SATURDAY'S SCORES
Southeast Missouri 80, @Eastern Illinois 54
@Morehead State 68, Eastern Kentucky 52
@Austin Peay 59, Murray State 56
UT Martin 75, @SIUE 48
@Jacksonville State 76, Tennessee State 73
Belmont 99, @Tennessee Tech 67
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 80, EASTERN ILLINOIS 54
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Tesia Thompson scored a game-high 20 points and Southeast Missouri (12-13, 7-7) shot a season-best 54.2 percent in a big 80-54 road win over Eastern Illinois (10-15, 4-10) Saturday afternoon at Lantz Arena.
The 80 points were SEMO's most in Ohio Valley Conference play this season.
SEMO put the pedal down and never let up from start to finish using an aggressive offense and ferocious defense to complete its season sweep of the Panthers.
The Redhawks, who trailed 15-13 after the first 10 minutes of action, heated up to shoot a scorching 73.3 percent in the second stanza.
SEMO missed just four times from the field sinking 11-of-15 shots. The Redhawk defense smothered the Panthers into committing eight turnovers. SEMO scored 10 points off those miscues and held a comfortable 39-20 lead at the intermission, its largest halftime advantage in conference play this year.
Thompson led all scorers with 10 first-half points in a span of 17 minutes. The Redhawks scored 28 of their points inside the paint and did not miss a free throw (6-of-6) during the game's opening 20 minutes.
SEMO picked up where it left off in the second half putting together another 24-point quarter in the third period. Adrianna Murphy went over double figures with a jumper to secure her first double-digit effort in six games. Murphy's conventional 3-point play grabbed the Redhawks a hefty 53-27 lead with a little under six minutes remaining.
The Redhawks didn't cool off much shooting 60 percent (9-of-15) from the floor and a perfect 3-of-3 from downtown in the third quarter.
SEMO took its biggest lead of the day on Dolapo Balogun's free throw at the 2:46 mark before the Redhawks put their seventh league victory on ice.
Thompson shot 8-of-16 from the field and 3-of-4 at the free throw line, while pulling down a team-high six rebounds and dishing out four assists. Her 20-point effort marked her ninth of the season.
Murphy followed with 19 points, while Jocelyn Taylor and Carrie Shephard contributed 16 and 10 points, respectively.
As a team, the Redhawks made 32-of-59 field goals and shot 50 percent or better for the fourth time this season. SEMO also outrebounded EIU, 34-25.
Taylor Steele led EIU with 15 points.
SEMO held its opponent under 60 points for the 11th game in 2018-19.
MOREHEAD STATE 68, EASTERN KENTUCKY 62
MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Morehead State women's basketball team snapped a two-game losing streak with a 68-52 win over Ohio Valley Conference rival Eastern Kentucky on Saturday afternoon at Johnson Arena.
The Eagles (19-8, 10-4 OVC) got scores from 11 different players with senior guard Miranda Crockett leading the charge with game-highs in both points and rebounds. Crockett was 7-of-18 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free throw stripe for her 16 points while pulling down nine rebounds. Crockett extended her streak of games with ten-plus points to 31.
Morehead State's defense powered the win, causing 25 turnovers and swiping 15 steals. Senior guard Crystal Simmons-Cozar thieved away a game-best four Colonels possessions. The Eagles also held EKU to just 21-of-58 shooting (.362)
With the win, Morehead State picked up win 19, which gives the program three consecutive seasons of at least 19 victories for the first time in its 49-year history. The Eagles finished 2016-17 at 21-10 before finishing up 2018-19 with a 21-11 mark.
The Colonels (2-23, 0-14 OVC) were led by Bria Bass with nine points as they dropped lost their 14th consecutive game.
Both Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky wore pink shirts in warmups and pink accessories in the game to show support for the #Play4Kay initiative by the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
The Eagles' players were also sporting green shoelaces in the game to bring awareness to student-athlete mental health as part of a partnership with Morehead State Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the OVC's #OvrComeTheStigma campaign
AUSTIN PEAY 59, MURRAY STATE 56
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - The latest version of the Heritage Bank Battle of the Border goes to Austin Peay State University women’s basketball team as they defeated archrival Murray State, 59-56, Saturday, at the Winfield Dunn Center.
It was a sloppy start for the Govs, as they turned the ball over on three of their first four possessions. The Racers took advantage of the poor start, hitting five of their seven shots to jump out to an 11-2 lead. However, the Govs finally woke up and responded with a 9-0 run sparked by a Keisha Gregory three. The Racers started to slow down from their frantic pace to begin the game, as the Govs started to play some more aggressive defense and get a couple more stops. Another Gregory three near the end of the quarter brought the Murray State lead back to just one, 16-15, and that is how the quarter ended. The Govs received a massive boost though, as Kelen Kenol returned to the court, playing in her first game since the last non-conference game against Evansville in December.
Despite Maggie Knowles hitting a three-pointer early on to tie the game in the second quarter, the Govs could not get going offensively, going on a zero-of-seven stretch on their next seven attempts. The cold stretch was broken by back-to-back threes from the Ferby twins, as the Govs retook the lead for a brief moment before the Racers went on a 7-0 run. Another Gregory three cut the lead to five, but Murray used 14 points from the OVC’s leading scorer, Evelyn Adebayo, to lead 34-28 at halftime. The Govs shot well from beyond the arc in the first half, going 6-of-13, but were just 4-of-16 on two-point shots. The Racers also limited the Govs getting to the free-throw line, as the Govs just made two of their four free throws in the half, two days after making 28 total free throws against Morehead State.
For much of the third quarter, it seemed like the Govs were hanging on by a thread. The Govs cut it to two early but Janika Griffith-Wallace nailed her third three-pointer of the game to spark a 7-0 Murray run that included a technical foul on the APSU bench. However, Brianah Ferby nailed a massive triple to get the Dunn Center crowd back into it, before Brandi Ferby hit another three on the next possession, forcing a timeout. It was the second time that the Ferby twins hit threes on back-to-back possessions and suddenly a nine-point Murray lead was down to three. After the Ferby outburst, both teams finished the quarter extremely cold, as the Racers went one-of-seven to finish the quarter, while finished the quarter on a 2-of-13 stretch. Griffith-Wallace put the Racers back up top by six after a pair of late free throws, but more importantly, drew the foul on Gregory, who picked up her fourth foul.
The Govs knew they needed a big momentum-changing run and they wasted no time in doing so. After a quick bucket from Gregory, who stayed on the floor with the four fouls, Knowles nailed a triple to bring the Govs within one. The Govs forced a turnover on the next possession, it led to Gregory finishing in transition, and suddenly a six-point deficit was a one-point advantage. The Racers responded by hitting three of their next four shots before Brianah Ferby hit another massive three-pointer off an assist from her sister, stepping back and shooting from WNBA range as the shot clock expired to tie the game at 53. After a timeout, Griffith-Wallace silenced the crowd with a three of her own, as she proved to be the go-to option for the Racers. Griffith-Wallace had 14 in the second half, but the Govs keyed in on Adebayo, routinely bringing help when she was trying to get into post position and forcing the other four Racers on the court to beat them. Adebayo only had two points in the second half and finished with 16 points and nine rebounds. For any other player, that seems like a great statline, but Adebayo is a walking double-double who came into the contest averaging 18 points and 13 rebounds per game.
Back on the floor, the Ferby twins once again were coming up big for the Govs. Brianah finished strongly to cut it to one before Brandi was fouled with only 70 seconds left and she made both free throws to give the Govs a one-point advantage. From then on, the Govs knew a couple stops would give them the win and they answered the challenge. Brandi took a charge on Griffith-Wallace to give the ball back to the Govs, but Gregory’s contested jumper rimmed out and the Racers once again had the ball with a chance to win, this time with just 24 seconds left. The Govs denied Adebayo the ball and did not allow Griffith-Wallace to drive to her right hand, forcing freshman Macey Turley, who broke the Murray State record for most consecutive free throws made in a season in the game, to put up a contested baseline jumper that missed and went out of bounds back to the Governors. Gregory calmly made two free throws to give the Govs a three-point lead before Adebayo’s potential game-tying shot missed, giving the Govs a 59-56 victory over their archrival.
UT MARTIN 75, SIUE 48
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - The University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball team completed a season sweep of Ohio Valley Conference rival SIUE on Saturday with a dominating road performance, notching a 75-48 victory.
The Skyhawks (18-7, 10-4 OVC) used a big second quarter in which the visitors outscored the home squad 24-8 in the period and never looked back. With the win, the Skyhawks move into a three-way tie for second place in the league standings with four games left to play.
Sophomore Chelsey Perry led a balanced scoring attack which saw only two players score in double figures. Perry tallied 14 points and seven rebounds in the contest while Emanye Robertson also eclipsed double-figures with 10 points and eight assists. As a whole, all 14 players saw action with 11 players reaching the scoring column.
SIUE (11-14, 6-8 OVC) was led in scoring by sophomore Allie Troeckler with 10 points and seven rebounds while senior Sydney Bauman tallied eight points 10 rebounds and four blocks.
BELMONT 99, TENNESSEE TECH 67
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Darby Maggard scored a career-high 34 points to help the Belmont women's basketball team defeat the Golden Eagles, 99-67, at Tech's Eblen Center. Maggard knocked down five 3-pointers and was instrumental in a second-half surge when Belmont really put its foot on the gas.
A 32-point fourth quarter helped push the Bruins (20-5, 13-1 OVC) over the 20-win plateau for a fourth straight season and extend the team's lead atop the conference standings. Belmont leads a group of pursuers – which includes Tech (18-7, 10-4 OVC) – by three games with four left to play in the regular season.
Maggard's 34 points were part of a greater 99-point effort for Belmont, the team's second-best total on the season. The Bruins played within their tempo and executed extremely well on the offensive end, Maggard said.
Maggard scored 24 points in the second half alone and finished 5-of-8 from behind the 3-point line to help extend her OVC record for career threes. The guard has now made 398 triples in her illustrious Belmont career, tied for the fifth most in NCAA Division I history.
Belmont had a little extra motivation coming into Saturday's clash after Tennessee Tech escaped Nashville with a 77-72 road win on Jan. 5, Belmont's first loss to an OVC foe in nearly three years. That snapped a 47-game win streak over conference opponents for the Bruins.
Belmont has started a new streak however. The Bruins have won 12 straight games, all in league play.
Crucial to Belmont's victory was its advantage at the free-throw line where Belmont shot 25-of-31, a season best. Junior Ellie Harmeyer (Kenosha, Wis.) was 9-of-10 at the line, part of a 19-point day for her to go with 13 rebounds, and Maggard was 5-of-5.
Just as important was how few free throws Tech took. The nation's No. 8 team in terms of free-throw percentage, Tennessee Tech didn't attempt a free throw until the final minute of the third quarter. Clean defense in the key was the driving factor in that differential.
Tennessee Tech had four players reach double-diguresin scoring with Kentoria Alexander leading the way with 15 points all of which came on three-pointers. Akia Harris added 14 points and six assists while Abby Buckner had 11 points and Kesha Brady scored 10.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 76, TENNESSEE STATE 73
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Taylor Hawks hit a three-pointer as time expired to lift Jacksonville State past visiting Tennessee State, 76-73, in overtime. With the win the Gamecocks improve dto 12-13 overall and 6-8 in the OVC while the Lady Tigers fell to 4-22 overall and 4-10 in league action.
Hawks finished the game with a team-high 20 points, including hitting a trio of there-pointers. Destiney Elliot finished with 17 points and Yamia Johnson had 13.
Tennessee State's Taylor Roberts had a game-high 27 points while Tia Wooten added 18.