SATURDAY'S SCORES
Eastern Illinois 57, @Morehead State 51
@Eastern Kentucky 49, SIUE 46
Austin Peay 63, @Jacksonville State 57
@Southeast Missouri 83, Tennessee State 54
@UT Martin 74, Belmont 57
@Tennessee Tech 77, Murray State 72
EASTERN ILLINOIS 57, MOREHEAD STATE 51
MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Panthers held on to win their first game against Morehead State since 2013. Karle Pace was the answer in today's match up and has cemented her spot as one of the best overall players in the OVC. She ended the game with 25 points, including all 11 points in the fourth quarter. Lariah Washington continues to improve as she takes more shots to make up for the absence of Taylor Steele. The Panthers move up to a 3-1 OVC record and 9-6 overall. The Eagles drop to a 6-10 overall record with a 2-2 OVC record.
Both teams started off slow at the start of the first quarter. Besides a Washington free throw, it was all Pace for the Panthers at the half mark of the first quarter. Morehead State stayed true to form, blocking three shots in the first five minutes of play. Jennifer Nehls played a big role in the Panthers early success on defense with her hustle play. Eastern struggled in the final minutes giving up easy turnovers, and the length of Morehead State. At the end of the first quarter the game was all tied up 10-10.
Wahl started the Panthers off with a post move that kept the Panthers and Eagles tied up. The game remained tight, but the Panthers defense kept them in the game. The presence of Grace McRae was felt instantly as she managed a season high 6 points at the half of the second quarter. The Panthers started to pull away from the Eagles in the second quarter. The Eagles couldn't find an answer, while EIU went off on a 11 to nothing run. Washington stayed hot, scoring 10 points and grabbing five rebounds at the half time mark. Panthers led at half 32-20.
The second half started as a battle from the free throw line. Washington made her way to the free throw line five times making four. Pace scored the Panthers first field goals of the half, a three pointer and a floater from inside of the paint. At the half mark of the third quarter, Eastern led 41-31. Morgan Litwiller came back into the game after a quiet first half and nailed a three for to hold the Panthers lead. The Panthers held the lead at the end of the third quarter, 46-35.
Morehead State started to creep back into the game in the fourth, as the Panthers struggled with the full court press. It didn't help that Eastern started off ice cold, missing their first several field goals. It wasn't til Pace spun in deep and converted an and-one play that put the Panthers up four with 5:31 on the clock. Pace continued to carry the offense as she scored two more interior shots, giving her 11 points in the fourth alone. The Eagles fell cold in the second half of the final quarter after nearly completing an incredible come-back. Eagles only managed a few free throws and were not able to finish it off. Panthers won their first road trip series since Jan. 2012. Eastern won 57-51.
Morehaed State was led by Tomiyah Alford led the team with 13 points while Orlandra Humphries had 12 points and a team-best 13 rebounds. Breuna Jackson added 11 points.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 49, SIUE 46
RICHMOND, Ky. - Teri Goodlett’s jumper in the paint with 25.7 seconds left in the game gave the Eastern Kentucky University women’s basketball team a 4-point lead and helped secure a 49-46 win over Southern Illinois University Edwardsville on Saturday.
After Mikayla Kinnard’s jumper with 43.4 seconds to go got the Cougars within two, Goodlett came down an put in what proved to be the game winner with just over 25 seconds to play. Mikia Keith scored with 15.4 seconds remaining to get the visitors back to within two. Goodlett hit 1-of-2 at the free throw line on the other end.
Kinnard was fouled with 8.1 seconds showing on the clock and her team down three, 48-45. However, she made just one of her two attempts. Samari Mowbray’s free throw with 7.6 left pushed the lead back to three. A last second 3-point attempt from Kinnard to tie came up short.
Goodlett finished with a game-best 13 points. De’ayra Davis and I’Liyah Green scored 12 each for the Colonels (7-8, 1-3 OVC). Davis added a team-high nine rebounds.
Kinnard led SIU Edwardsville (3-12, 1-3 OVC) with 12 points. Ajulu Thatha had 10 rebounds for the Cougars. SIUE shot just 26 percent from the field for the game and 17 percent (4-for-24) from behind the 3-point line.
When Christen King hit a 3-pointer for SIUE with 41 seconds left in the first quarter, EKU led by one, 10-9. The Cougars didn’t score again for the next 8:31 and went 9:25 without a field goal. Southern Illinois Edwardsville was 1-for-16 from the field in the second quarter and scored only three points. However, the Colonels only scored 11 points in the second, enduring a 4:16 drought of their own.
A Bria Bass jumper put EKU in front 21-10. SIUE’s first, and only field goal, of the second quarter came with 1:16 on the clock and set the halftime score at 21-12.
The Cougars were 5-for-29 from the field in the first half for 17 percent. Eastern Kentucky shot 30 percent, going 8-for-27.
SIU Edwardsville warmed up in the third quarter, scoring 18 points on 6-of-17 (35 percent) shooting. A 3-pointer by Mikala Hall tied the game, 30-30, with 43 seconds left in the third. Goodlett’s lay-up put Eastern up two after three, 32-30.
Eastern went in front by seven, 42-35, on a put back from Green, but SIUE scored six straight to get right back in the game. The Colonels never led by four the rest of the game.
AUSTIN PEAY 63, JACKSONVILLE STATE 57
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - A rough afternoon that featured severe thunderstorms outside of Pete Mathews Coliseum, also turned into a tough finish for Jacksonville State's women's basketball team on the inside who fell to visiting Austin Peay.
The Gamecocks (6-9, 2-2 Ohio Valley Conference) fell for the first time in three games, while the Lady Govs (10-5, 1-3 OVC) picked up their first conference win of the season in a fourth-period comeback.
Junior Kiana Johnson led JSU's offense with 11 points on her birthday. The Gamecocks displayed a balanced offensive attack with all 10 players reaching the scoring column. Behind Johnson, juniors Taylor Hawks and Jessie Day each had eight. Defensively, redshirt-senior Chloe Long pasted double-digit rebounds for the third-straight contest setting a new career-high with 16.
Tied 14-all after the opening quarter, APSU hit a couple of threes early in the second to open a 22-16 lead. The Lady Govs would soon grab their largest lead of the day at 31-24, before McKenna Lawrence drained one of her two treys of the game. Johnson would add a pair of free throws just before the half to pull Jax State back within two at the intermission break, 33-31.
JSU started strong in the second half with immediate baskets from Day and Yamia Johnson to jump in front for the lead and force APSU to take a timeout 58 seconds into the third quarter. The Gamecocks maintained a slim lead until Destiney Elliott's three late in the period made it a five-point contest at 48-43.
Jax State entered the final period with a 50-47 advantage, but a three-minute scoring drought to begin the final stanza kept the Gamecocks from putting the visitors away for good. Still a three-point game at the 6:00 mark, consecutive field goals for the Govs sent APSU up by one at 53-52. Another three minutes would erase from the game clock before either team scored again when Hawks and APSU's Kasey Kidwell exchanged layup to keep the margin the same with just over two minutes to go.
A bad inbounds pass led to a runout layup for APSU's Arielle Gonzalez-Varner, who finished with nine points, and soon saw the visitors on top, 59-54. JSU's struggles from behind the arc continued in the closing minutes while the Govs hit late free throws to lock down the final 63-57 result.
Ella Sawyer led the Govs with 14 points.
JSU was outrebounded 41-33, despite Long's sensational efforts on the glass, and the split continues with JSU 0-9 when losing the battle on the boards, and 6-0 in all other games.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 83, TENNESSEE STATE 54
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Carrie Shephard scored 15 points and dished out seven assists to lead Southeast Missouri (10-5, 2-2) to its 10th win of the season, a commanding 83-54 victory over Tennessee State (2-12, 0-4) Saturday afternoon at the Show Me Center.
SEMO led the entire game and held TSU to just 26.1 percent (12-of-46) from the field.
SEMO jumped all over TSU from the start outscoring the Tigers, 20-8, in the first 10 minutes of play.
Shephard scored five of those points in the first quarter as the Redhawks went on a 16-5 run in the first seven minutes. SEMO also scored seven points off seven turnovers and outscored the Tigers, 12-2, inside the paint during the opening period.
Taelour Pruitt's jumper ran SEMO's lead to 32-13 with 2:36 remaining in the second quarter before TSU closed out the first half with a 10-2 run to cut the Redhawks lead to 34-23 at the half.
SEMO continued to pour it on in the second half using a 12-0 run over a 2:48 span to bury TSU for good.
The Redhawks scored a game-high 26 points and won the third quarter by a +15 margin (26-11) as TSU shot just 1-of-12 from the floor. Offensively, SEMO shot over 61 percent (11-of-18) in the third quarter.
For the game, SEMO dominated the paint with a 46-14 advantage and finished with a .467 (35-of-75) field goal percentage. The Redhawks also outrebounded TSU, 48-28, with a 21-7 showing on the offensive glass. Additionally, SEMO had a season-high 24 assists on its 35 made field goals.
Shephard shot 5-of-9 from the field and had three of her team's six 3-pointers.
Pruitt followed with 14 points, while Roshala Scott added 11 points and six rebounds, and Tesia Thompson finished with 10 points and seven boards.
Jazmine Young led all TSU scorers with 15 points.
UT MARTIN 74, BELMONT 57
MARTIN, Tenn. - In a matchup of unbeaten squads in Ohio Valley Conference play, it was the University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball team which came out on top against visiting Belmont in the lone regular season showdown with a 74-57 victory.
The Skyhawks (8-7, 4-0 OVC) jumped out to an early lead and never looked back to remain atop the league standings with their fourth consecutive victory. UT Martin used a handful of runs to take an 11-point lead into the half before stretching it out to as high as 18 points midway through the third. Belmont would cut the margin down to eight points in the fourth but would pose no threat down the stretch.
UT Martin shot 44.4 percent from the floor while limiting Belmont to just 37.3 percent. The Skyhawks defense proved stingy, forcing the Bruins to commit 24 turnovers - which resulted directly in 19 points – while also winning the battle of the board against the league’s leader.
On a day in which junior forward Chelsey Perry was recognized for scoring her 1,000th career point last weekend, she continued to build her résumé as one of the league’s top players by tallying her third 30-point game of the season with 34 points, seven rebounds, six blocks and three assists. Meanwhile, Maddie Waldrop recorded her seventh career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds while Tamiah Stanford chipped in 11 points off the bench to pace the Skyhawks offensively.
Belmont (8-7, 3-1 OVC) dropped its first league contest of the season despite knocking down 10 three-pointers in the contest. The Bruins saw three different players in double figures with Jamilyn Kinney pacing the squad with 14 points and six rebounds. Preseason OVC Player of the Year Ellie Harmeyer was held well below her season averages in both points and rebounds with 13 points and five boards while Maura Muensterman tallied 12 points.
TENNESSEE TECH 77, MURRAY STATE 72
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee Tech remained undefeated in OVC play with a 77-72 win over visiting Murray State on Saturday night. The Golden Eagles improved to 4-0 in league play and 11-4 overall while the Racers fell to 1-3 in OVC play and 8-7 overall.
Tech had five players reach double digits in scoring with Jordan Brock leading the way with 15 points. Kesha Brady had 13 points while Anacia Wilkinson had 12. Mackenzie Coleman and Maailya Owens each had 10 points.
Murray State's Macey Turley scored a game-high 28 points, hitting five three-pointers. Alexis Burpo notched a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Cekeya Mack had 10 points to go with nine boards.