SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 79, Lipscomb 44
@Southeast Missouri 80, Harris Stowe 65
@UT Martin 110, Mississippi Valley State 51
Troy 89,
@Jacksonville State 63
@Tennessee Tech 100, Tennessee Wesleyan 58
MOREHEAD STATE 79, LIPSCOMB 44
MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Morehead State women's basketball team forced 29 turnovers and ran away with a 79-44 win over Lipscomb on Saturday afternoon at Johnson Arena.
On top of a great team defensive effort, junior guard Aliyah Jeune scorched the nets to a tune of 5-of-6 (.833) from behind the arc and scored 22 points to lead all scorers in the game. Jeune, who is averaging 18.8 points per game, has now scored at least 20 points in seven of the Eagles' 13 games.
The Eagles raced out to a 25-9 lead after one quarter and never looked backed as they improved to 9-4 overall.
Senior guard Miranda Crockett scored in double figures for the 18th consecutive game notching 12 points while also grabbing seven rebounds. Crockett's double-digit scoring streak began during the 2017-18 season on February 15, 2018, at Tennessee State.
Defensively, senior guard Crystal Simmons-Cozar swiped away a season-high seven steals. The Madrid, Spain native accompanied her great defensive outing with seven points and three rebounds.
Senior forward Tierra McGowan led the Eagles on the glass with eight rebounds while also adding nine points. The 6-foot-3 Chicago, Ill., native pulled down an even four offensive and defensive boards.
Lipscomb's offense was paced by freshman forward Kailey Rosenbaum's 10 points as she was the lone Bison player to achieve a double-figure scoring total. Junior Anna Hammaker managed to pull down a game-high nine rebounds for the visitors.
Lipscomb's has now dropped 10-consecutive games and is 2-11 overall.
Next up, Morehead State will open conference play with the first of four-straight OVC games on the road against in-state rival Murray State on Thursday. The Eagles and Racers are scheduled to tip-off at 6:00 p.m. ET at the CSFB Center.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 80, HARRIS STOWE 65
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Tesia Thompson scored 13 points to lead four starters in double figures as Southeast Missouri (5-6) closed out non-conference play with a commanding 80-65 win over Harris-Stowe Saturday morning at the Show Me Center.
SEMO, which led the entire game, scored a season-high 53 points in the first half.
Following a 26-point first quarter, the Redhawks opened the second period on a 9-0 run and widened their lead to 33-14 on Celeste Akoro's layup with 7:45 remaining. SEMO outscored HSU, 27-10, in the second quarter and headed into the locker room with a comfortable 53-24 lead at the intermission.
Thompson's layup gave SEMO its largest lead of the day at 55-24 with 9:32 left to play in the third quarter.
Thompson shot 5-of-10 from the field and a near-perfect 3-of-4 at the free throw line en route to her ninth double-digit scoring game this season.
Jocelyn Taylor followed with 12 points and four rebounds, while Carrie Shephard and Adrianna Murphy followed close behind with 11 apiece. Murphy added a game-high six steals marking her fourth game with at least six steals this year.
The Redhawks shot 45.6 percent (31-of-68) from the field and forced 26 turnovers. SEMO converted those miscues into 33 points. The Redhawks shot 68.8 percent (11-of-16) from the floor in the second quarter. In addition, SEMO matched a season-best 18 steals.
Takesia Barnes led HSU with 15 points, six rebounds and three blocks.
SEMO opens its 18-game Ohio Valley Conference slate at SIU Edwardsville on Jan. 3.
UT MARTIN 110, MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE 51
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball team put an impressive finish atop it non-conference slate on Saturday afternoon as seven different players scored in double figures in a season-high scoring output, knocking off Mississippi Valley State 110-51 in the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.
With the victory the Skyhawks improve to 8-3 on the season and close out the non-conference portion of the schedule with its best start in program history with eight non-conference victories. The victory also saw UT Martin remain unbeaten in the Elam Center this season and improve to 95-23 under the direction of head coach Kevin McMillan at home. Additionally, the win tied McMillan for fourth in Ohio Valley Conference history with his 181st career collegiate victory.
UT Martin scored early and often in the contest while presenting suffocating defense at other times. Every available player on the Skyhawk squad scored in the contest while seven scored in double figures. As a team the Skyhawks forced 28 turnovers while tallying 19 steals and 12 blocks – ranking as a season high.
Sophomore Chelsey Perry posted an impressive stat line in several different categories, tallying 15 points, nine rebounds, six blocks, four steals and three assists in just 20 minutes of play. Senior guard Emanye Robertson also tallied 15 points on the afternoon while notching five assists, four steals and four rebounds. The freshman pair of Sade’ Hudson and Emma Davis would both score 11 points each while the post duo of Maddie Waldrop and Damiah Griffin combined to notch 20 points and 16 rebounds in the contest.
Mississippi Valley State (1-10) saw its losing streak reach eight games behind a disappointing effort which saw the team shoot just 28.6 percent from the field. Makayla Bonner paced the Devilettes with 13 points on the day while Angelica Darcus tossed in 12 points.
UT Martin will return to action when opening OVC play on Thursday, Jan. 3 at Eastern Illinois. Tipoff from Lantz Arena is scheduled for 5:15 p.m.
TROY 89, JACKSONVILLE STATE 63
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - In the absence of senior leader Rayven Pearson, fellow senior Brianna Perry stepped up with a career-high 14 points to lead the Jacksonville State women's basketball team, but it wasn't enough as the Gamecocks fell victim to the Troy Trojans Saturday afternoon.
Troy (9-2) blew the lid off the 22nd-best scoring defense in the country with a 89-63 win inside Pete Mathews Coliseum in the first meeting between the two schools since 2011. The Gamecocks fall to 6-5 with the final non-conference contest of the year in the books. JSU started 7-6 last season, before reeling off a 12-6 mark in Ohio Valley Conference play.
Troy's 89 points were the most allowed by Jax State in exactly two years since falling to UT Martin, 83-94, on the road on December 29, 2016. It marks just the second time since the start of last season the Gamecocks lost when scoring more than 60 points.
A trio of Gamecocks led by Perry's 14 reached double digits, with Yamia Johnson's 12 points and Destiney Elliott's 11. Meanwhile, redshirt-sophomore Jessie Day finished just shy with nine points for a new career-high against her old squad.
After Troy jumped out to a 7-2 lead, Johnson buried consecutive triples to hand the Gamecocks an 8-7 advantage midway through the opening period. The two sides battled throughout the remainder of quarter, until Troy's Amber Rivers gave the visitors an 18-16 lead with a layup to end the first. Rivers finished with a game-high 20 points.
Troy began to build its lead with a 25-point second quarter to lead 43-32 at halftime. The Trojans then rolled with 26 points in the third, while the Gamecocks managed just nine points as the deficit grew to season-worse 28 against the Gamecocks.
Trailing 71-43 in the fourth, JSU regained its composure late to keep the margin the same for the final eight minutes of game action.
Jax State will quickly turn the page - and the calendar in the process – as it looks ahead to the start of conference play next Thursday, January 3 in Nashville, Tenn. The Gamecocks will open the OVC slate against the three-time reigning league champs, Belmont, looking to snap the Bruins' 46-game conference win streak.
TENNESSEE TECH 100, TENNESSEE WESELYAN 58
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee Tech improved to 8-3 with a 100-58 victory over visiting Tennessee Wesleyan on Saturday night.
Akia Harris led Tech with 19 points while Jordan Brock added 18. Kentoria Alexander nearly had a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. Kesha Brady came off the bench to score 12 points.
Tennessee Wesleyan was led by Hunter Simpson with 19 points.
Tennessee Tech travels to Tennessee State to open up OVC play on Thursday.