FRIDAY'S SCORES
@Bowling Green 77,
Eastern Kentucky 60
Northern Illinois 93,
@Eastern Illinois 64
@Jacksonville State 103, Brewton-Parker 44
@Southeast Illinois 84,
UT Martin 72
@Tennessee Tech 84, Tennessee-Wesleyan 66
@Louisville 80,
Southeast Missouri 40
@Oklahoma 96,
Belmont 73
@Memphis 79,
Tennessee State 75
BOWLING GREEN 77, EASTERN KENTUCKY 60
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Eastern Kentucky University women’s basketball team jumped out to a five-point first quarter lead, but could not overcome a second quarter run, as the Colonels fell to the Bowling Green State Falcons, 77-60, Friday night at the Stroh Center.
The Colonels (0-1, 0-0 OVC) ended the first quarter leading 15-10. However, the Falcons used a quick 9-0 run to start the second stanza to open up a 19-10 advantage. EKU then used a 7-2 run out of a timeout to reclaim the lead, but the Falcons connected on four-straight triples that triggered a 20-5 run over the next 4:18 to give them a 40-27 lead.
Eastern Kentucky ended the half on a 6-0 run, but another 8-2 Falcon spurt to begin the second half further extended their lead to 51-35.
Eastern would cut the Falcon lead to 10, when Madison Pierce knocked down a 10 foot jumper with 49 seconds left in the third quarter, but it is as close as the Colonels would come.
A’Queen Hayes made her Colonel debut and paced EKU with 13 points and grabbed four rebounds. Madison Wood came off the bench and scored a career-high 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting and finished tied in rebounding with six. Abby Wright poured in 11 points while shooting 3-for-5 from behind the arc and grabbed six boards.
The Falcons (1-0, 0-0 MAC) were led by Carly Santoro, who scored a game-high 30 points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
EKU outrebounded Bowling Green 37-32 and outscored them in bench points, holding a 32-13 advantage.
The Colonels will be back in action on Wednesday, Nov. 15 when they travel to take on Western Carolina. Tipoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. ET.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 84, UT MARTIN 72
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball placed three players in double figures in the team’s regular season opener before ultimately falling at regional rival Southern Illinois 84-72 on Friday night.
The Skyhawks (0-1) shot 41.9 percent from the floor and over 40 percent from beyond the arc, but it was the team’s 21 turnovers and a costly third quarter which proved to be the difference in the game. After falling behind early in the contest, the Skyhawks would charge back and take a lead in the second quarter, but a third which saw the Salukis outscore the visitors by 16 was too much to overcome.
Reigning Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year Kendall Spray paced the Skyhawks with 20 points – including 17 in the first half. Meanwhile the freshman duo of Chelsey Perry and Zaire Hicks joined Spray in double figures with strong collegiate debuts. Perry proved versatile, tallying 16 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists in 35 minutes of play. Hicks came off the bench and tallied 12 points, six rebounds and three steals to round out the trio of Skyhawks in double figures.
Southern Illinois (1-0) made the most of its home court advantage by shooting 52.7 percent from the field while knocking down eight three-pointers. Kylie Giebelhausen led all scorers with 25 points while Makenzie Silvey and Nicole Martin added 15 and 10 points, respectively.
Play would start out slow for the Skyhawks as the squad shot just 36 percent from the floor and committed seven early turnovers. With the shortfall, UT Martin would trail by as much as 11 midway through the period. After the big run, the Skyhawks would settle down by ending the quarter on a 5-0 run to trim the margin to 21-16 heading into the second.
The game would hover around the same margin midway through the period with the span reaching as large as seven. Following the media timeout, the Skyhawks would settle down and go on a 9-1 run highlighted by a back-to-back three-pointers by Spray to give UT Martin its first lead at 31-29 with 4:04 to play in the half. Despite outscoring SIU by three points in the second quarter, UT Martin would head into the half trailing 41-39.
Southern Illinois would take command of the contest in the third quarter, outscoring UT Martin 22-6 in the period. After the game saw a two-point margin at the half, the Salukis would open the third quarter on a 17-4 run to take a 15-point lead just six minutes in. With the large run by SIU, UT Martin would look to dig its way out of a 63-47 hole heading into the fourth.
UT Martin would begin to chip away in the fourth quarter to a sizeable margin but the hole would prove to be too deep. The Skyhawks would outscore the Salukis 27-21 as the freshman quartet of Hicks, Perry, Maddie Waldrop and Demi Burdick combined to score 24 of the team’s 27 points. A late push would be too little too late for UT Martin.
NORTHERN ILLNOIS 93, EASTERN ILLINOIS 64
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois women's basketball hosted Northern Illinois for the season opener Friday night. The Huskies walked away with a 93-64 win over the Panthers.
EIU and NIU hung close the first half of the first quarter trading baskets each possession. At the 4:41 minute mark, Janae Poisson hit a layup putting the Huskies up 13-11 an securing the lead for the remainder of the game. NIU's Kelly Smith led the first quarter with eight points shooting perfect from the field.
The Huskies' defense held the Panthers scoreless in the first six minutes of play and limited them to just 10 second quarter points with a field goal percentage of 15.8 percent. Grace Lennox led EIU with nine first half points, three assists, and three rebounds. NIU's Smith led all scorers with 13 points while shooting 6-7 from the field. The Huskies out rebounded the Panthers 26-13 in the first half and 49-33 for the game. NIU headed into half-time with a 16 point advantage over EIU.
NIU held a 22 point lead in the third quarter until Halle Stull had 11 third quarter points off the bench for the Panthers. Stull hit a three-pointer at the five minute mark followed by two more back-to-back threes later in the quarter to narrow NIU's lead to 17 points. EIU shot 40 percent from the behind the arc and held NIU's Smith to only five points in the third quarter.
Stull's third quarter rally was not enough to ignite the offensive spark in EIU as the Huskies pulled away with a 93-64 win on opening night. Lennox finished in double-digits for the night with 17 points while dishing out 7 assists and grabbing six rebounds. Danielle Berry added seven points and four rebounds for the Panthers. EIU shot 34.3 percent from the field only connecting on 24 of 70 field goal attempts.
NIU dominated the paint with 37 points to EIU's 25. Smith finished with 26 points and seven rebounds for NIU while shooting 11 of 15 from the field. Ally May grabbed 11 rebounds while Courtney Woods and Mikayla Voight added 13 and 14 points, respectively. The Huskies shot 58 percent from the field and 43 percent from behind the arc.
The Panthers continue their season on the road next week. They will play at Wright State on Tuesday Nov. 14 at 6 p.m.
OKLAHOMA 96, BELMONT 73
NORMAN, Okla. - Belmont women's basketball dropped its season opener to No. 22/21 Oklahoma, 96-73, at Lloyd Noble Center Friday night.
Three Bruins scored in double figures, led by 18 points from senior Sally McCabe (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.). The center was 6-12 from the field, boosted by a 6-8 performance at the line. McCabe was joined by junior guard Darby Maggard (Larwill, Tenn.) who recorded 14 points and senior guard Kylee Smith (Alpharetta, Tenn.) finished the night with 11. Smith led the team, along with junior Jenny Roy (Brentwood, Tenn.), in rebounds with both bringing down nine.
BU (0-1) struggled to find a rhythm early on as the Sooners outscored the Bruins, 29-12, in the first stanza. The hole proved to be too big to overcome, despite the squads efforts to fight their way back into the game. Belmont's slow start was largely contributed to a 1-11 effort from beyond the arc in the first half.
The Bruins found a way to quiet the Sooners in the second frame, holding OU (1-0) without a bucket for more than five minutes while going on a 9-0 run of their own. Smith scored five of her six first half points in the second quarter, while Maggard tallied BU's first and only three-pointer of the half. The team trailed, 49-29, heading to the locker room.
Oklahoma opened the second half scoring 10 unanswered points to put Belmont down 30 before it got things going. BU settled in and went on a run of their own, putting together an 11-0 run in a two-minute span. The scoring spurt was contributed by a trey from Roy and back-to-back jumpers from Maggard to give the Bruins new life.
Refusing to let up, Belmont outscored Oklahoma, 28-23, in the final frame behind 10 field goals. Sophomore guard Paris Lawson (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) hit back-to-back threes as the Bruins worked to claw their way back into the game. While they held the Sooners to just seven field goals, OU maintained a comfortable lead behind a 9-11 mark at the charity stripe.
The Sooners were aided by Vionis Pierre-Louis' 24 points to secure the 96-73 victory over the Bruins.
Belmont heads to Tulsa, Okla. To take on the Hurricanes on Sunday, Nov. 12 at Donald W. Reynolds Center. The game is slated to start at 2 p.m. CT.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 103, BREWTON-PARKER 44
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The Jacksonville State women's basketball team won its first season-opener since the 2010-11 season, and did it in dominating fashion reaching triple digits on the scoreboard for the first time in 10 years.
JSU (1-0) defeating NAIA Brewton Parker (2-2) 103-44, matching its points total from a double-overtime contest at Eastern Illinois on Feb. 1, 2007. After opening against The 59 point margin of victory is the largest since JSU topped the Barons last season by 63 in an 89-26 decision.
Junior transfer Brianna Perry shined in her official Gamecock debut with 14 points to lead the home team's scoring. Perry got the start alongside four seniors in Ki-Ki Patterson, Tasha Magruder, Tyler Phelion and Gretchen Morrison. The senior starters combined for 36 points to spark JSU's hot start which began with a 12-0 lead in the first two minutes and thirty seconds.
The Gamecocks reeled off 34 points in the opening period to signal what was to come for the rest of the night. Junior Rayven Pearson came off the bench for the first double-double of the year with 13 points and 12 boards. Meanwhile, Chloe Long returned for 12 points after missing last season with injury.
By halftime, Jax State was shooting 51-percent from the floor and owned a 61-26 lead. The Gamecocks displayed their depth in the second half, a facet of the game head coach Rick Pietri is pleased to have after a rash of injuries that past several season. A total of 14 Gamecocks found the scoring column and all 15 that played grabbed at least one rebound.
The Gamecocks quickly turn their attention to nationally-ranked Florida State who visits Pete Mathews Coliseum on Sunday, Nov. 12. The Seminoles also hung 100 on their opening opponent Friday night in a 109-51 victory over North Florida. Tip-off is set for 3:30.
MEMPHIS 79, TENNESSEE STATE 75
MEMPHIS, Tenn.- The Tennessee State women’s basketball team fell just short of an upset in the season opener, falling to the University of Memphis, 79-75 in overtime.
A steal and layup by Maxine Beard gave TSU a two-point lead with time winding down but Memphis answered with a bucket to force overtime. In the extra period, U of M hit two free-throws with 2.6 seconds left to seal the win.
Tia Wooten paced the Lady Tiger offense with a career 33 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double while freshman Taylor Roberts scored 13. Kaliya Griffin also reached double-digits with 12 points.
TSU shot 69.2 percent from the field and turned six steals into 12 points in the first quarter. The Lady Tigers led Memphis 23-18 at the end of the first period and extended the advantage to 30-18 in the second frame.
Trailing by double-digits, Memphis rallied by scoring 18 unanswered points to take the lead. UofM led, 38-32, at halftime.
TSU stayed within striking distance and was down, 53-50, heading into the fourth quarter before Tia Wooten pulled the Lady Tigers even.
With 14.9 seconds left, Maxine Beard drained a jumper to even the game 70-70. On the next play Beard picked the pocket of a Memphis guard and scored to give TSU a two-point edge. Memphis answered with .5 on the clock and the game went to overtime.
In an intense extra period, TSU was trailing, 77-75, when Memphis went to the free-throw line and made two free-throws to put the game out of reach.
The Lady Tigers have now dropped four straight to Memphis in the series.
The Lady Tigers will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 18 in the home opener versus Alabama A&M. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. in Gentry Center.
LOUISVILLE 80, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 40
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Southeast Missouri (1-0) women's basketball opened the season falling to ninth ranked Louisville (1-0) 80-40 in the first round of the preseason WNIT.
In the first half, the Redhawks struggled to take care of the ball. Turnovers and poor shooting dug the Redhawks into a deep hole, scoring just 5 points in the first quarter and 6 in the second.
Southeast headed into halftime down 42-11.
The Redhawks started out the second half much stronger, but weren't able to put any sort of dent in Louisville's lead. The Cardinals only outscored the Redhawks by three points in the third quarter, but it was far past the point where trading baskets would get SEMO back in the game.
Southeast kept showing some fight in the quarter, but ultimately ended up falling 80-40.
As a team, Southeast shot 29 percent from the field and had 28 turnovers that led to 33 points for Louisville.
The Cardinals finished the game shooting 48 percent from the field and 44 percent from the three-point line, connecting on 8 attempts.
Tesia Thompson, in her first ever regular season NCAA game, led the way for the Redhawks with 10 points and eight rebounds.
Adrianna Murphy added 8 points and 3 assists for Southeast.
For Louisville, Jazmine Jones led the way with 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists. The Cardinals had three double digit scorers off the bench in Dana Evans (11), Kylee Shook (11) and Bionca Dunham.
With this loss, Southeast will move into the consolation bracket of the Preseason WNIT. Southeast will head to a host school for a game on Nov. 17 and Nov. 18. The location and times of those games will be announced tomorrow.
TENNESSEE TECH 84, TENNESSEE-WESLEYAN 66
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Recap coming soon.