FRIDAY'S SCORES
@Southeast Missouri 72, Evangel 60
@#4 Louisville 115,
Murray State 51
#14/9 Stanford 74,
Belmont 53
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 72, EVANGEL 60
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri women's basketball defeated the Evangel Crusaders 72-60 to kick off the SEMO Thanksgiving Classic.
Evangel got off to the early lead, shooting 58 percent from the field including a perfect two for two from the three-point line in the first period. Southeast got off to a slow start the first five minutes, but got into a rhythm offensively at about the four-minute mark.
Evangel led Southeast 17-13 at the end of the first quarter.
SEMO remained in a groove offensively in the second quarter, shooting 50 percent as a team. The Redhawks used a 15-0 run, holding Evangel scoreless for over six minutes, to take a 30-23 lead into half. Tesia Thompson scored seven points in the period.
Southeast showed some full court pressure in the third quarter, forcing seven turnovers from Evangel, leading to easy buckets. Adrianna Murphy chipped in seven points and two assists in the period.
At the end of three, SEMO led 55-46.
In the fourth quarter, Southeast forced another five turnovers and limited Evangel to just 37 percent shooting. LaTrese Saine had six points in the final period.
As a team, the Redhawks forced 22 Evangel turnovers.
Saine finished with 15 points and six rebounds in the game, both career highs for the 6-4 forward.
Adrianna Murphy filled the stat sheet up again; ending with nine points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Ashton Luttrull continues to play well off the bench, having 10 points and five assists on the game. Mandy Madden finished with a season high 11 points.
Southeast will battle Bradley tomorrow afternoon at 3:15 at the Show Me Center to conclude the SEMO Thanksgiving Classic.
LOUISVILLE 115, MURRAY STATE 51
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The fourth-ranked Louisville Cardinals lived up to their billing Friday afternoon as the Cardinals defeated Murray State 115-51 at the KFC Yum! Center.
The Cardinals’ (6-0) pressuring full-court press proved to be lethal as they forced the Racers (1-4) into 26 turnovers, scoring 35 points off those turnovers. U of L also used its height advantage to out-rebound MSU 58-26 and tallying a 28-5 advantage on second-chance points.
Abria Gulledge led the Racers with 18 points in the loss as she hit a season-best four 3-pointers in the game. Ke’Shunan James added 13 points and eight boards as she was the only other Racer to score in double figures.
Louisville shot 55.3 percent in the game and held the Racers to just 29.5 percent shooting and 9-of-34 (26.5 percent) from beyond the arc. MSU was also just 6-for-13 from the free-throw line. The Cards went 14-for-17.
U of L jumped on MSU early in the contest as it opened with a 17-5 run the first six minutes of the game and led 29-8 after the first quarter. The Cards built their lead up to 57-22 at halftime. In the third, Gulledge got hot and hit a trio of 3-pointers to cut the deficit to 63-34 with 5:39 left in the period. Louisville would lead by 38 at the end of the third.
MSU returns home to the CFSB Center as Bethel (Tenn.) comes to town for a 6 p.m., contest Monday. The game was originally scheduled to be played December 14 before it was moved up the Nov. 27.
STANFORD 74, BELMONT 53
LAS VEGAS - Belmont women's basketball put together a gritty performance against No. 14/9 Stanford in the semifinals of the Play4Kay Showcase Friday night at the Mandalay Bay Event Center. The Bruins hung around for the first half before the Cardinal proved to be too much, defeating BU, 74-53.
Junior guard Darby Maggard (Larwill, Ind.) led the way for the Bruins with 13 points as well as a team-high six rebounds. Veteran teammate Kylee Smith (Alpharetta, Ga.) was the only other Bruin to tally double digits with 10 points. Belmont (4-2) drained 11 three-pointers with Maggard sinking three, marking the third time this season that BU has hit at least 10 threes in a game.
Stanford (4-2) relied on junior forward Alanna Smith who posted a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Smith ignited the Cardinal offensive spurt in the third quarter, recording 12 points in 10 minutes. Alexa Romano followed smith with 11 points.
The Bruins didn't let a slow start to the game deter them from taking on the nationally ranked Cardinal squad. Stanford got out to a quick 11-0 lead as Belmont struggled to find an answer in the opening five minutes of the game. The squad then kicked it into gear, hitting four consecutive threes to make it a two-point game at the end of the first stanza.
Smith tied the game up, 18-18, with a layup to start the second quarter. From there both squads traded baskets, including back-to-back treys from Maggard. Stanford once again attempted to separate itself, scoring seven unanswered points to go up, 37-29, with 3:17 left in the half. Junior Jenny Roy (Brentwood, Tenn.) came up big on Stanford's next possession, rejecting a Cardinal driving to the basket. Maggard hit a jumper on BU's next trip down the floor to spark an 8-0 Bruin run that left the game tied, 37-37, at the half.
Belmont stuck around for the early goings of the third quarter with the help of five consecutive points from Smith who kept the Bruins within striking distance before the Cardinal took control of the game. Stanford held BU to two points over the next 10 minutes while scoring 14 unanswered points to go up by 15 in the third quarter.
Junior guard Maura Muensterman (Evansville, Ind.) broke up Stanford's run with a three at the beginning of the final quarter, but BU would continue to struggle from the field for the remainder of the game. A trey from Ellie Harmeyer (Kenosha, Wisc.) and a jumper from Maddie Wright (Chatanooga, Tenn.) sparked BU's offense a little too late as time expired. Collectively, Belmont put up 16 points in the second half after recording nine in the final stanza.
Belmont will take on Florida Gulf Coast Saturday, Nov. 25 at 7:30 pm CT at the Mandalay Bay Event Center.