SUNDAY'S SCORES
@No. 19 Michigan State 93,
Morehead State 48
@Tennessee State 91, Fisk 50
@Southern Illinois 76,
Murray State 66
@Vanderbilt 75,
Eastern Kentucky 69
MICHIGAN STATE 93, MOREHEAD STATE 48
EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Morehead State Women's Basketball team suffered a 93-48 setback at No. 19 Michigan State on Sunday afternoon at the Breslin Center.
The Spartans, who improved to 8-1 overall in the 2019-20 season, hit on 37-of-67 shots to post a season-best 55% shooting clip. Freshman Julia Ayrault paced five double-figure scorers for Michigan State with a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds.
The Eagles hit on 20-of-56 (.357) field goal attempts while being limited to just 3-of-20 (.150) shooting from three-point range. Freshman guard Tomiyah Alford led scoring for Morehead State with 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
The loss drops the Eagles to 3-6 overall.
Morehead State will look to bounce back on Tuesday evening as it plays it travels to Valparaiso. Last season, the Eagles defeated the Crusaders 68-62 in the Vinewood Farms Classic at Johnson Arena.
Tipoff between Morehead State and Valpo is set for 7:00 p.m. ET at the Athletics-Recreation Center in Valparaiso, Ind.
TENNESSEE STATE 91, FISK 50
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee State University women’s basketball team picked up a, 91-50, win over Fisk University Sunday afternoon in the Gentry Center.
After struggling with a feisty Fisk team early on, TSU regained its composure and started to take control of the game. The Lady Tigers built a 20-point lead at halftime and kept up the pressure in the second stanza to secure the victory.
The win snapped a seven-game losing skid for Tennessee State (2-7).
Freshman Deaja Richardson led TSU in scoring with 17 points after going 5-of-9 from the field, including 4-of-8 from three-point range, while junior Taylor Roberts added 13 points. Ashley Primas came off the bench to score a career-high 13 points and junior Takya Bennett just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. Freshman Megan Kent pulled down a season-best nine boards.
TSU shot 47.5 percent from the field and held the advantage in bench points, 45-18.
Tennessee State will break for the holiday before returning to action on Monday, Dec. 30 against Columbia. Game time is slated for 2 p.m. in Gentry Center.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 76, MURRAY STATE 66
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Despite outscoring Southern Illinois in each of the final three quarters Sunday, the Murray State women’s basketball team couldn’t overcome a 25-11 first quarter deficit, eventually falling 76-66, at the Banterra Center in Carbondale.
Murray State outscored the Salukis, 55-51, over the final three quarters of the game, but it was ultimately a 16-4 start to the game that doomed the Racers. A Macey Turley three with 3:37 to play trimmed the lead to just five in the waning minutes, but that would be as close as Murray State would get as SIU held on, putting an end to a five-game win streak by the Racers in the process.
Turley finished the game one point shy of her career-high with 31, including another perfect performance at the free throw line at 8-for-8. The sophomore also led a Murray State team that shot 50-percent from 3-point range with a career-high five 3-pointers. Macie Gibson followed with eight points for MSU, while Lex Mayes, Alexis Burpo and Laci Hawthorne each had seven. Burpo also led the Racers on the glass in the game with nine, while Turley was next with six.
Murray State returns home Friday to host Samford at 6 p.m. on ESPN+.
VANDERBILT 75, EASTERN KENTUCKY 69
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Eastern Kentucky University’s women’s basketball team took a 65-62 lead with 4:53 remaining in the fourth quarter, but Vanderbilt closed the game on an 8-0 run to knock off the Colonels, 75-69, Sunday night at Memorial Coliseum.
With 4:16 remaining in the third quarter, Vanderbilt took a 49-33 after a layup by Kaylon Smith. However, the Colonels closed the third quarter on an 11-1 run capped off by a Qay Stanton jumper in the paint to cut the Commodore lead to 54-49 after the third quarter.
EKU (6-4) kept chipping away to start the final stanza and took its first lead 63-62, since it was 2-0 in the first quarter, after a Shay Solomon layup.
Vanderbilt (7-3) used a 7-0 run to end the first quarter after the LeaLea Carter jumper to take a 17-9 lead after the opening stanza.
Eastern chipped away to start the second quarter and cut the Vanderbilt lead to 19-15 after the De’Ayra Davis jumper. After a Teri Goodlett three-pointer cut the Dores lead to 28-25 with 1:33 remaining in the first half, Vanderbilt used an 8-0 run to take a 36-25 lead into the break.
The Colonels shot 39 percent from the field on the game. Vanderbilt shot 48 percent from the field. Eastern forced 17 turnovers on the game.
Bria Bass posted a team-best 16 points and seven rebounds on the night. Stanton chipped in 13 points and seven assists.
Koi Love lead the way for Vanderbilt posting a game-high 17 points and eight rebounds. Four Commodores scored in double figures.
Eastern wraps up the 2019 calendar year on the road on Friday when the Colonels take on IUPUI. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.