SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Southeast Missouri 76, Tennessee State 66
@Jacksonville State 70, Morehead State 64
Eastern Kentucky 76, @Tennessee Tech 68
Belmont 65, @UT Martin 63
@Austin Peay 69, Eastern Illinois 59
SIUE 73, @Murray State 70
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 76, TENNESSEE STATE 66
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -Southeast Missouri women's basketball defeated the Tennessee State Tigers 71-66 in a Saturday matinee at the Show Me Center.
The first quarter featured an abundance of turnovers for both teams, the Tigers with nine and the Redhawks with seven. Both teams shot it well when they were able to take care of the ball, each shooting over 65 percent from the field.
At the end of the first quarter Southeast led Tennessee State 20-14.
In the second quarter, both teams shooting percentage dipped down to around 50 percent, but the turnovers kept being called at a high rate. Each team turned the ball over nine times in the second period.
At halftime, SEMO led the Tigers 31-22.
Southeast traded buckets with TSU to start the third, maintaining a small lead until about the four-minute mark when the Tigers cut the lead to just four points after a bucket by Tia Wooten. After that bucket though, Southeast answered with a 9-0 run to take a modest lead into the fourth quarter.
After three, Southeast was leading 50-42 over Tennessee State.
SEMO gradually extended its lead throughout the fourth quarter, eventually stretching the lead to 11 points with 4:32 to play. It was a this point when the Tigers flipped the switch; going on 14-2 run to tie the game at 66-66 with 47 seconds left.
Tesia Thompson reclaimed the lead for SEMO with a layup with 34 seconds left putting Southeast up two. TSU burned their last timeout and drew up a play to take the lead. However, Taylor Williams was off on her three-point attempt, giving the ball back to SEMO with 25 seconds left and a two point lead.
Tennessee State intentionally fouled Tesia Thompson and she split the pair, putting SEMO up three and giving the Tigers one last chance to tie the game. But, on the next possession, Maxine Beard was whistled for a travel, marking the 29th team turnover for the Tigers and giving the ball back to the Redhawks.
Thompson was fouled once more and hit the pair, leading to a five point SEMO victory. Thompson had 14 points in the fourth quarter for Southeast.
Southeast shot 47 percent from the field for the game and had 27 team turnovers.
Tesia Thompson ended the game with a career high 23 points after a huge fourth period. She also finished nine rebounds in the game.
Deja Jones had a very strong game for Southeast, ending with 21 points, nine rebounds and playing very strong defense throughout the game.
Tia Wooten led the way for the Tigers with 30 points.
This marks the Redhawks first win the OVC play this season, they are now 1-1 on the year in conference play, 6-8 overall.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 70, MOREHEAD STATE 64
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Southeast Missouri women's basketball defeated the Tennessee State Tigers 71-66 in a Saturday matinee at the Show Me Center.
The first quarter featured an abundance of turnovers for both teams, the Tigers with nine and the Redhawks with seven. Both teams shot it well when they were able to take care of the ball, each shooting over 65 percent from the field.
At the end of the first quarter Southeast led Tennessee State 20-14.
In the second quarter, both teams shooting percentage dipped down to around 50 percent, but the turnovers kept being called at a high rate. Each team turned the ball over nine times in the second period.
At halftime, SEMO led the Tigers 31-22.
Southeast traded buckets with TSU to start the third, maintaining a small lead until about the four-minute mark when the Tigers cut the lead to just four points after a bucket by Tia Wooten. After that bucket though, Southeast answered with a 9-0 run to take a modest lead into the fourth quarter.
After three, Southeast was leading 50-42 over Tennessee State.
SEMO gradually extended its lead throughout the fourth quarter, eventually stretching the lead to 11 points with 4:32 to play. It was a this point when the Tigers flipped the switch; going on 14-2 run to tie the game at 66-66 with 47 seconds left.
Tesia Thompson reclaimed the lead for SEMO with a layup with 34 seconds left putting Southeast up two. TSU burned their last timeout and drew up a play to take the lead. However, Taylor Williams was off on her three-point attempt, giving the ball back to SEMO with 25 seconds left and a two point lead.
Tennessee State intentionally fouled Tesia Thompson and she split the pair, putting SEMO up three and giving the Tigers one last chance to tie the game. But, on the next possession, Maxine Beard was whistled for a travel, marking the 29th team turnover for the Tigers and giving the ball back to the Redhawks.
Thompson was fouled once more and hit the pair, leading to a five point SEMO victory. Thompson had 14 points in the fourth quarter for Southeast.
Southeast shot 47 percent from the field for the game and had 27 team turnovers.
Tesia Thompson ended the game with a career high 23 points after a huge fourth period. She also finished nine rebounds in the game.
Deja Jones had a very strong game for Southeast, ending with 21 points, nine rebounds and playing very strong defense throughout the game.
Tia Wooten led the way for the Tigers with 30 points.
This marks the Redhawks first win the OVC play this season, they are now 1-1 on the year in conference play, 6-8 overall.
Miranda Crockett led the Eagles with 21 points.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 76, TENNESSEE TECH 68
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The Eastern Kentucky University women’s basketball team held Tennessee Tech University to just five made field goal attempts and scored 20 points off forced turnovers in the first half en route to a 76-68 win over the Golden Eagles Saturday afternoon at the Eblen Center in Cookeville.
The Colonels (4-7, 1-1 OVC) started the contest with great defensive intensity, holding Tennessee Tech without a field goal for the first 5:44 of the contest and allowed just two total in the first quarter. EKU ended the first period shooting 67 percent (10-of-15) from the field and held the Golden Eagles to just 18 percent (2-of-11). In addition, Eastern scored 14 points in the paint and forced TTU into seven turnovers, converting them into 11 points to open up a 22-9 advantage.
The defensive pressure continued into the second quarter, as EKU forced six more Tech turnovers and held the Golden Eagles to 3-of-10 shooting, taking a 35-17 lead into halftime.
Junior Abby Wright led the way for EKU, scoring a career-high 22 points on 6-of-11 shooting. The Murfreesboro, Tennessee native also connected on 4-of-6 from behind the arc and made 6-of-7 from the charity stripe. Junior A’Queen Hayes was not far behind in the scoring column, adding 20 points. It marked the first time two Colonels scored 20 or more points in a game since Jalen O’Bannon (23) and Shavontae Naylor (23) completed the feat on Feb. 1 of last season in an 80-71 win against Austin Peay.
EKU finished the game with 20 bench points, the second-most this season. The Colonels also forced Tennessee Tech into 19 turnovers and converted them into 29 points, a new season-high.
TTU (3-10, 0-2 OVC) found itself down 20 heading into the final period, but did not falter. A Jordan Brock jumper ignited a 10-0 Golden Eagle run to trim the deficit in half. Tennessee Tech would cut the lead to five with just 17 ticks on the clock after four-straight missed free-throws by the Colonels. EKU, however, would convert 5-of-6 free throws in the final 17 seconds to seal the win.
Tennessee Tech was led in scoring by Akia Harris, who scored 22 points. The Golden Eagles had four players in double-figures.
BELMONT 65, UT MARTIN 63
MARTIN, Tenn. - With just 43 seconds left on the clock, junior guard Darby Maggard (Larwill, Ind.) drained the go-ahead jumper to give Belmont women's basketball its first lead of the game. The Bruins would go on to squeak out a 65-63 victory over the Skyhawks Saturday evening inside the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.
While Maggard was responsible for clutch shooting down the stretch, senior center Sally McCabe (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) posted her second double-double of the season with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Senior guard Sierra Jones (Huntsville, Tenn.) joined the duo with a double-digit performance of her own, scoring 10 points.
The Skyhawks (5-9, 1-1) were charged by 19 points from Emanye Robertson who went 3-for-4 from three-point range. Kendall Spray and Chelsey Perry each put up 14 points to help give UT Martin the edge for most of the game. Collectively, the team hit 11 threes while shooting 46 percent from the floor.
UT Martin got out to a hot start, draining five threes in the first quarter as Belmont had to play catch up most of the frame. The Skyhawks put up the first five points before McCabe got the Bruins (12-3, 2-0) rolling with just her second trey of the season. The Mt. Juliet, Tenn. scored BU's first five points and led the squad with nine in the opening quarter, but an 8-1 run by UTM toward the end secured a 22-15 advantage for the Skyhawks.
Three different Skyhawks scored in double figures, highlighted by junior guard Emanye Robertson who scored a game-high 19 points while tallying four assists and a pair of steals. Meanwhile the underclassmen duo of Chelsey Perry and Kendall Spray would tally 14 points each.
Back-to-back Bruin threes from Maggard and Wright brought the team within five, 21-26, to open the second stanza before UT Martin went on another scoring frenzy. BU failed to make a field goal for more than three minutes as UTM pushed their lead to as many as 12 with 4:32 remaining in the half. However, the tables would turn as the Skyhawks wouldn't find the bottom of the net for the remainder of the stanza while the Bruins mounted a 9-0 run. McCabe halted BU's scoring woes with a jumper inside the paint, followed by a pair of quick buckets from Maggard and Jones. Belmont cut its deficit to three, 32-35, heading into the break.
The Skyhawks returned to the court and quickly put up seven unanswered points to go up, 42-32, on the Bruins just three minutes into the third frame. Jones rolled one in and junior Jenny Roy (Brentwood, Tenn.) hit one from three-point range to bring BU back within five. Nearly every time Belmont came within striking distance, UT Martin found a way to once again separate itself. Three consecutive threes from the Belmont made it a one-point game before another timely Skyhawk trey put them ahead, 54-50, heading into the final stanza.
UTM continued to maintain the lead as they went on another 6-0 run to start the fourth and make it a 10-point game, 60-50, with 7:52 left. Maggard refused to let the Skyhawks run away with it as she drained one from afar to keep the Bruins in it as the halfway mark passed in the fourth. A three-minute scoring drought from UTM gave BU one more chance to get back in and the squad capitalized. A key moment in the fourth was when Ellie Harmeyer (Kenosha, Wisc.) swiped the ball from a Skyhawk, the steal led to a fastbreak from Jones to bring the Bruins with two, 63-61, with 2:03 remaining in the game. Maggard once again came up big with a jumper that gave Belmont its first lead of the entire game, 64-63. Roy sealed the deal with a made free throw that kept Belmont perfect in OVC play.
AUSTIN PEAY 69, EASTERN ILLNOIS 59
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Eastern Illinois women's basketball falls to 0-2 in the OVC and 1-12 overall with a 69-59 loss at Austin Peay. Four players scored double-figures for the Panthers, but a six point second quarter led to their tenth straight loss of the season.
The Governors improve to 1-1 in the OVC and 8-5 overall.
The Panthers shot 43 percent from the field behind Taylor Steele's game-leading 19 points. Steele also recorded four rebounds, two assists, and two steals. EIU only shot 15.4 percent in the second quarter and were held to six points from Steele and Danielle Berry. Berry finished the game filling the stat sheet with 13 points, six boards, four assists, and three steals.
EIU outscored APSU in the paint 35-36. Jennifer Nehls scored six of her 10 points from the paint. She also connected on a three-point shot late in the fourth quarter to bring the Panthers within nine. Carmen Tellez was 4-of-7 from the field with 11 points and four assists for the Panthers.
Austin Peay won the rebound battle with a 43-31 margin over EIU. Nehls and Berry had six boards each while Grace McRae grabbed five. Falon Baker and Keisha Gregory each had nine rebounds for the Governors while Brianne Alexander finished with eight.
APSU had three players finish in double-figures. Brianah Ferby also had 19 points while Baker and Alexander added 12 and 11, respectively.
SIUE 73, MURRAY STATE 70
MURRAY, Ky. - Free throws down the stretch proved to be the difference Saturday as SIUE women's basketball improved to 2-0 in Ohio Valley Conference play with a 75-70 victory over Murray State at the CFSB Center.
Lauren White led the Cougars in scoring with 17 points, including 15 free throws made. Gwen Adams matched White with 17 off the bench. Donshel Beck pumped in 16 points. Sydney Bauman added eight on 4-of-4 shooting from the field.
SIUE next heads to Eastern Kentucky for a 4:30 p.m. CT contest Thursday in Richmond, Kentucky. The Cougars complete their six-game road swing next Saturday at Morehead State.
The Cougars, now 5-8 overall, pushed to the lead early. SIUE grabbed a nine-point lead in the first quarter on a three-pointer by Adams six minutes into the game.
Jay'Nee Alston, who had four points and five rebounds, ran the point guard position for the Cougars. She recalled pregame words from Coach Buscher to attack the basket.
Murray State, also 5-8, dropped to 1-1 in league play after a game that featured 69 free throw attempts. SIUE held that edge 37-32.
White made 10 of her career-best 15 free throws made in the fourth period. At one point, White had made 11 straight free throws.
Ke'Shunan James sparked Murray State with 33 points. Bria Bethea added 17.
SIUE won the battle on the boards 46-32. Five different players, led by Bauman's eight, had at least six boards.