SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Illinois 76, SIUE 72 (OT)
UT Martin 69, @Southeast Missouri 68
@No. 23 Belmont 84, Tennessee State 42
@Morheaed State 62, Eastern Kentucky 51
@Austin Peay 75, Murray State 69 (OT)
Jacksonville State 73, @Tennessee Tech 59
EASTERN ILLINOIS 76, SIUE 72
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois women's basketball team defeated SIUE 76-72 in overtime to win their final game of the 2017-18 season. Jalisha Smith led the Panthers with 15 points and 14 rebounds to complete her first double-double of the season.
The Panthers were 9-of-10 from the field in the first quarter and shot 59 percent from the field for the first half taking a 45-27 lead into halftime.
Jay'Nee Alston hit three free throws to close the third quarter and bring the Cougars within eight points. SIUE tied the Panthers for the first time since the first quarter on a jumper from Nikaih Bell at the 6:05 minute mark. The teams traded baskets until Danielle Berry knocked down a three-pointer to put the Panthers up by three with 40 seconds left to play. Lauren White scored three points in the final 32 seconds to force the game into overtime.
The Cougars scored first in the overtime period, but Smith and Jennifer Nehls scored for EIU on back-to-back layups to give the Panthers a permanent lead. EIU picked up their third win of the season defeating the Cougars 76-72.
Five players scored in double-figures for the Panthers. Taylor Steele poured in a team-leading 16 points on 5-of-6 from the free throw line. Karle Pace added 15 points, five rebounds and five assists. Smith finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds to record her third career double-double. Nehls and Grace McRae scored 12 and 10 points, respectively, while Carmen Tellez tallied a career-high six assists.
Four players scored double-digits. Allie Troeckler scored a game -high 20 points. She was 9-of-10 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter and 12-of-13 overall. Lauren White completed the double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Alston and Beck added 12 and 10 points, respectively. Sydney Bauman collected 14 boards and tallied six blocks.
UT MARTIN 69, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 68
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - The University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball team pulled out a gutsy performance to close out the regular season and clinch the No. 2 seed in next week’s Ohio Valley Conference Basketball Championship with a 69-68 victory at Southeast Missouri on Saturday afternoon.
The Skyhawks finish the regular season with a 17-13 overall mark while notching a 13-5 mark in conference play, good for a second-place finish in the league standings. With the victory, UT Martin will notch its ninth consecutive year with a top-four finish in the league standings while making its tournament debut on Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 3 p.m. against an opponent to be announced.
Sophomore Kendall Spray paced an offensive unit by flirting with a double-double, tallying 24 points and nine rebounds. Freshman Chelsey Perry also notched yet another strong performance, scoring 15 points on the afternoon. While Spray and Perry stole the show, the youthful mixture of the aforementioned duo along with freshman Zaire Hicks and Maddie Waldrop proved invaluable down the stretch to secure the narrow victory.
The game would start out on a sloppy run with nearly more offensive rebounds in the opening five minutes than points. Play would level off after the media timeout with UT Martin stretching its lead out to eight points late in the quarter. Spray would pace the visitors with 10 points in the opening period, giving the Skyhawks a 16-10 lead heading into the second.
UT Martin would hold a lead as large as 10 points in the second quarter while Southeast Missouri continued to answer every run. The Redhawks trimmed the margin to as close as three points in the quarter, ultimately outscoring the Skyhawks 20-19 in the period. With the corresponding runs, UT Martin took a 35-30 advantage into the halftime break.
The contest would continue to go back-and-forth in the second half. The margin would fluctuate anywhere from two to seven points in the quarter as both teams combined to score 41 points in the period. With the tight play, the Skyhawks would cling to a 55-51 lead after three quarters.
The Redhawks would take their first lead of the contest in the fourth quarter on a layup by Thompson with 3:22 to play. With the team’s first deficit, Spray would answer right back with a jumper to retake a lead which the Skyhawks would not relinquish. While play remained tight down the stretch, Southeast Missouri would miss a potential game-winner at the buzzer as UT Martin pulled out the 69-68 victory.
NO. 23 BELMONT 84, TENNESSEE STATE 42
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - On a night where No. 23 Belmont women's basketball honored its three-member senior class, the Bruins also solidified their second-consecutive perfect OVC season with an 84-42 victory over Tennessee State Saturday afternoon inside the Curb Event Center. BU finished conference play 18-0 while marking its 43rd-straight league win.
In the midst of extending their winning streak to 19 games, senior Kylee Smith (Alpharetta, Ga.) powered the Bruins with 30 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists in her final game at the Curb. She was accompanied by Darby Maggard (Larwill, Ind.) (17 points), Jenny Roy (Brentwood, Tenn.) (13 points), and Sally McCabe (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) in the department of double-digit scoring performances. Senior guard Sierra Jones (Huntsville, Ala.) also contributed nine rebounds and five assists.
Tennessee State (6-21, 4-14) was led by Tia Wooten's 13 points and 11 rebounds – the only Tiger to score more than eight points. Belmont (28-3, 18-0) held the Tigers to 25 percent from the field while leading them in rebounds (54-29) and assists (26-8).
The Bruins shared the ball early and often with each of their first four buckets tallying an assist along with it. The squad jumped out to an early 8-2 lead before a pair of Tiger triples knotted it all up. Both teams traded buckets for the remainder of the first quarter with Belmont hitting a couple of clutch threes to help maintain the advantage. A last second layup from Maddie Wright (Chattanooga, Tenn.) put BU up by four, 19-15, at the break.
Roy kicked off the second quarter with back-to-back shots from beyond the arc. Belmont would go on to drain six three pointers in the period alone and tally seven three-point plays in all. Smith contributed to the efforts by registering 11 consecutive points for the Bruins on her own, helping the squad to extend their lead to double-digits, 33-23. Tennessee State tried to hang around, but BU's hot hand kept them from sneaking back into the game. Maggard closed out the half with a couple of treys of her own, marking her 1,400th career point along with her 100th three of the season. BU held a 42-29 lead at halftime.
Belmont continued to find favor beyond the arc as Smith buried a three-pointer 15 seconds into the third frame. While TSU kept on fighting, BU always seemed to have an answer of its own as they outscored the Tigers 10-4 in the first five-minutes of the quarter. McCabe proved to be trouble for Tennessee State as she rejected Tiger shots on one end and found open ground for easy buckets on the other. Collectively, the squad held TSU to nine points in the stanza to take a 63-38 advantage into the fourth.
The Bruins continued to lay it on the Tigers in the fourth, outscoring them 11-4 in the first three minutes of the period. They then went on to hold TSU without a field goal for the remainder of the game, pouring 19 unanswered points over the final seven minutes of the game. The run featured four triples, including long-range contributions from freshman guard Caitlyn Yost (Lewisburg, Tenn.) and junior guard Hannah Harmeyer (Kenosha, Wisc.). Belmont limited the Tigers to 13 second-half points.
MOREHEAD STATE 62, EASTERN KENTUCKY 51
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Morehead State women's basketball concluded its 2017-18 regular season with a 62-51 win over Eastern Kentucky, avenging a three-point loss from two weeks prior. With the win, the Eagles move to 21-10 (12-6 Ohio Valley Conference), while Eastern Kentucky concludes its season at 8-19 (5-13 OVC).
"It was a hard-fought game," said MSU head coach Greg Todd. "Give credit to EKU. It wasn't easy, but we were able to pull it out."
The Eagles trailed by as many as nine with 4:14 to go in the opening quarter, but ended the first period down 14-11. Morehead State continued to pour it on in the second, jumping out to a 27-20 lead at half.
Eastern Kentucky trimmed the margin to 41-35 by the end of the third quarter, then tied the game at 46 on an A'Queen Hayes jumper with 3:15 remaining. Morehead State's Breuna Jackson answered back on the very next possession, however, knocking down her only three-point field goal attempt of the evening. The Eagles never looked back, equaling its largest lead of the game by the time the final buzzer sounded.
Miranda Crockett notched the contest's only double-double with 14 points, 11 rebounds, and three assists in a game-high 40 minutes. Eriel McKee, one of five players honored on the Eagles' annual senior day, matched Crockett's 14-point output, adding five boards, one assist, one block, and two steals. Graduate transfer Erin Blaine logged 13 points and seven rebounds.
A'Queen Hayes led the way for the Colonels with 12 points and eight rebounds. Shay Soloman had 12 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. Abby Wright pitched in 10 points along with nine rebounds.
AUSTIN PEAY 75, MURRAY STATE 69
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - The Murray State women came up short in an overtime Saturday night at Austin Peay, losing 75-69 at the Dunn Center.
Trailing 27-26 with 1:34 to play in the second quarter, the Racers (11-18, 7-11 OVC) were able to close the half on a 10-3 run and led 33-27 at the break. The third quarter brought back-and-forth action but a layup by Brianna Crane with two seconds to go put the Racers up 46-43 going into the final period.
In the fourth, the Racers looked to be in control with 6:36 to play as they led 54-48 after Ke’Shunan James converted a three-point play, but, back-to-back 3-pointers from the Governors (16-13, 9-9 OVC) tied the game at 54-54.
APSU was able to build its biggest lead of the game since early in the first quarter with just 1:21 left to play as a layup put the Govs up 63-58. This time, it was the Racers’ time to respond as three consecutive made free throws cut the deficit to 63-61 before a steal and layup by Jasmine Borders with 19 seconds to play tied the game.
The Govs’ last-second deep 3-point attempt was off the front of the rim and the Racers headed to their first overtime contest of the season. In the OT, the Racers jumped out to a quick four-point lead thanks to a layup and pair of free throws by James. The Governors again hit back-to-back 3-pointers to respond and led 69-67 with 3:33 to play. From there, MSU got just one more field goal on a runner by James with just over a minute to go.
James led all scorers in the loss with 28 points. In two games this season against the Govs, James averaged 34.5 points per game. Bria Bethea and Brianna Crane were the other two Racers in double figures, scoring 13 and 11, respectively. Bethea grabbed a team-best nine rebounds in the contest.
MSU shot 39.1 for the night and went 7-of-21 from 3-point range while the Govs hit 40.1 percent from the floor and went 8-for-18 from beyond the arc, but were 7-of-11 in the second half and overtime. The Govs also had a huge advantage on the glass, out-rebounding the Racers by 17 and tallying a 15-5 edge in second-chance points.
The Racers shot the ball well at the free-throw line, going 12-of-14 while the Govs went just 13-for-21. MSU also had a 16-6 advantage in points off turnovers.
Austin Peay had three players reach double-digits in points with Keisha Gregory leading the way with 19 points while Brianne Alexander and Falon Baker each had 18.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 73, TENNESSEE TECH 59
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The 2017-18 edition of Jacksonville State women's basketball etched its name into the record books on Saturday night with a 73-59 road win at Tennessee Tech in the season finale, setting a Division I school record with its 12th conference win of the year.
Senior Tyler Phelion poured in a season-best 20 points, while freshman Taylor Hawks added 15 as the Gamecocks (18-11, 12-6 Ohio Valley) had their highest scoring performance in 13 games. TTU fell to 7-22 overall in its final game, and will not make the league's tournament with a 4-14 record.
JSU's 12th league win surpassed the 2004 club that posted 11 conference wins in Jax State's first year in the OVC. Overall, JSU notched its 18th victory, which is just one shy of the school's single-season mark.
On Saturday, JSU didn't take any chances with a team that beat the Gamecocks in Jacksonville earlier this month. Jax State jumped out to a 7-0 advantage, forcing an early Tech timeout. JSU stayed hot shooting 50 percent in the opening period to lead 21-13 after one quarter. The Golden Eagles closed the gap to 26-23 with just over four minutes to play before the half, but consecutive treys from Hawks and Gretchen Morrison capped a 13-2 run for JSU to end the half with a 39-25 advantage.
The lead grew to as many as 20 for JSU in the third quarter, but TTU slowly chipped away at the deficit heading into the fourth. The lead was down to 12, 52-40, to begin the final period. With 6:18 remaining, Tech made it a seven-point contest, but four-straight points from Morgan Towells and a jumper by Kiana Johnson gave a JSU a quick 6-0 run to break the momentum.
It became a game of free throws down the stretch with JSU hitting 19-of-24 on the day to secure the win. All 13 Gamecocks saw the floor by the third quarter, with eight reaching the scoring column
Jordan Brock led Tennessee Tech with 15 points.