FRIDAY'S SCORES
@Tennessee State 83, Wilberforce 65
Southern Illinois 103,
@SIUE 67
@Louisville 76,
Murray State 40
@Austin Peay 82, Christian Brothers 62
TENNESSEE STATE 83, WILBERFORCE 65
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee State University women’s basketball team opened the 2019-20 slate with an 83-65 victory over Wilberforce Friday night in the Gentry Center.
Tennessee State starts 1-0 for the first time since the 2012-13 season.
Junior Taylor Roberts led TSU in scoring with 19 points while junior Jaden Wrightsell pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds. Jazmine Young also scored in double-digits, registering 11 points and six steals.
The Lady Tiger offense was a balanced attack as nine players scored five points or more. TSU outrebounded WU 48-37 and forced the Bulldogs into 30 turnovers.
Tennessee State will hit the road to face the Lady Vols in Knoxville, Tenn. on Thursday, Nov. 14. Game time against the SEC opponent is set for 6 p.m. CT in Thompson Boling Arena.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 103, SIUE 67
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Makenzie Silvey ignited SIU Carbondale in the renewed women's basketball rivalry between the sister schools at the First Community Arena in the Vadalabene Center on Friday.
The Salukis scored 57 first-half points and never looked back in winning their season opener 103-67. The Cougars fell to 0-2.
Silvey, a 5-foot, 11-inch junior guard and one of five returning starters, was one shy of her career best and tallied 21 of those points in the first half when the Salukis built a 20-point advantage after two quarters.
SIU Carbondale teammate Abby Brockmeyer punched in 16 points. Nicole Martin (15 points), Gabby Walker (12 points) and Kristen Nelson (10 points) also hit in double figures for the Salukis.
The Cougars tried to claw their way back into the game the second half. Reserve Mikayla Kinnard, a 5-11 freshman from Louisville, Ky., gave them plenty of life. She scored 12 points overall.
Bria Stallworth scored 12 points, Allie Troeckler logged 10 points, Christen King collected nine points and Zaria Whitlock had eight points for the Cougars.
The Cougars are idle until Wednesday when Evansville of the MVC comes calling at 7 p.m. SIUE then travels to Nebraska on Sunday, Nov. 17 before entertain local rival Saint Louis on Wednesday, Dec. 20.
LOUISVILLE 76, MURRAY STATE 40
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Sophomore Macey Turley scored 18 to lead the Murray State women’s basketball team in a 76-40 loss to #9 Louisville at the KFC YUM! Center in the 2019-20 season opener for the Racers.
Despite the score, the Racers limited Louisville to just 22 points in the half court, with the Cards scoring the rest of their points off turnovers or on second chances. The Racer defense also forced 11 turnovers in the game with Louisville committing a total of 21 on the night.
Turley was 6-of-14 from the floor Friday including 3-of-6 from three-point range to go along with four assists. Gibson followed Turley with eight-points, while Cekeya Mack and Laci Hawthorne led MSU on the boards with six rebounds each.
Murray State returns to action next Wednesday when they travel the road to Itta Benna to take on Mississippi Valley at 6 p.m.
AUSTIN PEAY 82, CHRISTIAN BROTHERS 62
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - It was not the scoring explosion nor the three-point barrage Austin Peay State University women’s basketball team displayed in the season opener, tonight the Governors displayed a suffocating full-court press that forced 29 turnovers and led to 18 steals, as the Govs defeated Christian Brothers, 82-62, in the Dunn Center.
It was a quick start for the Governors preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference selection, Arielle Gonzalez-Varner. Gonzalez-Varner went to work in the post, scoring six of the Govs first nine points. Add three-pointers from Maggie Knowles and Shay-Lee Kirby, and the Governors were off the starting line with an 8-point lead that would not surrender the entire game.
After nailing six three-pointers in the first quarter of the season opener, the Govs showed off a different look in the offense early against Christian Brothers, throwing the ball into the paint and attacking the rim. The Govs scored 12-of-19 first quarter points in the paint, and grabbed five offensive rebounds, which led to six second-chance points.
The Governors bench heated up in the second quarter, as a trio of reserves combined for 16 second-quarter points. Kirby knocked down her second three-pointer of the game in the quarter, and Brianah Ferby added a three-pointer on the way to five points of her own in the quarter. Finally, Kelen Kenol added five points, as the Governors rolled into the halftime break with a 44-26 lead.
The Governors stalled on offense coming out of the locker room, scoring only 14 points in the quarter. However, the Governors forced nine turnovers and had eight takeaways in the quarter, to shutout down the Christian Brother offense, only allowing the Lady Buccaneers to score 13 points in the quarter. The Govs also kept Christian Brothers off the scoreboard, by pulling down eight offensive rebounds; the Lady Buccaneers only had eight total rebounds in the quarter.
The Governors found a little more rhythm in the fourth quarter, knocking down four three-pointers on their way to a 24-point final quarter, and an 82-62 win, to improve to 2-0 on the season. Kenol finished the night with 13 points, a new career high for the junior from Woodbury, Minnesota. Kirby added another 12 points off the bench, as the Governor reserves posted a 49-point effort in the win.
The Governors will hit the road for their first this season when they make the trip to Champaign, Illinois, for a 7 p.m., Wednesday night tip-off, against the Fighting Illini of Illinois.