SUNDAY'S SCORES
@No. 20 Arkansas 96,
UT Martin 46
@Tennessee Tech 94, Tennessee Wesleyan 45
@Southeast Missouri 106, Harris-Stowe 64
@Austin Peay 77, Illinois State 72 (OT)
ARKANSAS 96, UT MARTIN 46
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball team proved to be no match against No. 20 Arkansas on Sunday afternoon, falling on the road 96-46.
The Skyhawks (4-7) closed out nonconference play with their fourth nationally ranked foe of the season. UT Martin would be overmatched in its final game of 2019 after being limited to a season-low 46 points while dropping its sixth road contest of the season.
UT Martin struggled to find its groove throughout the contest as the team shot just 31.1 percent from the floor. The Skyhawks would stumble against the Razorback defense by committing 26 turnovers while being the recipient of six blocks. Of the team’s 26 turnovers, Arkansas would tally 18 steals while scoring 36 points off said turnovers.
Reigning OVC Player of the Week Chelsey Perry would lead the Skyhawks once again in scoring after nearly tallying a double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds. Perry was joined in double figures by sophomore forward Damiah Griffin who tallied points on the afternoon.
Arkansas (12-1) saw four different players score in double figures behind a game-high from Alexis Tolefree with 23 points. Meanwhile, the trio of Chelsea Dungee (16), Amber Ramirez (14) and A’Tyanna Gaulden also scored in double figures.
UT Martin will now turn its focus to Ohio Valley Conference play with a road matchup at regional rival Murray State on Thursday, Jan. 2. Tipoff from the CFSB Center is scheduled for 5 p.m.
TENNESSEE TECH 94, TENNESSEE WESELYAN 45
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee Tech's entire roster netted a basket on Sunday as the Golden Eagles (7-4) produced an impressive 94-45 rout of the Tennessee Wesleyan Bulldogs (5-8) at the Hooper Eblen Center to close out their non-conference schedule and their 2019 slate.
The win extends Tech's win streak to three-straight contests, it's longest streak since January 19, 2019.
A pair of Golden Eagles tallied double-figure totals in the win, led by junior Kesha Brady netting a game-high 17 points on 6-of-11 from the field and 4-of-5 from the free throw line. Freshman Maaliya Owens also had a stellar showing against the Bulldogs as she joined Brady in double-digits with a career night, scoring a career-high 16 points, shooting 4-of-10 from 3-point range. Freshman Jada Guinn dished out a team-high seven assists. Defensively, Abby Buckner led the team with a game-high and season-high nine rebounds, while also recording her first-ever trio of blocked shots with a career-high three in the win.
As a team, Tech shot an impressive 52.2 percent from the field, 42.4 percent from 3-point range, and 71.4 percent from the free throw line. Tech shared the ball well in the contest, dishing out 29 assists from 10 different players in the contest. The Golden Eagles also dominated the glass, outrebounded the Bulldogs 49-24, including 17 offensive boards, which led to a huge 29-0 Tech advantage in second chance points. Tech's reserves also played a huge role as Tech produced a 56-19 advantage off the bench.
The Golden Eagles never trailed on Sunday afternoon, leading for 39:17 of the game's 40 minutes. Following a 5-4 Tech lead to open the contest, the Golden Eagles produced a dominant 29-3 run over an eight-minute stretch to produce Tech's highest-scoring quarter this season, 34-7.
Tech continued to pour it on in the second quarter as Tech outscored Tennessee Wesleyan 22-14 during the second period to break things out to a 56-21 lead into the break.
The third period opened on an 8-0 Tech run to extend Tech's lead to 40 for the first time of the contest, 61-21. Tennessee Wesleyan continued to struggle offensively as Tech outscored the Bulldogs 16-8 over the final eight minutes of the period to take a 48-point lead into the final period.
Tech maintained their impressive advantage as they close out the contest on a 17-16 final period to close out the game, 94-45.
The Golden Eagles will hit the road to open OVC play as Tech will visit the Eastern Kentucky Colonels on Jan. 2 at McBrayer Arena. Tipoff is slated for 4 p.m
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 106, HARRIS-STOWE 64
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri (7-3) trampled Harris-Stowe (1-9), 106-64, Sunday afternoon at the Show Me Center.
SEMO, which scored a season high in points, went over 100 for the third time under head coach Rekha Patterson. The last time the Redhawks defeated an opponent by 42+ points was at Eastern Illinois (107-65) on Feb. 11, 2017. SEMO also recorded a 107-59 (48 points) victory over Stephens College earlier that season.
The Redhawks had a dominating first quarter, outscoring the Hornets 36-9. Taelour Pruitt went 4-of-4 from the field while Tesia Thompson went 4-of-4 at the free throw line in the opening period.
SEMO took a 27-point lead after a 13-0 run at the end the first quarter, a lead that HSSU could not recover from.
Although the Hornets went on a 12-0 run to end the first half, the lead was only cut to 25-points (59-34). HSSU outscored SEMO 25-23 in the second quarter with Tarsheia Page leading the Hornets with nine points. Page sank three treys in the quarter.
Celeste Akoro had a jumper with 1:33 remaining in the game to give SEMO a 45-point lead (106-61), its largest of the game.
Pruitt led the Redhawks with 21 points, five steals and five assists. The Arlington, Texas native had 10 points in the first quarter alone.
Carrie Shephard (17), Thompson (18) and Jocelyn Taylor (12) joined Pruitt with double figures in the scoring column. This is Thompson recorded her 55th career game scoring in double-digits and Shephard posted her 10th double-digit game this season.
The Redhawks remained undefeated at home and improved to 8-0 when leading at halftime.
SEMO opens Ohio Valley Conference play at Austin Peay on Jan. 2. The Redhawks enter league play with a winning record for the second time with Patterson at the helm.
AUSTIN PEAY 77, ILLINOIS STATE 72
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Trailing by ten points with 2:02 remaining, Austin Peay State University women's basketball pulled off an electrifying comeback to tie the game at 68 and send it to overtime, where the Governors surged to a 77-72 win over Illinois State, Sunday, in the Dunn Center.
The Governors got things going early, with Kasey Kidwell knocking down a three-pointer on the first possession for the second-straight game. A few possessions later, Brandi Ferby knocked down a three-pointer to give the Govs a six-point edge, but the Redbirds immediately scored five unanswered to bring it back to one. Then the Govs took off again, stretching the lead back to six on another three-pointer, this one from Shay-Lee Kirby.
With the Govs commanding their second six-point lead early in the game, it was Illinois State's turn to go on a run. The Redbirds scored the next seven points to retake the lead heading into the second quarter, setting the tone for the back-and-forth battle that was to come.
The Governors were locked in to start the second quarter, immediately going on an 11-2 run to stake themselves to an 8-point advantage – their biggest of the first half. But the Redbirds would not go away, and a pair of Mary Crompton three-pointers on back-to-back possessions erased the Govs advantage altogether, as Illinois State went on a 13-0 run to claim a 5-point lead – their biggest lead of the first half.
The Govs cut the Illinois State lead to four, before scoring the final five points of the half on a Maggie Knowles three-pointer and a Gonzalez-Varner fast-break layup, to take a one-point lead into the locker room.
The third quarter was the closest of the day, with neither team able to extend their lead past four. After 30 minutes of action, Illinois State held a one-point advantage heading into the final quarter.
Things seemed to be headed south in a hurry for the Govs at the start of the fourth quarter, as Illinois State ripped off an 11-2 run to take an 11-point lead – the largest of the game. A Redbird layup with 2:02 remaining put the Governors down ten points, but that was the last time Illinois State would score in regulation.
An Ella Sawyer jumper, followed by a Nieja Crawford steal and fast break bucket cut the lead to six with 1:11 remaining. Coming out of an Austin Peay timeout, a Kidwell steal led to a Crawford three-pointer to reduce the deficit to three with just under a minute remaining. Following her triple, Crawford made maybe the biggest defensive play of the day, drawing an offensive foul on the other end get the ball back with 32 seconds left on the clock.
Enter Maggie Knowles. The sophomore from Murfreesboro checked in immediately following the Redbird's offensive foul, and proceeded to knock down a game-tying three-pointer, assisted by – who else? – Crawford.
The Knowles three-point dagger sent the game to overtime, where the Govs once again trailed early. A Knowles jumper in the lane erased the Redbird's early two-point advantage. From there, the Govs would do the rest of the scoring, knocking down five free throws to claim a 77-72 overtime win over Illinois State.