WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
Ball State 85,
@Tennessee State 65
Southern Illinois 79,
@Southeast Missouri 74
@#22 Kentucky 86,
Morehead State 53
@Akron 62,
Eastern Kentucky 45
BALL STATE 85, TENNESSEE STATE 65
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -The Tennessee State University women’s basketball team fell to Ball State, 85-65, Wednesday afternoon in Gentry Center.
TSU fell to 0-3 on the season while BSU remained undefeated (5-0).
Freshman Taylor Roberts led TSU with 20 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double while Tia Wooten scored 12. Asia Sims scored a career-high 10 points for the Lady Tigers.
Tennessee State was outscored in all except the fourth quarter.
The game was tied when Ball State used an 8-0 run to create some distance.
TSU used a 6-0 spurt to close the gap but the visitors outscored the Lady Tigers 11-2 to move ahead by double-digits.
At the half, TSU trailed BSU, 41-26. The Lady Tigers opened the second half with a 7-2 run to cut the deficit down to 10 but the Cardinals managed to build a 20-point advantage just before the third period ended.
TSU continued to fight but could not overcome the deficit.
TSU scored under 75 points for the first time this season
Tennessee State will conclude its home stand on Monday, Nov. 27 with a contest against Troy. Game time is set for 6 p.m. in Gentry Center.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 79, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 74
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri women's basketball was defeated 79-74 in overtime by the nearby Southern Illinois Salukis on Wednesday afternoon.
The game to start was a defensive battle, neither team letting the other score anything easy. SIU shot 25 percent while the Redhawks had 9 turnovers in the opening quarter. The score was tied 10-10 at the end of one.
In the second period both team's offenses began to click. The Salukis ball movement led to a lot of easy buckets for them, as they took at 34-25 lead into the half.
Halfway through the game, Southern Illinois had all but one player score for them. Adrianna Murphy led the way for the Redhawks with six points and two assists through the first two quarters.
In the second half, the Redhawks offense really came alive. After continuously trading baskets the first half of the third quarter, Kaley Leyhue knocked down three big three-pointers over a span of two minutes that helped the Redhawks tie it 44 at the end of the third.
The fourth quarter was a battle, with each team trading the lead back and forth throughout the quarter. SIU managed to stretch the lead to five at 67-62 with four minutes left, but the Redhawks answered with excellent defense leading to a couple open shots they knocked down.
The Redhawks were tied 68-68 and were on defense with 19 seconds remaining. SIU tried to execute a pick and roll but the pass was thrown too strong, the ball went out of bounds to the Redhawks with four seconds left.
Adrianna Murphy went the entire length of the floor and a good look at the hoop, but it was just short, sending the Redhawks to their first overtime game this season.
In the overtime period, Southeast got up 74-70 quick, however, it was all downhill for the Redhawks from there. The Salukis rattled off nine unanswered points the last 3:15 to secure a 79-74 win.
Adrianna Murphy led the way for the Redhawks with 19 points (career high), eight rebounds and five assists.
Kaley Leyhue netted a career high 17 points including five three pointers, also a career best.
Tesia Thompson had a nice bounce back game, chipping in 15 points and six rebounds.
As a team Southeast shot the ball well at 45 percent. However, they were unable to contain the Salukis, who shot 49 percent including 40 percent from three.
The Redhawks will play next on Friday when they host the SEMO Thanksgiving Classic. Bradley, Evangel and Nicholls State will be traveling to Cape Girardeau to compete in the tournament. Southeast will take on Evangel on Friday and Bradley on Saturday, both games at 3:15.
KENTUCKY 86, MOREHEAD STATE 53
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Taking on a nationally ranked opponent in its first road test of the season, Morehead State women's basketball (2-3) finished off the Matthew Mitchell Classic with an 86-53 loss to No. 22 Kentucky (5-0) on Wednesday afternoon at Memorial Coliseum.
Shooting woes proved to be the Eagles' crux in the performance, as Morehead State hoisted a season-low 18-for-66 (.273) from the floor. Kentucky connected on 31-of-55 (.564) attempts, including a red-hot 10-of-17 (.588) from three-point range.
Senior forward Eriel McKee led the way for the Eagles, logging 13 points and six rebounds in 32 minutes as a starter. 6-foot-3 center Tierra McGowan pulled down 10 boards, marking a fifth straight double-digit-rebound performance to open her Morehead State career.
Morehead State is back in action this weekend, hitting the road to Chicago for the second of back-to-back contests away from home. The Eagles tip off at Chicago State on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET. Morehead State defeated the Cougars 63-55 at Johnson Arena in 2016-17.
Morehead State is back in action this weekend, hitting the road to Chicago for the second of back-to-back contests away from home. The Eagles tip off at Chicago State on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET. Morehead State defeated the Cougars 63-55 at Johnson Arena in 2016-17.
AKRON 62, EASTERN KENTUCKY 45
AKRON, Ohio - The Eastern Kentucky University women’s basketball team fell to the Akron Zips, 62-45, on Wednesday at the James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron, Ohio.
EKU (2-2, 0-0 OVC) outscored the Zips in second half, 29-26, and rattled off a 12-4 run to end the third quarter to make the game interesting, kick stared by Madison Pierce free-throws to end the period. However, the final would be as close as the Colonel’s would come.
Reigning Ohio Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week A’Queen Hayes led the way for the Colonels, pouring in a game-high 16 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Shay Solomon also added a career-high 14 points on 7-of-13 shooting.
The Colonel defense held Akron to just 35 percent shooting from the floor and came away with seven steals.
Akron (2-2, 0-0 MAC) opened the game on a 6-0 run. After an EKU timeout, Solomon rebounded her own miss to stop the run. However, the Zips went on a quick 5-0 run to hold an 11 point advantage, 16-5, after one quarter.
The teams traded scores to begin the second stanza, making the score 26-14. Then, Akron rattled off a 10-0 run to open the game up.
Akron was led in scoring by Greta Burray, who contributed 14 points.
The Colonels will be back in action on Saturday, when they travel to take on the Cincinnati Bearcats. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET.