FRIDAY'S SCORES
Southeast Missouri 82, Saint Francis 50 (Fairfax, Va.)
North Florida 61,
@Morehead State 56
@East Tennessee State 74,
Tennessee Tech 55
@SIUE 76, Air Force 40
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 82, SAINT FRANCIS 50
FAIRFAX, Va. - Southeast Missouri women's basketball defeated Saint Francis 82-50 on Friday as part of the Preseason WNIT.
Southeast got off to a hot start, grabbing an early 15-2 lead after holding Saint Francis scoreless for almost the first four minutes. The strong defense remained throughout the quarter. At the end of the first period, SEMO led 23-4 holding Saint Francis to six percent shooting from the field.
The Red Flash offense started coming together in the second quarter, but could not gain any ground on the Redhawks with Southeast shooting 53 percent from the field.
Southeast took a 42-23 lead into the half behind 15 points from Tesia Thompson. Ashton Luttrull also had 12 points in the first half including two three-pointers. The Redhawks limited the Red Flash to just seventeen percent shooting from the field and zero three-pointers in the first two quarters.
Southeast started the third quarter with 16-4 run, breaking down the Saint Francis defense at will. Kaley Leyhue knocked down two three-pointers in the period.
SEMO kept Saint Francis under 20 percent shooting for the third consecutive period, leading to a 61-35 Redhawks advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
Saint Francis showed some aggression early in the fourth quarter, but Southeast was able to answer every time. The Redhawks would go on to win the game 82-50, its second straight 30-point win.
It was a very strong defensive performance for the Redhawks. For the game, SEMO limited Saint Francis to 23 percent shooting from the floor and forced 21 turnovers. As a team, they had 13 steals and seven blocked shots, and outrebounded the Red Flash 45-37.
Tesia Thompson had her first career double-double for the Redhawks, with 18 points and 11 rebounds. She also chipped in six assists. Ashton Luttrull came off the bench after starting the first two games and scored a season high 18 points with two three-pointers. Kaley Leyhue came in and really helped space the floor knocking down three three-point shots in the game, finishing with 11 points.
NORTH FLORIDA 61, MOREHEAD STATE 56
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Coming off the second-highest scoring total in program history last Wednesday, Morehead State (2-2) hit a roadblock in the form of the North Florida Ospreys (2-1) Friday night at Johnson Arena. The Eagles were unable to overcome 21 turnovers and ultimately fell 61-56.
The Eagles came bursting out of the gate to begin play, starting with a 7-0 run. However, Morehead State would go cold and finish the final 2:12 of the opening quarter without a field goal. North Florida led 21-15 at the end of the first.
MSU struggled again in the second, experiencing a scoreless stretch of 4:35. The Eagles defense held strong though, and Morehead State trailed 30-25 heading into halftime.
Back-to-back three pointers from Eriel McKee and Darianne Seward opened the third quarter, giving the Eagles a one-point lead. A second Seward three at the buzzer would propel the Eagles to a 46-38 advantage to finish the quarter.
The offensive struggles that haunted Morehead State in the first half would return in the fourth quarter. Two separate droughts of over two minutes apiece, including a stretch of no field goals over the final 3:45 of the contest, ultimately handed Morehead State its second loss of the season.
Seward and Miranda Crockett both collected three steals to lead the Eagles, with Brooke Todd and Tierra McGowan turning away three UNF shots apiece. McGowan led Morehead State in rebounding with 10 boards, marking her fourth consecutive game with double-digit rebounds.
Erin Blaine tallied 15 points for the Eagles, leading the offensive attack. Blaine was complemented by McKee, Seward, and Crockett, who scored 12 points each.
EAST TENNESSEE STATE 74, TENNESSEE TECH 55
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - There was no denying East Tennessee State's dominance Friday night, as the Buccaneers defeated Tennessee Tech 74-55 on their home court and dropped the Golden Eagles to 1-2 on the season.
Tech was overwhelmed by the Buccaneers' quickness, athleticism and physicality, and it showed on the stat sheet. ETSU (3-1) dominated the rebounding battle 49-25 and collected 29 points off turnovers compared to Tech's 19 (although both teams each had 28 turnovers). The Bucs also totaled 21 second-chance points, while Tech had eight.
Senior guard and Johnson City native Tianna Tarter continued to have Tech's number, as she put up 30 points and 10 rebounds against Tech in Cookeville last season. Although Tarter wore a face mask to protect her broken nose, an injury she suffered at Tennessee on Sunday, she didn't play timidly. Tartar scored 13 points and also collected six steals and two rebounds. Freshman guard Erica Haynes-Overton led for the Bucs with 16 points and seven rebounds.
Jordan Brock led for Tech in her first career start, collecting 12 points and two rebounds.
SIUE 76, AIR FORCE 40
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - A quick start sent the SIUE Cougars to a convincing 76-40 victory over Air Force in their women's basketball home opener Friday at the Vadalabene Center.
The Cougars scored the game's first 15 points and never looked back in improving to 1-1. Air Force, which didn't score for nearly the first six minutes of the game, made only 18 of 69 shots overall and fell to 0-3.
Senior Donshel Beck and junior Sydney Bauman led the way. Beck, honored before the game for becoming the 24th SIUE player to score 1,000 career points, punched in a team-best 13 points. Bauman snared 15 rebounds and contributed 11 points for her fourth career double-double. Freshman Christen King pitched in 10 points.
No fewer than a dozen Cougars scored as SIUE made 23 of 52 shots, including 4 of 11 from three-point range. The Cougars also converted 26 of 39 free throws and outrebounded Air Force 57-33. SIUE led 33-14 at half and once owned a 38-point advantage in the second half.
Beck enjoyed the pre-game ceremony, where she was awarded a basketball for her scoring milestone.
Courtney Porter's 13 points led Air Force, which has lost 57 of its last 62 games. The Falcons were 4-25 last season.