SATURDAY'S SCORES
@George Mason 57,
Southeast Missouri 38
@Eastern Illinois 79, Evansville 52
Northwestern 71,
@UT Martin 63
@Eastern Kentucky 70, UNC Greensboro 59
Alabama A&M 77,
@Tennessee State 75
@Murray State 98, Northern Kentucky 87
GEORGE MASON 57, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 38
FAIRFAX, Va. - Southeast Missouri women's basketball fell to host school George Mason 57-38 in its final game of the Preseason WNIT.
The contest started out as a defensive battle, with each team having over 12 turnovers and shooting under 30 percent in the first half. Southeast struggled to put the ball in the hoop early, making just two field goals in the opening quarter. The Redhawks were down 11-4 at the end of one.
In the second period, Southeast shot the ball much better. However, they were unable to gain any ground on the Patriots as they continued to get easy buckets. Southeast trailed George Mason 24-15 at the half.
The second half started out very similar to the first, with each team struggling to take care of the ball. About halfway through the third quarter, however, each team began to find their groove offensively. SEMO stayed within striking distance, but remained down by a small margin as they continued to trade baskets with the Patriots throughout the rest of the quarter. At the end of three, the Redhawks were trailing the Patriots 30-38.
George Mason opened the fourth quarter with three triples in the first three minutes of the period, stretching the lead to double digits early. Southeast couldn't gain any ground back throughout the quarter, dealing with some tough calls. George Mason was able to extend their lead to 19 points and win the game.
In her second-straight game off the bench, Ashton Luttrull led the way for the Redhawks with 18 points. She's been averaging 15 points per contest since switching to a reserve role. Kennedi Allen had a career high 4 blocks on the day.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 79, EVANSVILLE 52
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Five players scored in double-digits Saturday afternoon to power Eastern Illinois women's basketball to their first win this season. The Panthers defeated visiting Evansville 79-52.
The Purple Aces came out hot in the first quarter connecting on eight field goals with two from behind the arc. Brooke Dossett led Evansville with six first quarter points while Hannah Noe and Kerri Gasper each added five. Grace McRae scored seven for the Panthers, but Evansville entered the second quarter with an 18-13 lead.
The Panthers stepped up their defense in the second quarter holding the Purple Aces to only five points. They were held scoreless for five minutes while the Panthers took the lead. EIU capitalized on Evansville's eight turnovers converting them into nine points. EIU ended the game with 13 points off turnovers.
EIU entered the third quarter with a seven point advantage over the Purple Aces. Taylor Steele came off the bench for the Panthers connecting on 3-of-4 field goals and three rebounds. Jennifer Nehls scored seven points for EIU and shot 50 percent from their field in the third quarter. The Panthers bench score 27 points to the Purple Aces' eight behind Steele's career and season high 10 points. Lana Marov added seven.
Grace Lennox shot a perfect 4-4 from the field in the fourth quarter helping extend the Panthers lead. EIU shot 64.7 percent from the field and 66.7 percent from behind the arc in the fourth quarter leading them to their 79-52 win over Evansville. Dossett finished with a game high 17 points for Evansville while Gasper added 11 points and four rebounds.
Four of the Panthers' starters finished with double-digit points. Lennox finished with a team high 14 points and dished out eight assists. Danielle Berry set career highs in two categories with 12 points and eight rebounds. Nehls added 12 points while McRae finished with 11 points and five rebounds.
EIU scored 40 of their points in the paint and out-rebounded Evansville 47-32, while shooting season highs from the field and behind the arc with 41.8 percent and 31.6 percent, respectively.
NORTHWESTERN 71, UT MARTIN 63
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball team pushed Big Ten Conference member Northwestern to the brink on Saturday afternoon before ultimately falling just short in its comeback attempt 71-63.
The Skyhawks (1-2) showed good fight against a Power Five opponent in the Elam Center as the squad forced 22 turnovers and held a lead as high as four points. Facing a deficit as large as 10 points in the final quarter of play, UT Martin held tough and trimmed the margin to as close as four points before its comeback attempt finished just short.
UT Martin had four players score in double figures with Chelsey Perry and Myah Taylor leading the way with 14 points each. Sophomore Kendall Spray notched 12 points on the afternoon while Janekia Mason also tallied 12 points to round out the squad in double figures.
Northwestern (3-0) saw two players score in double figures to lead the way. Lydia Rohde scored a game-high 22 points while Abi Scheid also eclipsed the 20-point plateau with 21 points and eight rebounds. Pallis Kunaiyi-Akpanah paced all players with 10 rebounds.
Northwestern would look to take control of the game early with a strong first quarter and five points in the first 66 seconds. The contest would stay even after the opening run before the Wildcats turned up the defensive intensity to stretch the margin from four points to 10 late in the quarter. At the end of the first quarter of play, Northwestern would take a 17-9 advantage into the second.
After the opening minutes of the second quarter saw the margin remain in double figures, UT Martin strung together a quick 12-2 run over three minutes following a trio of three-pointers from Taylor, Spray and Perry to trim the deficit to a single possession. The Skyhawks would ultimately take their first lead of the contest following another 6-0 run to take a 30-28 advantage with 2:18 to play in the first half. With the strong play to end the quarter, UT Martin took a 32-20 lead into the locker room.
Both teams would exchange shots in the third quarter with Northwestern narrowly outscoring UT Martin 19-18 in the period. The Skyhawks would lead by as much as four points in the third before the Wildcats posted a 5-0 run of their own to post a four-point advantage as well. With the even play, UT Martin would hold a 50-49 advantage after three quarters.
Northwestern would pull away in the fourth quarter by outscoring UT Martin 22-13. A 7-0 run over two minutes proved costly as the Wildcats built a 10-point advantage with just under three minutes to play. The Skyhawks would make a late run, trimming the deficit to as close as four points before ultimately falling 71-63.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 70, UNC GREENSBORO 59
RICHMOND, Ky. - A’Queen Hayes, Abby Wright, and Joya Smith netted career-highs and helped lead the Eastern Kentucky University women’s basketball team past the UNC Greensboro Spartans, 70-59, in McBrayer Arena Saturday night.
Hayes, who scored 23 points, has improved her scoring in every game this season; besting her previous high of 14 that came against Western Carolina this past Wednesday. Smith logged a career-high 28 minutes off the bench on her way to her career-high eight points on 4-of-7 shooting. Also, Wright netted 19 points and tied her career-high she set her freshman season.
The Spartans (3-1, 0-0 SoCon) would score the first points of the game, but it would be the last time they would lead. After the score, the Colonels responded with a quick 6-0 run to jump out in front. UNC Greensboro would battle back to tie it at 8-8, but a Wright three-point play sparked a 9-2 Colonel run that extended into the second quarter to open the game up.
EKU (2-1, 0-0 OVC) finished the game shooting a season-best 48 percent from the floor against a Spartan defense that led the nation in field goal percentage defense coming into the contest. The Colonels also outrebounded the Spartans, 34-28, dished out twice as many assists (18-9), and forced UNCG into 15 turnovers that led to 23 points.
UNC Greensboro was led by Nadine Soliman, who scored a game-high 25 points. She finished 11-of-12 from the foul line.
After a back-and-forth third stanza, Soliman scored five straight points to cut the EKU lead to 12 midway through the fourth quarter. On the next possession, Madison Pierce grabbed one of her team-high seven rebounds and found Wright at the top of the key. She proceeded to make her only three of game, sparking a 7-2 run over the next 3:15 to give Eastern its biggest lead of the game, 66-50.
ALABAMA A&M 77, TENNESSEE STATE 75
NASHVILLE - The Tennessee State women’s basketball team overcame a 23-point deficit but ultimately fell to Alabama A&M, 77-75, on a last second shot in the home opener.
Tia Wooten led TSU (0-2) with 24 points while Taylor Roberts came off the bench to post 18 points and nine rebounds. Alabama A&M had two players to reach double-digits.
TSU outscored Alabama A&M (2-1) in every quarter, except the second stanza in which the visitors had a decisive 30-11 showing. The Lady Tigers managed to get back into the game but were not able to complete the comeback.
MURRAY STATE 98, NORTHERN KENTUCKY 87
MURRAY, Ky. - Ke’Shunan James poured in a career-high 37 points and broke the program record for most free throws made in a single game as she went an incredible 20-for-20 at the line, as the Murray State women defeated Northern Kentucky 98-87 Saturday night in Murray, Ky., and gave Head Coach Rechelle Turner her first collegiate win. James also set the school record for most makes in a single contest without a miss. Both feats broke the old mark of 18 held by current MSU assistant Amber Guffey.
The Racers used a 34-point fourth quarter and went on a 12-2 run over a 3:23 stretch late in the period as they extended a 78-77 lead with 4:43 left to 90-79 with 1:21 remaining. MSU was then able to salt the game away with eight free throws in the final minute-plus of action.
The first three quarters of action saw a back-and-forth affair as there were 10 ties and 17 lead changes in the first 30 minutes before the Racers were able to take control the latter half of the fourth.
For the game, the Racers shot 31-of-36 from the line for an 86.1 percent clip while the Norse (0-3) went 20-of-27 (74.1 percent). The Racers shot 50.9 percent from the floor while NKU shot 50.8 percent. MSU also hit 11 3-pointers to NKU’s seven.
In addition to her 37 points, James also added nine assists, five steals and five rebounds. The nine assists ties a career-best for her. Bria Bethea added 19 points and six boards while Abria Gulledge added 17 and hit four 3-pointers and Jasmine Borders chipped in with 13 and made three from beyond-the-arc.
The Norse were able to get a big advantage on the glass against the Racers, out-rebounding MSU 38-25 and had a 19-9 edge in second-chance points and 44-32 advantage in points in the paint. The Racers’ pressure defense however made a big difference as they forced 24 Norse miscues, leading to 30 points.