SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Kentucky 67, Eastern Illinois 51
SIUE 66, @Morehead State 51
@Tennessee State 76, Tennessee Tech 66
@Belmont 71, Jacksonville State 55
UT Martin 97, @Murray State 80
@Austin Peay 66, Southeast Missouri 65
EASTERN KENTUCKY 67, EASTERN ILLINOIS 51
RICHMOND, Ky. - The Eastern Kentucky University women’s basketball team outscored Eastern Illinois University 22-4 in the first quarter to blow by the Panthers, 67-51, Saturday afternoon in McBrayer Arena.
A’Queen Hayes and Bria Bass powered the offense for the Colonels. Hayes posted in her second double-double of the season with 20 points to go along with a career-high 16 rebounds, shattering her previous high of 11. Bass added a career-high 25 points after drilling 5-of-8 from beyond the arc and shooting 58 percent from the field.
EKU (5-8, 2-2 OVC) opened the contest on a 9-1 run that began off of a Hayes jumper. After EIU’s Danielle Berry hit a free throw the Colonels found Bass open under the net to add two more. Joya Smith hit Madison Pierce for the layup to cap the run.
With 8:25 remaining in regulation Halle Stull notched a layup to spark 10 unanswered points for the Panthers (1-14, 0-4 OVC) to close the gap to 11, 51-40, proving to be the closest they would come to the hot-shooting Colonels. Bass found an answer from the left wing on the other end to stifle the run.
Eastern Kentucky held the Panthers, who average 34 percent on the season from the field, to just 28 percent from shooting. EIU shot just six percent in the first quarter.
Taylor Steele (13) and Stull (16) each found themselves in double-figures to lead the Panthers.
SIUE 66, MOREHEAD STATE 51
MOREHEAD, Ky. - SIUE women's basketball improved to 4-0 in Ohio Valley Conference play Saturday, its best-ever start to OVC play, with a 66-51 road victory at Morehead State.
This closes out a six-game road trip for the Cougars. SIUE, 7-8 overall, returns to the Vadalabene Center Wednesday for a 7 p.m. contest against Belmont.
Sydney Bauman led the SIUE offense in scoring for the first time in her collegiate career. The junior scored 12 points and added eight rebounds.
Bauman was matched up defensively against Morehead State's Tierra McGowan, who came into the game averaging a double-double of 13.3 points and 12.3 rebounds per game. McGowan was held to six points and nine rebounds
As a team, SIUE turned the tables on Morehead State, now 11-6 overall and 2-2 in OVC play, in the rebounding department. Morehead State came into the contest outrebounding its opponents by 13 rebounds per game. SIUE outrebounded Morehead State at Johnson Arena 46-31.
The Cougars were down by three points after one period. Buscher said the Cougars were at a bit of a stalemate with the Eagles and then Cloe Churchill entered the game.
Churchill knocked down three straight three-pointers to start the second quarter as the Cougars grabbed a 17-13 lead 90 seconds into the second period. SIUE would maintain that four-point lead by halftime at 31-27.
Miranda Crockett and Darianne Seward led the Morehead State offense with 15 and 13 points, respectively. Morehead State shot 29.7 percent in the second half (11-37) and never regained the lead from the Cougars in the second half.
Donshel Beck joined Bauman scoring in double figures with 10 points. Allie Troeckler added seven points and eight rebounds, setting her career high for rebounds in consecutive games.
TENNESSEE STATE 76, TENNESSEE TECH 66
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee State University women’s basketball team won its first conference game of the season with a, 76-66, victory over Tennessee Tech Saturday afternoon in the Gentry Center.
After pulling ahead early in the first period, Tennessee State (3-10, 1-3 OVC) led Tennessee Tech (3-12, 0-4 OVC) the remainder of the game, moving ahead by as much as 12.
Tia Wooten put up 26 points, leading the Lady Tiger offense, and took down 8 rebounds. Maxine Beard facilitated the offense with six assists, while Kaliya Griffin recorded three steals. Jaden Wrightsell also scored in double-digits with 12 points.
Tennessee Tech had four players score in double-digits led by Yaktavia Hickson's 14 points. Mackenzie Coleman (13), Jordan Brock (12), and Asia Harper (11) also notched double-figures for the Golden Eagles.
TSU outscored Tennessee Tech three-of-the-four periods, but the Golden Eagles beat Big Blue on the glass, out-rebounding the Lady Tigers 32-29.
BELMONT 71, JACKSONVILLE STATE 55
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - An explosive third quarter helped Belmont women's basketball hand Jacksonville State its first conference loss Saturday afternoon inside the Curb Event Center. Five different Bruins scored in double digits as they rolled past the Gamecocks, 71-55, to win their 29th consecutive conference game.
Junior guard Darby Maggard (Larwill, Ind.) led BU (14-3, 4-0) with 21 points and four assists. She was accompanied by Sierra Jones (Huntsville, Ala.) and Jenny Roy (Brentwood, Tenn.) who both boasted perfect performances from the field. Jones went 4-for-4 with 11 points while Roy went 3-for-3 pouring in 12 points with the help of five free throws. The Brentwood, Tenn. product also registered her second double-double of the season with 11 boards.
Senior center Sally McCabe (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) and junior forward Ellie Harmeyer (Kenosha, Wisc.) joined the club with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Belmont dominated in the paint, racking up 32 points to Jacksonville State's 24. The Bruins shot 53 percent from the floor while holding the Gamecocks to a quiet 35 percent.
Twelve players saw action on the hardwood for JSU with all but one tallying at least one point. The squad was charged by 10 points from Tyler Phelion and a pair of six rebound performances by Rayven Pearson and Chloe Long.
The Bruins and Gamecocks battled from the get go, trading buckets for much of the first half. In the opening quarter Maggard and McCabe powered Belmont's offense with six points apiece. The squad was able to push their lead to as many as five, 18-13, with the help of a timely three from Jones with 1:35 remaining. They would hold the advantage for the final minute-thirty.
Jacksonville State started the second frame with back-to-back buckets from three-point range to take their first lead of the game, 19-18, less than a minute in. BU refused to let the Gamecocks surge any further, as McCabe drained a jumper at the top key on a beautiful pass from Maggard. The assist marked the Larwill, Ind. native's third of the night to put her atop Belmont's Division I era records with 448 career assists. She passed Shaunda Strayhorn (447 career assists) who played for the Bruins from 2006-11. Jones continued her perfect start to the game with an under the basket layup that put her 3-for-3 from the field. While BU kept trying to distance themselves, the pesky Gamecocks snuck within one, 32-31, with just 2:06 remaining in the half. First half turnovers hindered the Bruins as JSU scored eight points on the free plays, leaving it a two-point game at the break, 35-33.
After Jacksonville State drove in a quick two to start the third, Belmont took total control. The Bruins would hold the Gamecocks without a field goal for the next five minutes while mounting a 14-1 run of their own. The teams first five consecutive points all came from the line as JSU racked up three quick fouls. From then on Belmont used a three from Roy and a couple of layups from Jones and sophomore forward Maddie Wright (Chatanooga, Tenn.) to go up, 49-36, on JSU. BU went on to outscore JSU, 21-7, in the third to secure a 56-40 advantage.
E. Harmeyer became the fifth Bruin to notch a double-digit performance after accounting for the team's first four points of the fourth. She sunk a free throw before hitting one from afar to bring her total to 10 points on the night. Maggard matched E. Harmeyer's three ball with one of her own to propel Belmont's lead to 21, 63-42, with 7:12 remaining. Roy collected her seventh career double-double after registering a couple of rebounds as time wound down. Maggard sealed the deal with her second triple of the quarter as BU remained perfect in OVC play for another day.
UT MARTIN 97, MURRAY STATE 80
MURRAY, Ky. - The University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball team took an early lead and never looked back as the squad notched its first road victory of the season with a 97-80 win over Ohio Valley Conference foe Murray State.
The Skyhawks (6-10, 2-2 OVC) picked up their second OVC win of the young season by scoring the highest total output against a Division I opponent this season with 97 points. UT Martin would shoot over 53 percent from the floor in the contest while tying in the battle of the boards.
Four Skyhawks scored in double figures led by the play of sophomore sharpshooter Kendall Spray who scored a game-high 24 points while tallying six rebounds and three assists. Trailing close behind was fellow Preseason All-OVC selection Ashton Feldhaus who scored 19 points – including going a perfect 8-of-8 from the field - while notching five rebounds and three assists. Rounding out the quartet in double figures was the play of Chelsey Perry (13 points) and Emanye Robertson (12 points).
Murray State (5-10, 1-3 OVC) dropped its third consecutive conference matchup despite posting three players in double figures. Forward Brianna Crane paced the Racers with 21 points and six rebounds while the duo of Ke’Shunan James (18 points, seven rebounds) and Bria Bethea (13 points) also scored in double figures.
The Skyhawks would jump out to an early lead, stringing together a 10-0 run punctuated by a three-pointer by Feldhaus, forcing the Racers to burn their first timeout. After a second called timeout by the Racers, the home squad would respond nicely with a 15-2 run of their own to trim the deficit to two points. Both teams would hit three-pointers to keep the score at a two-point margin as UT Martin held onto a 20-18 lead heading into the second.
Murray State would take its first lead of the game with just over six minutes to play in the second quarter following a five-point swing by Bethea. The lead would change hands twice before the Skyhawks began to find its groove, posting a 7-0 run to push the margin back out to double figures with just under two minutes to play. After a strong finish to the half, UT Martin would take a 46-36 lead into the break.
UT Martin came out of halftime strong, putting together a 9-0 run over 80 seconds to push the margin out to as large as 19 points. Murray State would trim the margin back down to 13 points with 1:10 to play in the quarter. Needing to put some distance between the two squads, the Skyhawks scored a season-high 36 points in the third by making their final six shots of the quarter to take an 82-63 advantage into the fourth.
Both teams would combine to score 32 points in the fourth quarter while UT Martin struggled to make just one of 10 shot attempts down the stretch. Despite the scoring drought, the contest would never be in question as the Skyhawks pulled away with a 97-80 victory.
AUSTIN PEAY 66, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 65
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Southeast Missouri women's basketball fell to the Austin Peay Governors 66-65 to wrap up a two game road trip.
Southeast got off to the slow start, scoring just two field goals in the opening quarter. The Redhawks did manage to get to the line 12 times in the period, hitting nine. The Govs shot 42 percent from the field in the opening quarter while also getting to the line at will with 10 first quarter attempts.
At the end of the first quarter Southeast trailed 22-13.
The Redhawks opened the second period on a 6-0 run led by a couple drives from Tesia Thompson, cutting the lead to just three.
Both teams traded baskets back and forth for the rest of the quarter as the Govs took a three point lead into half. Southeast shot 55 percent in the second quarter compared to 18 percent from the field in the first.
Austin Peay led 29-26 at the half.
The third quarter began with back and forth scoring in the opening minutes, with Austin Peay hanging on to a small cushion. About halfway through the third quarter both teams went extremely cold, neither scoring a field goal for over four minutes until Austin Peay hit a shot at the third quarter buzzer.
Austin Peay took a 44-38 lead into the fourth quarter.
Southeast fell down double digits early before they went on a 10-3 run led by Tesia Thompson and cut the lead to just four points with just 4:42 remaining.
The Redhawks then tied the game at the 2:38 mark after a pair of free throws from Deja Jones and Kaley Leyhue.
The Governors answered Southeast with a 4-0 run their own to go up 61-57 with 1:44 remaining.
Leyhue then answered back with a three, putting SEMO down just one point at 61-60 with 1:26 remaining.
Austin Peay was fouled on the next possession and hit the pair, putting them up three. Southeast missed on the other end forcing them to foul again. Peay split the pair, giving them a 64-60 advantage with 35 seconds left.
The Redhawks came down and scored a quick two to cut it to two points with 19 seconds remaining. Austin Peay then hit a pair when fouled to go back up four, 66-62.
Deja Jones was fouled with three seconds left. She hit the first, and missed the second but the ball went out of bounds off Austin Peay, giving the ball to Southeast on the baseline with two seconds remaining.
Southeast got the ball to Kaley Leyhue and she was fouled on a three-point shot, giving her three free throws down three with 0.1 seconds left.
Leyhue went to the line and missed the first. She made the next two free throws, but it wasn't enough as Southeast fell by one.
For the game Southeast shot 39 percent and had 19 turnovers, Austin Peay shot just 37.5 percent but turned the ball over only 11 times.
Austin Peay's Falon Back led the team with 19 points while Keisha Gregory recorded 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Michaela Campbell added 10 points in the win.
Tesia Thompson led the way for the Redhawks once again with 18 points and eight rebounds. She also knocked down her first career three-pointer.
Deja Jones had another strong performance with 17 points and eight rebounds.
Kaley Leyhue chipped in 12 points for the Redhawks as well.