THURSDAY'S SCORES
@No. 13 Kentucky 79,
Morehead State 54
Southeast Missouri 58, @Purdue Fort Wayne 48
Alcorn State 62,
@Tennessee State 57
@UT Martin 80, Samford 75
@Middle Tennessee 64,
Tennessee Tech 58
@Austin Peay 80, Evansville 64
KENTUCKY 79, MOREHEAD STATE 54
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Morehead State Women's Basketball team won the rebounding battle and saw three players crack double-figures in scoring before suffering a 79-54 setback against No. 13 Kentucky on Thursday evening at Memorial Coliseum.
The sixth-year head coach saw his pre-game expectations brought to life as the Wildcats turned the Eagles over three times and jumped out to a 10-2 advantage in the opening 4:13.
While Morehead State managed an answer that cut the deficit to four late in the quarter, the nationally-ranked host used a quick 10-0 run from the 3:48-1:56 mark to extend its lead to double digits.
The Eagles did manage to outscore the Wildcats 11-8 in the fourth quarter.
Part of that competitiveness showed in the final statistics as Morehead State outrebounded Kentucky 43-37.
The Eagles finished the contest shooting a 34% clip from the floor (16-for-47) while the Wildcats hit on 39.7% (29-for-73) of their shot in the game. Kentucky managed to knock down 11-of-32 shots from three-point range while locking down MSU to a 3-of-14 clip.
Kentucky's hot shooting was powered by sophomore Rhyne Howard's 24 points on 9-of-20 shooting. Howard, who was the 2019 NCAA Freshman of the Year, hit five triples as well.
In the scoring column for Morehead State, junior guard Jazzmyn Elston and freshman guard Tomiyah Alford led the way with 11 points each while freshman guard Ariel Kirkwood achieved double figures with 10 points.
Kirkwood's scoring effort gives her three-straight games with at least 10 points while Alford has now done so in back-to-back contests.
On the glass, senior forward Jaleesa Avery along with Alford and Kirkwood snagged eight rebounds apiece.
With the win, Kentucky moves to 5-0 overall.
Morehead State falls to 2-3 with the loss
Next up, the Eagles return home for a Tuesday evening matchup against North Carolina A&T. Tipoff at Johnson Arena is set for 6:00 p.m. ET
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 58, PURDUE FORT WAYNE 48
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Southeast Missouri (4-1) held Purdue Fort Wayne (2-4) to a season-low 48 points in a 58-48 road win Thursday night at Gates Sports Center.
SEMO became the third Ohio Valley Conference school to hold an opponent under 50 points this season. The Redhawks also limited PFW to shooting just 26.2 percent (16-of-61) from the field on its homecourt.
Jessie Harshberger knocked down a 3-pointer to give SEMO its first lead (7-6) of the game with 6:07 left in the first quarter and never trailed again. Harshberger's trey ignited a 12-2 run as the Redhawks built a 19-8 lead.
SEMO took its largest lead with seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter when Taelour Pruitt buried a jumper to put the Redhawks ahead 49-32.
Pruitt finished with a game-high 17 points to lead three SEMO starters in double figures. She shot 7-of-13 from the field and went 2-of-2 at the free throw line.
Carrie Shephard followed close behind with 16 points and Harshberger added 10. Shephard made 7-of-13 field goals and drained a pair of 3-pointers, while Harshberger hit a near-perfect 5-of-6 free throws to go along with her five rebounds.
SEMO forced 21 turnovers and collected 10 steals with its smothering defense. The Redhawks scored 22 points off those turnovers.
Hannah Albrecht led the Mastodons with 13 points.
LaTrese Saine had a season-best nine rebounds and four blocks.
SEMO will return to action at Saint Louis after an 11-day layoff on Dec. 3.
ALCORN STATE 62, TENNESSEE STATE 57
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - In a game that went back-and-forth the entire night, the Tennessee State University women’s basketball team dropped a, 62-57, decision to Alcorn State Thursday night in the Gentry Center.
The game went down to the wire and wasn’t decided until the final minute. Alcorn State (2-4) made timely plays down the stretch to pull out the win. TSU fell to 1-3 on the season.
Taylor Roberts finished the game with a double-double of 25 points and 12 rebounds. Jazmine Young also reached double-digits with 15 points and five assists.
Tennessee State will conclude its homestand with a match-up against Vanderbilt on Monday, Nov. 25. Game time is set for 6 p.m. in the Gentry Center.
UT MARTIN 80, SAMFORD 75
MARTIN, Tenn. - Trailing by double figures heading into the fourth quarter, the University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball posted a thrilling comeback in the final quarter and overtime period to lift the squad to an 80-75 victory over Samford.
The Skyhawks (1-3) recorded their first win of the season behind a supportive crowd in the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center. Facing a deficit as large as 12 points in the second half while also beginning the game in a nine-point hole, the Skyhawks scratched and clawed their way to an overtime period by outscoring the Bulldogs by 10 in the fourth. With new life and five extra minutes, UT Martin put the game away late to secure a five-point victory.
Leading the charge for UT Martin was the play of junior forward Chelsey Perry who posted a new career-high with 32 points while tallying five rebounds and two blocks. While Perry led the team offensively, it was sophomore Damiah Griffin who spurred the strong fourth quarter, scoring 11 of her 16 points in the period. Rounding out the Skyhawks in double figures was sophomore Sade’ Hudson with 10 points off the bench.
Samford (1-5) saw four different players score in double figures, including a near triple-double by Charity Brown with 18 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in the contest. The duo of Natalie Armstrong and Sarah Myers chipped in 15 points apiece while Shauntai Battle capped off the Bulldogs in double figures with 10 points.
The Bulldogs jumped out to an early nine-point advantage in the first quarter before taking a 23-18 lead into the second quarter. The Skyhawks would piece together a 9-0 run in the second but would ultimately gain no ground at the break, facing a five-point deficit. Another strong third quarter by Samford pushed the team’s margin out to 12 points in the final minute of the period.
Needing a late push, UT Martin would crank up the defensive pressure in the second half, tallying 12 steals and forcing 15 turnovers in the game’s final 25 minutes of play. With Perry on the bench with foul trouble, the sophomore trio of Brittni Moore, Griffin and Hudson stepped up to combine for 21 points in the quarter and ultimately force overtime. From there it was Perry that put the game away, scoring nine of the team’s 13 points in the five-minute period to give the Skyhawks their first win of the season.
UT Martin will return to action with a home contest against IUPUI on Monday, Nov. 25. Tipoff from the Elam Center is scheduled for 6 p.m.
AUSTIN PEAY 80, EVANSVILLE 64
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay defeated visiting Evansville, 80-64, on Thursday night. With the win, the Governors improved to 4-1 on the season.
Austin Peay's Maggie Knowles led all players with 25 points. She hit seven three-pointers in the win.
Shay-Lee Kirby added 17 points, including knocking down four triples.
Arielle Gonzalez-Varner added 11 points and seven rebounds. Tahanee Bennell had eight points and a team-best eight assists.
Austin Peay returns to action on Sunday as it travels to Chattanooga.
MIDDLE TENNESSEE 64, TENNESSEE TECH 58
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Tennessee Tech fell to Middle Tennessee, 64-58, on the road on Thursday. With the loss, the Golden Eagles fell to 2-2 on the season.
Jordan Brock and Kesha Brady led Tech with 16 points each. Brady nearly had a double-double as she brought down seven boards.
Annica Wilkinson recorded a team-best best nine rebounds togo wht five points.
The Golden Eagles will travel to Samford on Sunday.