THURSDAY'S SCORES
@Belmont 77, Morehead State 50
@Southeast Missouri 64, Austin Peay 54
@Jacksonville State 78, Eastern Illinois 49
@Tennessee State 60, Eastern Kentucky 38
@Tennessee Tech 79, SIUE 55
@UT Martin 75, Murray State 67
BELMONT 77, MOREHEAD STATE 50
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Belmont defeated Morehead State with suffocating defense to notch a 77-50 victory at the Curb Event Center. The win boosts Bruins to 9-5 and 2-1 in Ohio Valley Conference games.
Morehead State (10-6, 1-2 OVC), which entered Thursday's game as the top-scoring team in the OVC, never led in a dominant wire-to-wire performance by the Bruins. Things really took a turn in Belmont's favor after halftime though.
Leading just 37-31 at the break after MSU junior and conference-scoring-leader Aliyah Jeune drilled a late 3-pointer, the Bruins returned to the court like they were shot out of a cannon. A 13-2 Belmont run, sparked by six quick points from junior Ellie Harmeyer (Kenosha, Wis.), thrust the Bruins out to a comfortable lead and was a sign of things to come.
Belmont out-scored Morehead State 40-19 in the second half, leading by as many as 29 points with three insignificant minutes remaining.
The Eagles entered the day scoring 84.4 points per game, the best mark among OVC teams and No. 7 in the entire NCAA. Facing a determined Belmont defense, MSU finished with its fewest points of the season. Morehead State turned the ball over 15 times, nine of which came in the influential third quarter.
Harmeyer notched her fourth straight 20-point game with 20 on the dot and added nine rebounds. Roy joined Harmeyer and Maggard in double figures scoring with 15 points and Maura Muensterman also scored 12.
Belmont made 14 threes, five coming from Maggard and four from Harmeyer.
Up Next: Belmont closes its season-long four-game homestand against Eastern
The Eagles were led by senior Miranda Crockett, logging her third double-double of the year with 16 points and 10 rebounds, after coming up one rebound shy of a double-double in three of her previous five outings. Crockett also extended her streak of double-digit scoring games to 21.
TENNESSEE TECH 79, SIUE 55
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Christen King scored a career-best 21 points Thursday for SIUE women's basketball, but Tennessee Tech connected on 11 three-pointers to defeat the Cougars 79-55 at the Eblen Center.
For King, it was the most scored by a Cougar this season. She was 8 of 17 from the field and 5 of 8 from the free throw line.
Tennessee Tech broke a five-game losing streak in the series and gave the team an Ohio Valley Conference-leading 3-0 mark in league play. The Golden Eagles are 11-3 overall.
SIUE's Sydney Bauman added her third double-double of the season and seventh of her collegiate career with 11 points and 11 rebounds. The senior center added five blocks.
Tennessee Tech countered with five players scoring in double figures. Jordan Brock, who had a game-leading six three-pointers, finished with 20 points. Three of TTU's double-figures scorers came off the bench, including a 12-point, 12-rebound effort from Anacia Wilkinson.
SIUE fell behind at half 38-29 but scored the first six points of the third period off two baskets from King and another from Bauman to cut the lead to 38-35. After Tennessee Tech called a timeout, it answered with a 6-0 run and began to pull ahead for good.
Tennessee Tech shot 26 of 62 from the field and 11 of 28 from beyond the three-point line, the best effort this season against the Cougars' three-point defense which came into the contest ranked No. 4 nationally.
TENNESSEE STATE 60, EASTERN KENTUCKY 38
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee State picked up its first win of the year as the Lady Tigers defeated vistinig Eastern Kentucky, 60-38, Thursday.
TSU used a 16-1 run in the second quarter to take a 31-19 lead with 52 seconds left in the first half after a three-pointer by Terryaha Banner. The Tigers never looked back.
The Colonels cut the Tennessee State lead to 31-22 right before the half on a three-pointer by Shay Solomon, but never get any closer.
EKU (2-12, 0-3 OVC) got off to a quick start with an 11-3 lead after a jumper by Solomon with 6:27 left in the first period.
Nine Colonels scored in the loss. Mashayla Cecil matched her career-high with nine points. Hailey McCoy scored two points with a career-high eight rebounds and five assists. Solomon pitched in seven points of her own.
The Tigers (1-14, 1-2 OVC) were led by Tia Wooten with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Taylor Roberts had 13 points with two rebounds. Jaden Wrightsell chipped in her second double-double on the year with 12 points and 10 boards. Banner had 10 points of her own.
Eastern shot 30 percent from the field. Tennessee State shot 35 percent. The Colonels had 23 turnovers while TSU finished with 10.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 78, EASTERN ILLINOIS 49
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Jacksonville State uses a 17-0 third quarter run to beat Eastern Illinois women's basketball 78-49 Thursday night. The Panthers fall to 7-7 overall and 1-2 in the OVC, while the Gamecocks improve to 7-7 overall and 2-1 in the OVC.
In the first half, EIU and JSU traded a series of runs to head into halftime tied 29-29. The Panthers went on an 11-0 run early in the first quarter jumping out to a 15-4 lead. The Gamecocks responded closing the quarter on an 18-0 run holding EIU scoreless in the final 5:54 of the first ten minutes.
Taylor Steele led the Panthers on a 9-0 run to open the second quarter scoring seven of the nine points. The teams then traded 5-0 runs with JSU closing the half on a layup from Jayla Walker to tie the game 29-29.
JSU made six three-pointers in the third quarter led by Yamia Johnson who connected on three from the arc in the first five minutes to help JSU to a 17-0 run. Abby Wahl connected from the paint to break the Gamecocks run, but JSU would end the quarter with another 9-0 run. The Gamecocks were 11-of-15 from the field and outscored the Panthers 31-4 taking a 60-33 lead into the final 10 minutes.
The Panthers put up 16 points in the fourth quarter falling 78-49 to the Gamecocks in their second straight OVC loss.
EIU gave up 19 second chance points and allowed JSU to score 23 points off their 21 turnovers.
Steele finished with a game-leading 15 points on 6-of-12 from the field including three three-pointers. Wahl fell short of a double-double with eight points and nine rebounds off the bench.
JuToreyia Willis was 6-of-8 from the field for the game tying Steele's 15 points. Johnson scored all 14 of her points in the second half for the Gamecocks, while Taylor Hawks added 13 points and seven boards. Hawks was 7-of-10 from the free throw line.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 64, AUSTIN PEAY 54
CAPE GIRAREDAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri handed Austin Peay its first OVC loss of the season as the Redhawks defeated the visting Governors, 64-54, on Thursday.
Southeast Missouri (7-7, 2-1 OVC) was led by Tesia Thompson with 17 points and 10 rebounds while LaTresa Saine nearly notched a double-double with 12 points and eight rebounds. Adrianna Murphy recorded a team-best five assists.
Keisha Gregory and Myah Leflore each had 13 points to lead the Govs (7-7, 2-1 OVC). Brandy Ferby also reached double-figures in points with 10. Arielle Gonzalez-Varner added nine points and a team-best eight reobunds.
UT MARTIN 75, MURRAY STATE 67
MARTIN, Tenn. - UT Martin defeated visiting Murray State, 75-67, on Thursday. With the win the Skyhawks improve to 10-4 overall and 2-1 in the OVC while the Racers fell to 1-2 in league play and 5-9 overall.
Emanye Robertson led UT Martin with 24 points and eight assists. Robertson also had five rebounds and two steals. Brittni Moore came off the bench to score 12 points while Damiah Griffin added 11.
Murray State's Evelyn Adebayo led all players with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Macey Turley had 11 points while Lex Mayes recorded nine points and a team-best eight rebounds. Brianna Crane also had eight rebounds to go with eight points.