SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Illinois 65, Omaha 52
@Murray State 70, Indiana State 62
@Southeast Missouri 75, Southern Illinois 62
EASTERN ILLINOIS 65, OMAHA 52
CHARLESTON, Ill. - The Panthers took on the Omaha Mavericks on Saturday afternoon and showed up with a purpose. The Panthers never left the driver's seat, after scoring 23 points in the first quarter, and holding the Mavs to only 10. Lariah Washington scored a career-high 18 points off of 60% shooting, and pulled in six boards for EIU. Morgan Litwiller also had a career-high 9 points coming off of the bench for the Panthers. Karle Pace tied Washington for the most rebound by the Panthers with six, and managed 14 points, all of which came in the first half of play. EIU moves up to 5-3, while UNO falls to a 4-6 record.
The Panthers started off the game scorching hot, shooting 66.7% on the quarter. The Mavs couldn't control the ball, as they ended the quarter with six quick turnovers. Eastern capitalized on UNO's mistakes, socring 10 points off of the turnovers. Washington led all scorers through the first with 8 points while shooting perfect from the field (3-3). Sophie Johnston of the Mavericks was the teams leading scorer with 3 points. Panthers led 23-10.
The second quarter saw more of the same from the Panthers, while UNO managed to get into a groove. Eastern finished the quarter with 19 points, while the Mavs scored 18. UNO saw much of their success coming off of the bench, whereas the Panthers starters continued to stay hot. Pace was the leading scorer going into the half with 12 points and four rebounds. EIU pushed their lead to 42-28.
Coming out of halftime, the Panthers looked poised and led by 14 points. The Panthers continued their dominance, shooting 54.5% from the field in the quarter. Morgan Litwiller came alive to score 7 points for EIU and kept their lead safe. Litwiller went 3-4 for the quarter, including a momentum swinging three-pointer. UNO sputtered, shooting an abysmal 25% from the field. Panthers led 56-38 heading into the final quarter of play.
EIU had their worst quarter shooting the ball in the fourth, but had managed to build a lead that stopped the Mavs from stampeding back. Washington carried the load as she went 3-7 from the field in the quarter. UNO finished the game with 20 turnovers, while EIU had 17. The freshman duo each ended with career-highs in points, with Paige Schumann getting into the mix as well with 3 points.
The Panthers will take the next week off in preparation for the Compass Tournament on Dec. 19.
MURRAY STATE 70, INDIANA STATE 62
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State women’s basketball team picked up its fifth straight win Saturday night by taking down Indiana State, 70-62, at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky. The now 6-2 Racers are off to their best start since 2007-08 and the third best start in program history.
The duo of Macey Turley and Lex Mayes fueled the win Saturday by combining for 44 points including a combined 13-for-14 at the free throw line. The Racers continued to excel at the stripe in the game going 26-for-34, to finish with the fourth-most attempts in a single game all-time.
Murray State got off to a slow start in the game as they began the contest 0-for-10 from 3-point range and trailed by as many eight in the first half at 23-15. However, when Turley hit the first MSU three of the game with 5:40 left in the second quarter, it began a 19-6 run by the Racers to give them a 34-29 at the break.
While the Sycamores tried to claw back in the third, even outscoring the Racers, 19-17, Murray State put an end to any such thoughts in the fourth. MSU went 3-for-5 from 3-point range in the final stanza and a perfect 8-for-8 at the line to seal the win.
Turley led all scorers with 23 points, to go along with six rebounds, a perfect 10-for-10 performance at the free throw line and a game-high six assists, while Mayes followed closely with 21 points, four rebounds and two blocks. Sadie Hill also had a big night at the charity stripe going 8-for-10 to finish with right points and seven rebounds off the bench, while Alexis Burpo led Murray State on the glass with nine rebounds and eight points.
The Racers will take the week off for finals before returning to action a week from Sunday in Carbondale to take on Southern Illinois at the Banterra Center at 2 p.m.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 79, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 65
CAPE GIRARADEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri defeated visiting Southern Illinois, 79-65, on Saturday night. With the win the Redhawks improve to 5-2 overall on the season.
Tesia Thompson led the Redhawks with 16 points and nine rebounds. She shot 4-of-9 from the floor and went 8-of-11 from the line.
Taelour Pruitt added 15 points to go with four rebounds, two assists and one steal. She went a perfect 8-for-8 from the line.
Jocelyn Taylor chipped in 13 points while LaTrese Saine had 12 points and nine boards.
Southeast Missouri have the week off and will return to action on Saturday as it travels to Ole Miss.