THURSDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Illinois 52, Jacksonville State 49
Austin Peay 80, @Eastern Kentucky 60
@Morehead State 80, Murray State 71
@Southeast Missouri 81, Tennessee State 57
@SIUE 63, Tennessee Tech 61
@UT Martin 71, Belmont 68 (OT)
EASTERN ILLINOIS 52, JACKSONVILLE STATE 49
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois women's basketball beats Jacksonville State 52-49 Thursday afternoon on Kids Day. Halle Stull had a productive day off the bench for the Panthers recording six points, five boards, a steal, and a block in the win. EIU improves to 11-17 overall and 5-12 in the OVC. JSU falls to 14-14 overall and 8-9 in the OVC.
The teams battled in Lantz Thursday afternoon as the highest lead was only six points by the Panthers in the third quarter. Each team led by at least five points once as the game was tied six different times and saw seven lead changes.
JSU got on the board first in the game with a layup by Chloe Long just 11 seconds into the first quarter. That would be the Gamecocks only lead of the first half as the Panthers held on to a three-point advantage heading into halftime.
Grace McRae opened the third quarter connecting on a three-pointer extending EIU's lead to six points making for the largest lead of the game. JSU fought back taking their first lead at the 8:44 mark on a jumper from Rayven Pearson. Stull would come off the bench and knock down a three to give the Panthers the lead for the remainder of the quarter. EIU led 38-34 going into the final 10 minutes.
The Gamecocks opened the fourth on a 8-1 run to take a three-point lead. Jumpers by Karle Pace and Taylor Steele narrowed the two leads JSU would hold over EIU. Perry would tie the game for the final time on a free throw, but a three-point play by Grace Lennox 2:33 left to play would lead the Panthers to a 52-49 win.
The Panthers held the Gamecocks to shooting 28.1 percent from the field and 20.6 percent from the arc, while they shot over 40 percent from both the field and three-point range. EIU also outscored JSU 26-12 in the paint.
Pace finished with a game-high 13 points and added four rebounds. McRae added 10 points and two boards, while Lennox tallied eight points, two boards, three assists, and two steals. Smith scored six points and grabbed a team-best six boards, while Steele dished out a game-high five assists.
Pearson led JSU with 13 points and finished with nine boards. Perry added eight points off the bench.
AUSTIN PEAY 80, EASTERN KENTUCKY 60
RICHMOND, Ky. - Austin Peay State University women's basketball team clinched a spot in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament with a 80-60 win over Eastern Kentucky, Thursday, at McBrayer Arena.
The Governors (15-13, 10-7 OVC) hit 13 three-pointers as head coach David Midlick won his 100th career game as a collegiate head coach.
Despite the Govs putting 100 points on the Colonels (2-26, 0-17 OVC) in the first meeting, the Colonels were the ones who got off to a better start in that game. The same happened again, as the Colonels jumped out to a quick 11-4 lead off the back of an 8-0 run after a rather flat start from the Govs. Keisha Gregory put some energy into the Govs with two triples in three possessions, as they cut the EKU lead to one. The Govs only made one of their next six shots before a big basket from Brianah Ferby led to a press opportunity, as Arielle Gonzalez-Varner stole the ball and made the layup to give the Govs a one-point lead, 16-15, entering the second quarter.
Maggie Knowles and Nieja Crawford both made three-pointers early in the second quarter, but EKU went on an 8-1 run to take a 34-32 lead. The duo of Abby Wright and Shay Solomon was starting to cause problems for the Govs, particularly Solomon's explosiveness. The run was broken by a Gabby Gregory three, but the Colonels went into halftime with a one-point lead, 36-35. The made seven triples in the half, but only attempted four free throws in the half. In addition, EKU went 9-for-17 in the second quarter, compared to a 7-for-20 effort from the Govs.
Both teams started hot from the field in the second half, trading basket after basket, before Nieja Crawford got the momentum on the Govs side by converting an old-fashioned three-point play. Kasey Kidwell made a three-pointer that Bria Bass answered, but the back-and-forth affair continued as Gabby hit another three to give the Govs a 50-49 lead. After a Katie Caifes jumper, the Govs closed strongly, embarking on a 9-0 run to take command of the game and lead, 59-51, after three quarters. Both teams made seven field goals in the quarter, but the Govs made eight free throws in the quarter compared to the Colonels making zero.
Keisha got the fourth quarter underway with a bang, as she nailed her third triple of the game to give the Govs a double-digit lead. Bass answered again, but the Govs were unfazed, with Brianah Ferby making a three in front of the Govs bench that kickstarted a 10-0 run to effectively end the contest, with the Govs going up 18 with about four minutes to go. In the run, Gabby hit the 13th triple for the Govs, one off the school record. EKU hit one meaningless free throw at the end and that was the only point the Govs allowed over the final six minutes. The Govs showed up with a clutch second-half shooting performance, going 13-for-26 in the second half. EKU only made three of their 12 shots in the fourth quarter, as the Govs blew the doors open in the fourth, winning by 20, 80-60.
Wright led the Colonels with 16 points while Solomon had 14 points, five rebounds and five assists.
MOREHEAD STATE 80, MURRAY STATE 71
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Led by senior guard Miranda Crockett's 21 points and senior forward Tierra McGowan's 10 point and 19 rebound performance, the Morehead State women's basketball team turned away Ohio Valley Conference foe Murray State 80-71 on Thursday evening at Johnson Arena.
Crockett and McGowan, who were honored pregame alongside McKenzie Calvert, Darianne Seward, Crystal Simmons-Cozar, and Georgia Campbell as a part of senior day festivities, helped improve the Eagles record to 21-9 overall and 12-5 against league competition.
Morehead State trailed the Racers for much of the first half and trailed by as many as seven before finding themselves behind 37-34 at the halftime break before making 17-of-31 (.548) shots in the second half to earn the win.
Along with Crockett and McGowan's big nights, Morehead State also had double-figure performances from Calvert (16), Seward (15), and Jeune (13).
Crockett has now scored 10+ points in 34 consecutive games and has raised her career-point tally to 1,747 which is third all-time in program history.
The Racers, who dropped to 12-16 overall and 8-9 in OVC play, were paced by Janika Graffith-Wall with a game-high 29 points.
UT MARTIN 71, BELMONT 68
MARTIN, Tenn. – Despite leading by as much as 21 points in the first half, the University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball team needed overtime to seal a 71-68 overtime victory against Ohio Valley Conference champion Belmont on Thursday night in the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.
The Skyhawks (20-8, 12-5 OVC) recorded their ninth 20-win season in program history and the sixth under UT Martin head coach Kevin McMillan. While the win marked a big plateau for the team, it kept the Skyhawks in a fight for the No. 2 seed in next week’s OVC Basketball Championship. The win also resulted in the Skyhawks posting a dominating 13-1 record at home this season.
While UT Martin would hold a lead as large as 21 points behind a big second quarter, a strong third quarter by Belmont trimmed the margin to single digits heading into the fourth quarter. Action would remain tight throughout the fourth quarter as the Bruins finally found the game’s equalizer with 18 seconds to play to force overtime. The Bruins would ultimately take their first lead of the game with 45 second remaining in overtime but four consecutive points by senior guard Emanye Robertson proved to be the difference in the game, lifting the Skyhawks to a 71-68 victory.
With the game in the hands of Robertson for much of the fourth quarter, the senior guard took control of the game. She would not only score the final four points of the game, but tally 10 of her game-high 24 points in the fourth and overtime period while notching six assists, four rebounds and four steals on the night. Sophomore Chelsey Perry also scored in double figures with 15 points while fellow sophomore Demi Burdick continued her impressive play by seeing action in a career-high 30 minutes while scoring 12 points and grabbing five rebounds off the bench.
Belmont (22-6, 15-2 OVC) snapped a 14-game winning streak despite a valiant comeback attempt. The Bruins shot 70.8 percent in the second half as three different players scored in double figures. Junior Ellie Harmeyer posted a double-double for the second time this season against the Skyhawks with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Meanwhile the guard duo of Darby Maggard (18 points) and Maura Muensterman (12 points) combined to score 30 points on the night.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 81, TENNESSEE STATE 57
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri defeated Tennessee State, 81-57, on Thursday night. With the win the Redhawks improved to 13-15 overall and 8-9 in OVC play while the Lady Tigers fell to 5-24 overall and 5-11 in league action.
Tesia Thompson scored a game-high 31 point, going 13-for-18 from the floor and hitting a pair of threes. Dolapo Balogun added 16 points in the win. Taelour Pruitt had nine points and a team-best seven assists.
Tia Wooten led TSU with 18 points while Cebria Outlow added 12.
SIUE 63, TENNESSEE TECH 61
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE needed a win to keep its Ohio Valley Conference tournament hopes alive and the Cougars played like it.
Tennessee Tech had a tough fourth quarter as the homestanding Cougars rallied from a 16-point deficit in the third quarter and held on to beat the Golden Eagles 63-61 on Thursday night at the Vadalabene Center.
With the loss, Tech drops to 19-9, 11-6 in the OVC, while SIUE improves to 13-15, 8-9 in league play.
In the final 10 minutes alone, Tech shot 21.4 percent from the floor, 16.7 percent from 3-point range and 25 percent from the line. Turnovers also plagued the Golden Eagles as they gave up the ball 18 times, leading to 20 points.
But it was also a game that saw 12 lead changes and 11 ties as neither team, at least early on, was finding much of a foothold. That changed in the final four minutes of the second half as Tech ended the second quarter with a 15-0 run, outscoring the Cougars 20-10 in the period to take a 37-27 lead at the intermission.
Tech stretched the lead out to open the third with another 8-2 run. Lacy Cantrell went on to score 10 of her 17 points (and 10 of Tech’s 16 points) on 3-of-3 shooting and 4-for-4 at the line in the third.
Then the Cougars came back. In the second half, even with that early run, SIUE outscored Tech 36-24. And a game that had become one-sided was suddenly back to the back-and-forth contest that it had once been.
With 2:19 remaining, Christen King knotted the game with the first of two free-throws, then knocked down the second to make it a 59-58 contest. After Cantrell couldn’t get a layup to fall, SIUE’s Allie Trockler knocked down a layup to make it 61-58 with 1:18 remaining.
Jordan Brock came down to the other end and drained a 3-pointer, tying the game at 61. Just 20 seconds later at 0:47 remaining, King broke through for a layup to make it 63-61. Neither team scored any more points.
Brock missed a pair of free throws, then Sydney Bauman and Nakiah Bell both missed their charity stripe attempts, leaving 11 seconds on the clock. Abby Buckner tried to get a go-ahead 3-pointer off with four seconds left, and the shot bounced off with Cantrell collecting the offensive ball. The teams tied up the ball, with Tech emerging with the possession.
Alexander passed it in to Buckner, who just couldn’t get a good shot off under pressure from the Cougars and the rebound fell dead on the floor as time expired, SIUE celebrating the victory at the top of the key.
Cantrell led Tech with 17 points, while Brock had 12 points and Kesha Brady added 10. Alexander led the Golden Eagles on the boards with 11. For SIUE, King led all scorers with 23 points, while Bauman had 17. Troeckler had 11 rebounds.