SUNDAY'S SCORES
@Louisville 107,
Tennessee State 52
@Clemson 65,
Belmont 62
@Morehead State 85, Evansville 63
Jacksonville State 60, @Ole Miss 49
Tennessee Tech 55, @Wichita State 45
@Valparaiso 62,
Eastern Illinois 60
@Western Illinois 77,
Austin Peay 72
LOUISVILLE 107, TENNESSEE STATE 52
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Tennessee State University women’s basketball team fell to Louisville, the fifth ranked team in the nation, 107-52, Sunday afternoon in KFC Yum! Center.
TSU had a solid first half and played hard throughout the game despite being outscored 58-21 in the final two quarters.
Tia Wooten led TSU with 15 points and seven rebounds while Terrysha Banner and Jaden Wrightsell each finished with eight points apiece.
Louisville remained undefeated and had four players to score in double-digits, led by Asia Durr’s 19 points.
TSU has a long break before returning to action on Saturday, Dec. 15 at Marshall. Game time is set for 1 p.m. CT in the Cam Henderson Center.
CLEMSON 65, BELMONT 62
CLEMSON, S.C. – Despite scoring just 20 points in the first half, despite an uncharacteristically off shooting night from its typical leading scorer and despite two starters fouling out, the Belmont women's basketball team found itself down only a single basket and with the ball in the waning seconds at Clemson's Littlejohn Coliseum. Time just ran out on the comeback effort.
The Bruins' potential game-tying shot was off the mark and Clemson held on for a 65-62 victory Sunday. The non-conference loss drops Belmont to 4-3 on the young season.
The first half provided little scoring room on either side until the Tigers (5-3) began to capitalize on forced turnovers in the second quarter. A 13-13 tie after one frame turned into a 33-20 deficit for Belmont at the half. Poor shooting didn't carry over to the second half however.
Sunday provided more proof as the Bruins exploded for 25 points in the third quarter and 42 in all in the second half. After trailing by as many as 15 early in the third, Belmont clawed back within single digits headed to the fourth on the strength of its 3-point shooting. The visitors shot 5-of-6 from three in the quarter with senior guard Jenny Roy (Brentwood, Tenn.) hitting all three of her attempts from downtown.
Roy set a career high with five made 3-pointers in all, part of a 17-point effort. Muensterman also finished with 17 total points and five 3-pointers.
The Bruins trimmed Clemson's lead to a single point with three minutes to play on two free throws from junior forward Maddie Wright (Chattanooga, Tenn.). Just before that Roy had hit another three, which followed a steal-and-score operation by freshman guard Macie Culbertson (Fall Branch, Tenn.).
Ball movement and perseverance can be credited for Sunday's sharp turnaround. The Bruins started taking advantage of a Clemson defense intensely focusing on Belmont senior guard Darby Maggard (Larwill, Ind.).
Clemson made just 5-of-12 free throws in the fourth quarter to prop the door open for the Bruins, including missing three straight in the final three seconds. But down by three points with 2.5 seconds left in the game, Belmont's play out of a timeout couldn't yield a quick open look and a well-defended shot clanged harmlessly off the rim.
The loss was Belmont's second in a row when paired with a home stumble against Toledo earlier in the week. It's the Bruins' first losing streak in more than two years, but the road defeat to an ACC squad provides plenty of teachable moments.
Belmont welcomes rival Lipscomb to the Curb Event Center for the annual Battle of the Boulevard game on Tuesday. Tipoff is at 5 p.m.
MOREHEAD STATE 85, EVANSVILLE 63
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Senior guard Miranda Crockett led the charge with her second double-double of the season, tabbing 21 points and 11 rebounds, as the Morehead State women's basketball Eagles setback the Evansville Aces, 85-63, Sunday afternoon at Johnson Arena.
The Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference honoree was joined in the offensive showcase by junior wing Aliyah Jeune, who chimed in with 21 points of her own, to go along with seven assists and six rebounds.
Seniors Tierra McGowan and Darianne Seward rounded out the Eagles in double-figure performances with 12 and 10 markers, respectively.
Though the Eagles' final margin of victory tells one story, the visiting Aces gave the Eagles all they could handle in the opening stanza, connecting on 8-of-10 (.800) 3-point attempts. The visitors also forced the Eagles into foul trouble early on, as six Eagles found themselves with two fouls at intermission. The halftime score favored the Eagles, 46-40.
With the Eagles down 47-46 midway through the third period after an A'Niah Griffin layup, Seward found the cup for back-to-back layups of her own, followed by a triple from senior Crystal Simmons-Cozar that put the Eagles up six. After Crockett found Jeune on a floater in the lane, McGowan nailed three straight shots and a free throw on the back end of an "and-one", putting the hosts ahead 62-47.
Free throws from Simmons-Cozar and Jeune concluded the 21-0 Morehead State run that was extinguished by six consecutive points from Purple Aces forward Kerri Gasper, who paced Evansville with 21 points and seven rebounds.
With today's victory, Morehead State heads into a 10-day break for finals week with a 7-2 mark on the 2018-19 season. Evansville fell back to 1-5.
After the semester's exams have concluded, the Eagles will get back on the road, as they take on No. 4 Baylor. That contest will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 12, at 1:00 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Southwest.49
JACKSONVILLE STATE 60, OLE MISS 49
OXFORD, Miss. - Jacksonville State's women's basketball team picked up its first "Power Five" win in four seasons upsetting Ole Miss, 60-49, inside The Pavilion on Sunday afternoon.
Redshirt-senior Destiney Elliott finished 8-for-17 from the floor to lead the Gamecocks (4-3) with 20 points. The Rebels (2-6) were led by Crystal Allen's 19 points in what became JSU's first win of the season after trailing at halftime.
Jax State forced 20 turnovers, while committing just eight, and assisted on 14 of its 23 made field goals. Despite OM having higher shooting percentages overall, from three-point and free throws, it was JSU in the closing minutes that continued to extend its lead.
Sporting full black uniforms for the first time, JSU jumped out to a 12-6 lead after freshman Yamia Johnson's first triple of the game broke a 9-9 tie. Johnson would finish with three of JSU's six three-pointers on the day and tally 15 points to join Elliott and Pearson in double figures. The Rebels overcame the early deficit to lead 20-15 at the end of the first period.
After a hot-shooting opening-quarter, the two sides stepped up the defense and brought the second period to a standstill for more than five minutes. Each team added just three points before the media timeout with 4:50 remaining before halftime. The Gamecocks began to chip way at the narrow deficit until a Taylor Hawks layup evened the score at 25-25 with just over a minute remaining in the half. Ole Miss' Allen hit a step-back three with eight seconds left to send the Rebels into the half up 28.25.
Ole Miss scored first in the second half, but JSU responded with a 6-0 run to force a home team timeout. Following a laup from Elliott, the Gamecocks went ahead, 31-30 on a steal and quick jumper by freshman JuToreyia Willis. JSU continued a 12-2 run to begin the period en route to outscoring the Rebels 22-13 in the third quarter to head to the fourth up 47-41. The 22 points were the most by the Gamecocks in any quarter this year outside of 24 in the first quarter against Division II Montevallo in its last game.
In the fourth, it was once against Ole Miss who struck first to pull within four, but a pair of free throws from Johnson slowed the confidence. Up five with just over five minutes to play, Jax State was given a boost from a corner-three by Elliott to make it 52-44. Pearson then handed JSU its first double-digit advantage with two of her 11 points on the day. The senior from Hazel Green, Ala., saw her run of double-digit rebound games end with just nine on Sunday, but recorded two of JSU's three blocks in the big win.
JSU led by as many as 13 as the clock ticked under a minute placing the Gamecocks on the verge of its first win over Ole Miss in the fourth all-time meeting. A late OM basket brought the final score to 60-49.
JSU's last "Power Five" conference victory came on Nov. 14, 2014, when coach Rick Pietri led JSU to a 64-62 road win over Alabama in just his second season after taking over a 1-27 program.
The Gamecocks are now off until Dec. 12, when they travel to Alabama A&M.
VALPARAISO 62, EASTERN ILLINOIS 60
VALPARAISO, Ind. - Despite a 14-0 run closing the third quarter to regain the lead, Eastern Illinois women's basketball falls 62-60 at Valparaiso Sunday night. The Panthers fall 3-3 on the season, while the Crusaders improve to 3-5 overall.
The Panthers got off to a slow start in the first half shooting under 30 percent from the field, while the Crusaders shot 37 percent and 38.5 percent from the arc. Jennifer Nehls connected on four straight free throws for EIU near the end of the second quarter bringing the Panthers within four points, but Valpo would hold onto a 32-23 lead going into halftime.
The Crusaders led by as much as 13 in the third quarter, but a lay-up from Karle Pace ignited a 14-0 run in the final five minutes of the quarter. Taylor Steele followed up Pace's lay-up with back-to-back three pointers, and Abby Wahl would join the run with a jumper at 1:11 minute mark. Carmen Tellez closed the quarter with a buzzer beating three-pointer to give EIU a 42-41 lead into the fourth.
Valpo led by as much as five points in the final 10 minutes with EIU narrowing the lead to one point four different times. The Panthers trailed by two points with three seconds left on the clock and would inbound the under the basket to Steele. Steele's lay-up was contested and bounced out of the rim to secure the 62-60 win for Valpo.
Three players scored double-figures for EIU. Pace led the team with 18 points and tallied five rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Steele added 11 points and was 3-of-7 from the arc. Grace McRae fell short of a double-double with 10 points and nine boards. Grace Lennox tied her season-highs with six rebounds and six assists.
Grace Hales scored a game-leading 21 points for the Crusaders and grabbed seven boards. Addison Stoller added 10 points and eight rebounds, while Bryce Blood finished with nine points and 10 rebounds.
The Panthers will be back in action this weekend in Carbondale, Ill. for the first Compass Tournament. EIU will play on Friday Dec. 7 vs. Western Illinois at 4:30 pm and Saturday Dec. 8 vs. Southern Illinois at 4:30 pm.
TENNESSEE TECH 55, WICHITA STATE 45
WICHITA, Kan. - Tennessee Tech picked up a 55-45 road win over Wichita State on Sunday afternoon. With the win, the Golden Eagles improved to 5-2 on the season.
Taylor Lamb came off the bench to lead Tech with 17 points to go with five rebounds and two steals. Lambe as a perfect 7-for-7 from the field.
Kentoria Alexander brought down a team-best nine rebounds to go with five points and three steals. Akia Harris led the Golden Eagles with five assits and three steals.
Wichita State was led by Jaida Hampton with 10 points.
Tennessee Tech is back in action on Tuesday as it travels to Arkansas.
WESTERN ILLINOIS 77, AUSTIN PEAY 72
MACOMB, Ill. - Austin Peay fell at Western Illinois, 77-72, on Sunday evening. The Govs dropped to 4-4 on the year.
Arielle Gonzalez-Varner notched a double-double with 16 points and team-best 12 rebounds.
Brianah Ferby led Austin Peay with 19 points, hitting five three-pointers in the game. She also had five rebounds and three assist.
Western Illinois was led by Olivia Kaufmann with 25 points.
Austin Peay is back in action on Tuesday when it travels to Illinois State.