WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Kentucky 69, Northern Kentucky 62
@Belmont 63, Chattanooga 50
@Saint Louis 56,
UT Martin 50
EASTERN KENTUCKY 69, NORTHERN KENTUCKY 62
RICHMOND, Ky. - Eastern Kentucky University’s women’s basketball team held Northern Kentucky University scoreless for the final 2:42 to earn a season-opening 69-62 victory on Wednesday at McBrayer Arena.
After Molly Glick tied the game for the Norse with a jumper and a free throw at the 2:42 mark, EKU kept the visitors off the board the rest of the way. NKU missed two free throw attempts with 25.2 seconds left in the game that would have cut the deficit to two points. Northern missed its final five field goal attempts and turned the ball over once.
Newcomer De’ayra Davis made two free throws at the other end to extend the lead to six, 68-62, with 23.5 seconds left.
Senior Shay Solomon led Eastern (1-0) with 12 points and five assists. Bria Bass had nine points. Newcomer I’Liyah Green contributed seven points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and two assists. Freshman Anysa Jordan totaled eight points and seven rebounds.
Carissa Garcia scored a game-best 18 points for the Norse (0-1).
EKU shot 45 percent from the field for the game, including hitting 11-of-25 (44 percent) from three-point range. Eastern Kentucky got 33 points of its bench. Northern Kentucky made just 32 percent of its shots.
The Colonels built a nine-point lead three times in the first half, but NKU used a 7-0 run in the second quarter to get back in the contest and got within one, 37-36, at halftime. The Norse scored the first six points of the third quarter to take their largest lead of the game, 42-37.
EKU was down two at the start of the fourth quarter, but a pair of three-pointers from Davis and Jordan gave Eastern a four-point lead, 56-52.
The Colonels will play their first road game of the season Saturday at Memphis. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET
BELMONT 63, CHATTANOOGA 50
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Belmont Bruins collected a season-opnening 63-50 victory over the Chattanooga Mocs at the Curb Event Center on Wednesday night. Senior forward Ellie Harmeyer propelled the Bruins with 22 points and a career-best 20 rebounds.
Sophomore forward Conley Chinn chipped in 12 points and five rebounds, as senior guard Maura Muensterman and freshman guard Kiki Britzmann each nabbed nine points in the win.
Senior guard Lakelyn Bouldin led the Mocs with 21 points and three rebounds.
The Bruins will be back in action on Saturday when it host UCF.
SAINT LOUIS 56, UT MARTIN 50
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball team gave Atlantic 10 foe Saint Louis all it wanted and more in the season opener for both squads before ultimately dropping the decision 56-50.
The Skyhawks (0-1) held a lead as large as 11 points in the first quarter while controlling the tempo and scoreboard for nearly 23 minutes. Defensively, the team would give SLU fits, holding the Billikens to just a 20 percent shooting clip from the field and five total field goals in the opening half while forcing 11 turnovers.
The tide would change in the second half. After making six field goals in the first quarter to give the team breathing room, the Skyhawks made just 8-of-33 attempts in the second and third quarters. Facing a deficit of their own as large as 11 points in the fourth, UT Martin would rally late in the contest by shooting 41.7 percent in the fourth quarter and cutting the margin to four points. The push would come too late however, as the Skyhawks would not find the winning touch down the stretch.
Leading the way for the Skyhawks was the play of junior guard Tamiah Stanford who opened the season with a career-best performance with 19 points. Joining her in double figures was Damiah Griffin with 15 points and five boards while junior Chelsey Perry was limited to just four points while tallying 10 rebounds.
Saint Louis (1-0) used a strong second half to take control of the game, scoring 38 points in the final two quarters while shooting 50 percent during the stretch. The Billikens were led offensively by Brooke Flowers with 18 points and seven rebounds while Rachel Kent tallied 12 points to also eclipse double-digits.
UT Martin will return to action with a road contest at nationally ranked No. 8 Mississippi State on Monday, Nov. 11.