WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 120, Brescia 41
Butler 88,
@Murray State 59
Eastern Kentucky 62, @Western Carolina 59
@Belmont 74, Fort Wayne 42
@Jacksonville State 93, Stillman 38
MOREHEAD STATE 120, BRESCIA 41
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Behind the largest margin of victory in in program history, Morehead State women's basketball defeated Brescia (Ky.) 120-41 in the Matthew Mitchell Classic on Wednesday afternoon at Johnson Arena.
With the lopsided win, the Eagles improve to 2-1 on the season. Brescia falls in its third straight matchup after opening the season 2-0.
Brescia started out the scoring when senior guard Haley Cook connected on a three-pointer just over a minute after the opening whistle. Morehead State forward Brooke Todd grabbed her own miss and nailed a midrange jumper on the next possession, before Darianne Seward's three-pointer at the 7:07 mark propelled the Eagles to a lead that would not be relinquished.
Morehead State dropped 30 points in the second quarter, equaling its largest first-half output in school history with a 56-17 lead at the break. The second half was even more dominant, as the Eagles' 64 points set a new program record for most points in a half. In total, MSU hoisted a record 98 field goal attempts, knocking down 50 (.510).
Erin Blaine earned Most Valuable Player honors, scoring 25 points on 11-for-13 (.846) shooting. The 5-foot-11 former Howard transfer added 10 rebounds for the first double-double of her Morehead State career.
Reigning Ohio Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week Tierra McGowan continued with a historic beginning to her career as an Eagle, logging 26 points, 20 rebounds (12 offensive), three assists, two steals, and one block in the win. The junior from Chicago has pulled down at least 10 offensive boards and 16 total rebounds in each of her three games this season, becoming the first Morehead State player since Ashar Harris in 2010-11 to record at least 20 points and 20 rebounds in one contest.
Seward finished the game with 18 points, nine assists, four rebounds, and three steals. Senior forward Eriel McKee tallied 13 points, six boards, five assists, and four steals, while freshman Ashlei Lopez rounded out the double-digit scoring with 10 points on two three-point field goals. Todd and Miranda Crockett grabbed 11 rebounds apiece.
Morehead State will take a break from the Matthew Mitchell Classic before hitting the road for its first of back-to-back away games. The Eagles host North Florida (1-1) on Friday at 6 p.m. ET. Morehead State defeated the Ospreys 84-65 on the road last season.
BUTLER 88, MURRAY STATE 59
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State women's basketball team struggled to get its offense going Wednesday morning at the CFSB Center in the Racers' home opener, losing to Butler 88-59.
The Racers (0-2) shot just 32.2 percent from the floor and went 5-of-26 (19.2 percent) from 3-point range in the loss. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs (2-0) shot a blistering 61.4 percent and went 6-of-12 from deep.
Butler scored the first 14 points of the game before a Jasmine Borders corner 3-pointer got MSU on the board with 5:02 left in the first quarter as BU went on to lead 19-7 after one. The Bulldogs were able to extend their lead even further in the second period and led 38-18 at halftime. Butler extended its lead to as high as 37, 76-39 with 6:46 left in the game.
The Bulldogs outscored MSU 44-20 in points in the paint as they used their size advantage to great effect in the contest. BU also out-rebounded the Racers 40-28 and had a 17-4 edge in second-chance points.
Ke'Shunan James led the Racers with 21 points and eight boards on the day. It is James' fifth consecutive 20-plus point outing dating back to last season and 8-of-9 overall. Bria Bethea added 15 points and Borders chipped in with 12 and went 3-of-6 from 3-point range.
MSU returns to action Saturday night at 6 p.m., as Northern Kentucky comes to town. Last season in Highland Heights, the Racers defeated the Norse 72-69 in overtime
EASTERN KENTUCKY 62, WESTERN CAROLINA 59
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The Eastern Kentucky University women’s basketball team held off a late run and defeated the Western Carolina Catamounts, 62-59, to earn its first win of the season Wednesday afternoon at the Ramsey Center.
Eastern found themselves with a comfortable 45-35 lead heading into the fourth quarter. However, over the course of the period, the Catamounts slowly chipped away at the lead. After Shay Solomon calmly sank two-free throws to make the score 60-54, Western Carolina went on a quick 5-0 run to pull within one, 60-59 with nine seconds remaining.
On the next possession, EKU found Bria Bass open and was immediately fouled. The freshman, who had missed two-straight free-throws earlier in the game, drained the pair with seven seconds on the clock. The Catamounts had one last chance to tie, but freshman Emely Rosario played excellent perimeter defense to disrupt the shot as the clock expired.
Junior Abby Wright led the way for the Colonels (1-1, 0-0 OVC) with 18 points, one away from her career-high. She also grabbed four rebounds and tied a career-high with three steals. Junior A’Queen Hayes earned her first start as a Colonel and scored 14 points, pulled down nine rebounds, and dished out five assists.
Also, Solomon recorded a career-high 10 points and 11 rebounds, her first career double-double. Bass rounded out Colonels’ who scored in double-figures with 10 points. It marked the first time four Colonels’ finished a game in double figures since Feb. 22 last season against Jacksonville State.
The Colonel defense was a force all afternoon, holding the Catamounts to just 36 percent shooting for the game. They also came away with six steals, five blocks, and forced 13 turnovers.
EKU found itself up 16-11 at the end of the first quarter, but Wester Carolina went on a 6-0 run over the next 2:30 to go up 17-16. After a bit of back-and-forth play, the score was knotted at 19, when Wright converted a three-point play that sparked a 7-0 Colonel run to end the half with a 28-21 lead.
The Colonels scored first in the second half, but the Catamounts went on a quick 6-2 run to cut the Eastern lead to four, 31-27. Moments later after an EKU timeout, Bass hit three’s on back-to-back possessions, followed by scores from Wright and Hayes to give Eastern its largest lead of the game at 41-27.
Western Carolina (1-2, 0-0 SoCon) was led by Kyia Hough and Lauren LaPlant, who scored 12 apiece for the Catamounts.
The Colonels will be back in action for their first home game on Saturday when they take on UNC Greensboro. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET. EKU Athletics will be accepting canned food donations at its home basketball games through Nov. 25. Fans can receive one free ticket with each donation of a canned food item.
BELMONT 74, FORT WAYNE 42
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Belmont women's basketball welcomed its 2017-18 home campaign with a 74-42 victory over Fort Wayne Wednesday night at the Curb Event Center behind senior Sally McCabe's (Mt. Julietm Tenn.) first double-double of the season.
The victory marked head coach Bart Brooks' first career win inside the friendly confines of the Curb, moving Belmont (2-1) to 16-7 in home openers since becoming a Division I program. Belmont saw double digit scoring efforts from three players, led by McCabe's 18 points and 12 rebounds. The center was joined by senior guard Kylee Smith (Alpharetta, Ga.) with 15 points and junior guard Maura Muensterman's (Evansville, Ind.) career-high 14 points.
The Bruins put forth a balanced contribution in the first half with six different scorers. The veteran duo of Smith and McCabe led the scoring with six points a piece. Belmont ended the first stanza on an 8-0 run that was powered by back-to-back threes from Smith and Muensterman. While they continued to stay hot to open the second frame with four quick buckets, they hit a standstill in the middle of stanza suffering a four-minute scoring drought that resulted in eight unanswered points for the Mastodons. Despite struggling to score late in the half BU had a coushion that allowed them to take a 32-21 lead into the locker room after junior Darby Maggard (Larwill, Ind.) drained her lone three of the night with eight seconds left.
It took little time for the Bruins to get back on track as they went 6-for-7 from the field to start the third quarter. The streak ignited a 13-2 run that gave them an 18-point advantage, a lead that they would only stretch throughout the frame. BU ultimately outscored Fort Wayne (1-2), 23-11 in the third to lead the Mastodons, 55-32, with a quarter remaining.
Ahead, 61-39, with 5:49 left in the game, Belmont refused to let up as senior guard Sierra Jones (Huntsville, Ala.) snagged a 50/50 ball from a Mastodon guard and stretched the floor for an open layup. The squad continued to roll throughout the fourth, scoring 19 points to secure a 74-42 win over Fort Wayne.
The Mastodons were led by Jaelencia Williams who had 12 points and six rebounds.
Belmont continues its home stand next week, hosting Samford on Tuesday, Nov. 22. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 93, STILLMAN 38
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Jacksonville State defeated visting Stillman on Wednesday night. With the win the Gamecocks improved to 2-1 on the season.
The Gamecocks had six players reach doule-digits in points with Tyler Phelion leading the way with 13. Gretchen Morrison and Tayhor Hawks each had 12 points while Ki-Ki Patterson and Morgan Towells added 11 points each. Rayven Person recorded 10 points and a team-best 13 rebounds.
Jackosnville State will be back in action on Monday when they host Rhode Island.