TUESDAY'S SCORES
Austin Peay 55, @Alabama A&M 52
@Belmont 83, Samford 46
@Lipscomb 65,
Murray State 64
@Arkansas State 84,
UT Martin 73
@SIUE 79, Saint Louis 72
AUSTIN PEAY 55, ALABAMA A&M 52
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – With just one day of rest between games, Austin Peay State University won a defensive battle against Alabama A&M by a score of 55-52, Tuesday afternoon.
The Govs had their earliest tip of the season, and the team came out cold in the first few possessions, before Falon Baker and Keisha Gregory took control of the Governors offense, combining for 13 of the Govs 14 first-quarter points. Gregory scored seven points in the first quarter going 2-3 from the field and a perfect 2-2 at the line, with Baker shooting 3-6 from the field tacking on two rebounds to go with her six points.
The Govs struggled to keep the Lady Bulldogs off the glass in the second quarter, as the Bulldogs pulled down seven rebounds and scored nine second-chance points, compared the Governors four. Turnovers kept the Governors from being able to run their half-court offense, as the Govs coughed up the ball 12 times in the first half.
Leading into the half, the Governors defense was put to the test as the Lady Bulldogs began to get hot from the field, scoring 18 points in the second quarter. Despite turnovers and cool shooting the game was tied at 27 heading into the half.
Coming out of the break, forwards Brianne Alexander and Kelen Kenol started owning the glass, on both ends of the floor. Alexander had three defensive rebounds and 10 points in the second half, while Kenol had six rebounds and six points to help the Governors regain the lead early in the fourth quarter
The Govs kept trading baskets with the Bulldogs late into the final period. Alabama A&M guard DeShawna Harper hit a three pointer with less than a minute remaining to bring the Bulldogs within one. Alabama A&M resorted to intentional fouling to get more offensive possessions, but Falon Baker calmly stepped up to the stripe and hit two clutch free throws, before Bri Williams came down with the game-sealing rebound with just seconds left in the game, giving the Govs their first road win of the season.
Gregory led the Governors in scoring with a career-high 17 points and eight rebounds. Baker and Alexander also scored in double figures, with 13 and 10 points respectively. Kenol added six points and six rebounds, while senior point guard led the Govs with four assists.
Brianah Ferby scored all five bench points for the Governors in her 18 minutes on the floor, adding two steals and one assist in her fourth career game.
The Govs will take the court again after the holiday break 3 p.m., Sunday, against Lipscomb.
BELMONT 83, SAMFORD 46
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Belmont women's basketball kicked off its Thanksgiving break with an 83-46 victory over Samford Tuesday evening inside the Curb Event Center.
The Bruins (3-1) enjoyed an even scoring contribution with eight players scoring and four reaching the double-digit plateau. Senior guard Kylee Smith (Alpharetta, Ga.) led the way with 18 points, three rebounds and a pair of assists. Smith has scored double figures in each of Belmont's first four games this season. The squad's victory moves them to 29-1 in the Curb over the last three years.
Hannah Nichols led the scoring for Samford (2-3) with 11 points, the only Bulldog to score more than nine. Samford shot 18-for-58 from the field with four threes. Belmont dominated the boards, outrebounding the Bulldogs, 51-21, with junior duo Jenny Roy (Brentwood, Tenn.) and Maddie Wright (Chattanooga, Tenn.) each collecting nine.
Three Bruins had double-digit scoring performances in the first half, led by Smith's 13 points. Darby Maggard (Larwill, Ind.) and Sally McCabe (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) followed close behind with 11 and 10 points, respectively. The squad finished the first quarter on a 14-1 run over the final four minutes to separate themselves from the Bulldog's, 24-9.
They drained seven of their first eight shots in the second stanza, including a stretch where the Bruins hit four consecutive three-pointers. After a quiet start behind the arc, BU found its stroke in the second quarter with junior guard Maura Muensterman (Evansville, Ind.) igniting the streak. Belmont finished the half going 5-for-9 from long distance to extend its lead, 48-17, at the break. The team's 48 points in a half are the most they've tallied in the young season.
Muensterman continued to be a spark plug for the Bruins, hitting back-to-back three-pointers as Belmont sunk another four treys in the opening four and half minutes of the second half. For the second straight game the Evansville, Ind. native tallied four threes, this time going 4-for-6 from afar.
Belmont led for the entire game with its largest differential of 38 points coming in the third stanza. Eight different players logged more than 14 minutes on the hardwood in the suqad's third consecutive victory.
Belmont heads to Las Vegas for the Play4Kay Showcase, Nov. 23-25 at Mandalay Bay. The Bruins will face Gonzaga on Thursday, Nov. 23 at 10 p.m. CT for the nightcap.
ARKANSAS STATE 84, UT MARTIN 73
JONESBORO, Ark. – A costly third quarter proved to be too much to overcome for the University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball team in its road contest at regional rival Arkansas State, ultimately falling 84-73 in the Convocation Center.
The Skyhawks (1-3) struggled to find critical stops down the stretch, including a third quarter which saw the team be outscored by nine points. Along with the defensive struggles, the Skyhawks uncharacteristically shot just 27.8 percent from beyond the arc.
Freshman Chelsey Perry led the way for the Skyhawks with a career-high 18 points while matching a career-best with seven rebounds. Junior Myah Taylor chipped in 13 points while senior Janekia Mason notched 12 points to round out the Skyhawk trio in double figures.
Arkansas State (2-2) saw four players score in double figures led by Jada Ford’s 23 points off the bench. The team’s leading scorer Akasha Westbrook tallied 18 points, five rebounds and three steals while the pair of Payton Tennison and Peyton Martin notched 11 points each.
Neither team would find much separation in the opening quarter of play as the two teams combined for 11 turnovers. The Skyhawks would hold a lead as high as five points in the quarter but the Red Wolves would scrap back with mini runs of their own to keep the deficit within reach. At the end of the first, Arkansas State would hold a 14-13 margin.
UT Martin would find a bit of space midway through the second quarter. Behind a 7-0 run over two minutes of action, the Skyhawks would take an eight-point lead. Much like in the first quarter however, Arkansas State would respond with a quick run of their own to tie the game at 29 late in the first half. With the alternating runs taking command of the game, UT Martin would hold a slim 38-37 margin heading into halftime.
Arkansas State came out of the halftime break looking to take control of the contest with five quick points to take yet another lead before later stretching the team’s lead to as large as eight midway through the quarter. Both squads would trade baskets throughout the rest of the quarter before the Red Wolves took a nine-point lead into the final quarter of play.
The fourth quarter would prove to be high scoring but the Skyhawks would fail to substantially trim the team’s deficit in the final period. The Skyhawks would cut the margin to as close as six points, but a scoring drought would prove to be the team’s downfall, ultimately falling 84-73.
UT Martin will return to action following the Thanksgiving holiday when playing host to Western Carolina on Sunday, Nov. 26. Tipoff from the Elam Center is scheduled for 2 p.m. in the front end of a doubleheader.
LIPSCOMB 65, MURRAY STATE 64
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A cold night shooting from all over the floor Tuesday in Nashville cost the Racers as they fell, 65-64 to Lipscomb. MSU shot just 35.4 percent from the floor in the loss while the Lady Bisons shot 36.5 percent.
The Racers (1-3) also went just 9-of-16 at the line for a 56.3 percent clip. MSU entered the game fourth in the nation shooting 85.7 percent from the line.
The first three quarters of the contest were defensive struggles as neither team shot very well from the floor. The Lady Bisons (2-4) led 41-39 entering the fourth quarter. Both teams found some offensive rhythm in the fourth as the Racers scored 25 points and LU had 24.
LU led by as many as eight on two separate occasions in the fourth, including 59-51 with just 2:32 left to play. A three from Bria Bethea and a lay-in by Brianna Crane cut the deficit to 60-56 with just over a minute to play. After a pair of free throws from Lipscomb, a jumper by Ke’Shunan James and another layup by Crane made it 64-60.
Trailing 65-61, Bethea hit another three to make it 65-64 with just two seconds to play and after a pair of misses at the line from LU, Bethea grabbed the rebound but couldn’t get a shot up before the final buzzer sounded.
Bethea led the way with a game-high 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting including going 5-of-11 from 3-point range. James scored 19 points and added a career-best 17 rebounds to go along with four assists. Abria Gulledge added 13 points in the loss.
The Racers out-rebounded an opponent for the first time this season as they had a 51-42 advantage on the glass. MSU also had a big 20-4 edge in second-chance points while outscoring the Lady Bisons 22-16 in the paint. LU was able to score 17 points off MSU turnovers while the Racers scored 11 off miscues. The LU bench also had a 12-0 edge in points.
MSU led at halftime 26-25 thanks to three 3-pointers from Bethea in the final 2:35 of the half. The Racers trailed 21-15 with 4:10 left to play in the second period.
Friday sees the Racers return to action as they travel to face fourth-ranked Louisville in a noon tip, central time.
SIUE 79, SAINT LOUIS 72
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE defeated visitng Saint Louis on Tuesday night. With the win the Cougars improved to 2-1 on the season.
Aaliyah Covington and Maddison Gits led the Cougars with 15 points each. Jackie Kemph added 13 points to go with nine assists on the night. Tara Dusharm had 10 points off the bench for SIUE.
SIUE returns to action on Monday when it travles to Southern Illinois.