THURSDAY'S SCORES
@UT Martin 90, Rhodes 49
@Ball State 69,
Southeast Missouri 56
@Tennessee Tech 83, Cumberland 52
Central Michigan 94,
@SIUE 56
UT MARITN 90, RHODES 49
MARTIN, Tenn. - University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball sophomore guard Kendall Spray notched a piece of program history on Thursday afternoon, knocking down a school single-game record with 11 three-pointers en route to a 90-49 victory over Rhodes College.
The Skyhawks (4-5) closed out the home portion of the team’s non-conference schedule with an offensive outburst behind the sharpshooting Spray. After posting three performances which finished just shy of the program record of nine three-pointers set by former Skyhawk greats Heather Butler and Jasmine Newsome, Spray finally surpassed the mark by knocking down 11-of-18 three-point attempts while scoring a career-high 35 points.
While the career outing stole the headlines for the Skyhawks, UT Martin played a well-rounded game on defense. The Skyhawks would notch a season-high with 58 rebounds while forcing 27 turnovers, 16 steals and seven blocks to round out the contest. Turnovers proved to lead to offense as UT Martin scored 35 points off said turnovers while notching 29 points in transition.
In addition to Spray, junior guard Emanye Robertson also eclipsed the 20-point plateau with 20 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. Today’s game marked the first time this season in which the Skyhawks had a pair of scorers eclipse the 20-point mark while improving to 73-5 under head coach Kevin McMillan when scoring 80 points or more. Filling out the stat sheet was Janekia Mason with nine points while freshman Chelsey Perry flirted with a double-double with nine points and a career-high 11 rebounds.
Rhodes College (5-1) – a Division III foe out of Memphis - snapped a four-game winning streak in the exhibition contest. The Lynx placed two players in double figures led by Alyssa Owens (14 points, seven rebounds) and Jessie Ustick (11 points).
UT Martin would jump out to a quick seven-point advantage in the first quarter before going cold from the floor and opening the door for Rhodes College. The Lynx would take advantage, not only overcoming the seven-point margin but ultimately take a four-point lead of their own with just over two minutes to play in the first quarter. Despite the nice run by the Lynx midway through the period, a 40-foot three-pointer by Spray at the first quarter buzzer would give the Skyhawks a 20-17 lead heading into the second.
UT Martin would come out of the second quarter looking to stretch out its advantage. The Skyhawks would do just that as they strung together a 21-0 run while holding the Lynx without a field goal for over seven minutes. The guard duo of Spray and Robertson would play a big part in the run, tallying 18 points in the second quarter alone as the Skyhawks took a 51-28 lead into halftime.
The Skyhawks kept up the pressure in the third quarter by shooting over 63 percent from the floor. Spray would tally three trifectas in the quarter to tie the program single-game record with nine in a contest. Behind a barrage of three-pointers, the Skyhawks would outscore the Lynx 29-13 in the quarter to take a 39-point lead into the fourth.
Momentum would slow down in the fourth as both teams combined for just 18 points in the period. While the final score was the only part of the decision left to finalize, Spray put the finishing touches on a career afternoon with a pair of three-pointers to set a new single-game record. With the record in the bag, the Skyhawks pulled away for a 90-49 victory.
UT Martin will now turn its focus to finals week which is quickly approaching before returning to action in the Basketball Travelers Inc. Invitational on Dec. 17-20.
BALL STATE 69, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 56
MUNCIE, Ind. - Southeast Missouri women's basketball was defeated 69-56 by the undefeated Ball State Cardinals on Thursday evening.
Southeast struggled on the offensive end in the first quarter, scoring zero points the first seven minutes of the game. Deja Jones finally got SEMO on the board with a lay in at the 2:32 mark.
Ball State started the game just as slow, but both teams began to find a rhythm on the offense at the end of the quarter.
The Redhawks trailed 15-10 at the end of one.
The Cardinals began the second quarter on a 9-0 run, grabbing a quick double digit lead. Ball State's rhythm continued throughout the quarter as they hit 9-13 shots in the period while Southeast had eight turnovers in the quarter.
Ball State led 39-19 at halftime.
SEMO scored a quick five points to start the third quarter but Ball State had an answer for everything Southeast kept bringing to the table. The Cardinals used a 10-0 towards the end of the quarter to extend their lead to over 20 points.
Southeast trailed 57-30 after three quarters.
The Redhawks played much better in the fourth quarter, opening with a 7-0 run and chipping away at the lead throughout the period. Southeast cut it to just 11 points with 2:48 left, but was in just too deep of a hole to start the quarter to mount a comeback, as they fell by 13.
Adrianna Murphy, an Indiana native, added 25 points including five three-pointers in her homecoming game, both career highs. This marks back to back games Murphy has set a new career high in both points and three-pointers made.
Ashton Luttrull had a nice game off the bench with 13 points and six rebounds.
Southeast will finish off its road stretch on Sunday versus the 7-1 Kansas Jayhawks. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at the Allen Fieldhouse.
CENTRAL MICHIGAN 94, SIUE 56
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Hot-shooting Central Michigan collected a 94-56 victory Thursday over SIUE in a women's basketball game at the Vadalabene Center.
The Chippewas, of the Mid-American Conference, made 33 of 63 shots, including 10 of 24 from 3-point range, and converted 18 of 24 free throws. Central Michigan improved to 7-1.
SIUE fell to 3-4.
Lauren White scored 14 points. Donshel Beck contributed 13 points, and Gwen Adams had 10 points for SIUE, which made 22 of 65 shots. The Cougars were 2 for 12 on their three-point attempts and made 10 of 17 free throws. Central Michigan outrebounded the Cougars 49-31.
Five players scored in double figures for the Chippewas, and 6-foot junior Reyna Frost led them with 16 rebounds and 18 rebounds. Teammate Cassie Breen tallied a game-best 20 points, thanks to 7-for-11 shooting, including 4 of 7 treys. Micaela Kelly punched in 13 points and registered six assists. Tinara Moore netted 12 points while Kyra Bussell added 12 points off the bench.
A strong first half spurred Central Michigan. The Chippewas made 15 of 24 shots, including 5 of 9 from 3-point range, in building a 44-25 advantage. Central Michigan went on a 13-2 spree at one point and outscored the Cougars 11-4 to end the half.
SIUE travels to Missouri for a 2 p.m. game Sunday and then welcomes Northern Illinois in a 2 p.m. game on Sunday, Dec. 17.
TENNESSEE TECH 83, CUMBERLAND 52
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - After slogging through a seven-game stretch with five road contests to open the 2017-18 season, the Golden Eagles finally returned to Cookeville to post an 83-52 win over Cumberland University (5-4), starting a six-game home stand for Tech.
Tech (2-6) was just a point shy of matching its season-best of 84 points, scored in its home opener against Tennessee Wesleyan nearly a month ago. It was just what the Golden Eagles needed after their lacking offensive performances in their last few games.
Seventeen of those points came from senior guard Yaktavia "Shug" Hickson, putting her into the Tech record books as the 30th Golden Eagle in program history to total 1,000 points in a career. She now stands at 1,002 points and has an excellent shot of moving higher up in the rankings (Samaria Howard and Hannah Goolsby are tied for 29th with 1,059 points each in their Tech careers).
Freshman Jordan Brock led for Tech in scoring, collecting a career-high 21 points. All 12 of her shots were from 3-point range, and she hit seven of Tech's 10 total 3-pointers. Fellow youngster Kesha Brady put up 15 points for her third double-figure output in a row.
Akia Harris continued her unselfish play with a team-high five assists, while Hickson led on the boards with seven rebounds. MacKenzie Coleman also totaled five.
Megan Clark and Brittany Cooper also saw their first minutes on the floor for Tech this season.
Tech will have another quick turnaround this weekend, facing IUPUI in a 2 p.m. CT tip-off on Sunday, Dec. 10.