhawk offense was quieted in the fourth quarter. Eight early points by UTM put the Skyhawks back up by 20. The Skyhawks continued to widen the gap as they outscored Southeast 25-10 in the frame.
Southeast fell to UT Martin by a final score of 95-65. UTM's 95 points is the most given up by the Redhawks this season.
Bollmann finished the game with 15 total points. She fouled out of her second-straight game with 4:15 to play. Mitchell went scoreless in the second half to finish with 11 in the game. Mitchell distributed a team-high six assists.