SUNDAY'S SCORES
Morehead State 82, @Evansville 75
IUPUI 68,
@Tennessee Tech 54
@#17 Missouri 78,
SIUE 48
@Kansas 51
, Southeast Missouri 50
MOREHEAD STATE 82, EVANSVILLE 75
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Thanks to a combined 56 points from its starting backcourt, Morehead State women's basketball (7-3) climbed back from a 20-point deficit to defeat Evansville (2-6) by a score of 82-75 on Sunday afternoon.
Sunday's win marks the Eagles' first all-time victory over Evansville, handing the Purple Aces' their first loss at the newly renovated Meeks Family Fieldhouse since the turn of the century.
Morehead State got off to a sluggish start after the opening tip, digging a 24-12 hole at the end of the first quarter. Once Evansville scored six straight to begin the second, Morehead State regrouped via timeout and corroborated a halt to the Purple Aces' one-sided momentum for good.
Trailing by as much as 20 less than three minutes into the second quarter, the Eagles strung together 14 unanswered points and concluded the first half on 16-1 run. Evansville led 38-33 at the break.
Down 59-58 entering the final period, Darianne Seward's floater in the lane gave Morehead State its first lead of the game at 62-61 with 8:44 to go. The score continued to waver in back-and-forth fashion, coming to a head at 75-73 in favor of the Eagles with 22 seconds remaining.
MSU center Tierra McGowan stepped to the free throw line and sank 1-of-2 attempts, giving Morehead State a three-point cushion at 76-73. However, Evansville junior Kelsi Scott was charged with an unsportsmanlike foul on McGowan's second attempt, sending Seward to the line for two more tries and allowing the Eagles to regain possession. Seward connected on both attempts, icing the contest with four additional free throws in the final minute alone. UE senior Brooke Dossett scored one last layup with 10 tics left on the scoreboard, but Morehead State held on for its fifth straight victory.
Seward finished the game with a career-high 31 points on 5-of-13 (.385) shooting from three-point range, joining McGowan as the only Eagles to record 30-point outbursts this season. Reigning Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week Miranda Crockett continued her hot streak with 25 points on 10-of-15 (.667) attempts from the floor, complemented by eight boards and four steals. McGowan snapped her streak of nine consecutive double-digit-rebound performances, but ended up with 15 points, eight boards, three steals, and two blocks.
Morehead State is set to embark on a week-long road trip starting this weekend, heading to the Empire State for two games before making its way down to Morgantown, W. Va. for a nationally ranked matchup. First, the Eagles will take on Canisius (2-6) on Saturday, Dec. 16 at 2 p.m. ET. The Eagles defeated the Golden Griffins 77-68 at Johnson Arena last season.
IUPUI 68, TENNESSEE TECH 54
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee Tech fell to IUPUI 68-54 on Sunday afternoon in the Hooper Eblen Center, taking a step back after its win over Cumberland on Thursday had snapped a six-game losing streak.
Turnovers, an issue Tech (2-7) has dealt with in nearly all of its games so far, were the team's Achilles' heel once again against IUPUI (7-2). Tech totaled more turnovers (20) in the first half than points (19) and attempted shots (18), and the Golden Eagles headed into the locker room with a 20-point deficit at which to chip away.
Tech improved tremendously after halftime, turning over the ball just seven times and outscoring the Jaguars 35-29. But the hole the Golden Eagles dug themselves to start the game was too deep to overcome.
Tech's only scorers on Sunday were its five starters, with two scoring in double-digits. Freshman MacKenzie Coleman was a bright spot for Tech throughout the game, collecting career-highs of 17 points and four blocks to pace the team in 37 minutes of play. She's scored in double-figures in two of Tech's last three games.
After six turnovers and no points in the first half, Kesha Brady collected herself at halftime to score 15 points with no turnovers in the remainder of the game.
The long gap between games comes at a perfect time for Tech to focus on Tech.
Tech will have an extended break until its next game, which will be Tuesday, Dec. 19 at 11 a.m. CT versus Winthrop. Tech will hold its first Education Day, a new initiative that has been implemented in schools around the Ohio Valley Conference, and has invited schools around the Upper Cumberland area to attend the game.
MISSOURI 78, SIUE 48
COLUMBIA, Mo. - No. 17-ranked Missouri won its ninth straight game Sunday, defeating SIUE 78-48 at Mizzou Arena.
The Cougars, now 3-5, were down by nine points at halftime (37-28) despite allowing 20 points to Missouri honorable mention All-American Sophie Cunningham in the opening 20 minutes.
The Tigers went on a 13-0 run midway through the third quarter after a three-pointer by SIUE's Jay'Nee Alston with 6:42 to play.
Cunningham added 15 points in the second half to finish with a game-high 35 points for the Tigers, which improved to 9-1. Cunningham hit seven three-pointers while shooting 11 of 16 from the field.
Missouri shot 46.5 percent from the field while holding SIUE to 25.8 percent shooting.
Buscher said the Cougars have the potential to play well on both ends of the floor for the full 40 minutes.
Gwen Adams led SIUE in scoring with 12 points off the bench. The Cougar senior now needs 19 points to become the 25th player in school history to score 1,000 career points.
Sydney Bauman grabbed a team-high seven rebounds despite the Cougars being outrebounded 46-32.
SIUE now has a full week between games. Next up for the Cougars in a Dec. 17 matchup against Northern Illinois at the Vadalabene Center. Game time is 2 p.m.
KANSAS 51, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 50
LAWRENCE, Kan. - Southeast Missouri fell short on the road to Kansas, 51-50, on Sunday night. With the loss, the Redhawks fell to 4-7 on the season.
Ashton Luttrull led Southeast Missouri with 15 points, including hitting a trio of three-pointes. Adrianna Murphy dished out a team-best eight assists and brought down seven rebounds. Madny Madded added eight points and eight rebounds.
The Redhawks will have the next week off and will return to action when it hosts Evansville on Dec. 19.