SATURDAY'S SCORES
Tennessee Tech 75, @Morehead State 55
Jacksonville State 43, @Eastern Kentucky 33
UT Martin 69, @Austin Peay 61
@Belmont 69, Eastern Illinois 45
SIUE 76, @Tennessee State 63
@Murray State 70, Southast Missouri 62
TENNESSEE TECH 75, MOREHEAD STATE 55
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Tennessee Tech senior forward Anacia Wilkinson tied the Tech single-game record for blocks in a game, in addition to tying her season-high of 16 points as she led the Golden Eagles (9-4, 2-0 OVC) to a decisive 75-55 victory over Morehead State (5-9, 1-1 OVC) on Saturday afternoon inside Johnson Arena.
The Golden Eagles have won five-straight contests since their matchup against Western Carolina on Dec. 17, including a pair of victories over Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State to open conference play.
In addition to her nine blocks and season-best 16 points, Wilkinson collected six boards, dished out a pair of assists, and collected a steal. She shot 6-of-11 from the field and a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
Three other Golden Eagles tallied double-figure performances in the win with freshman Maaliya Owens knocking down 14 points, junior forward Mackenzie Coleman recording 13 points, and junior Jordan Brock scoring 11 points. Freshman Jada Guinn led the Golden Eagles on the glass with a team-high seven rebounds, while also recording nine points, and senior Akia Harris dished out a team-high six assists in the win.
As a team, the Golden Eagles shot 44 percent (27-of-61) from the field, 42 percent (8-of-19) from 3-point range, and 72 percent (13-of-18) from the free throw line in the contest. The Golden Eagles shared the ball well, dishing out 10 more assists than Morehead (17-7), as well as dominating the post, nearly doubling the Eagles in total blocks, 10-6.
Morehead State got on the board first from a layup and a free throw to take an early 3-0 lead. However, it was short-lived as Anacia Wilkinson responded with a pair of jumpers to score four-straight and give Tech its first lead of the contest less than two minutes into the game, a lead that the Golden Eagles would not relinquish. Tech closed the opening frame on an 8-6 run to take a 12-9 lead.
The Golden Eagles continued to extend the advantage with hot shooting in the second period. Tech outscored the Eagles 26-12, shooting 50 percent (10-of-20) from the floor and 66.7 percent (4-of-6) from long-range, over the final 10 minutes of the opening half to take a commanding 17-point advantage into the locker room, 38-21.
Tech maintained their momentum into the third period as Morehead State couldn't find an answer to the Golden Eagles offensive success, leading to a 20-point Tech advantage heading into the final quarter of play.
The two teams matched each other point for point over the final 10 minutes as Tech rode its 20-point advantage to the 75-55 victory.
Morehead State was led by Ariel Kirkwood with 12 points and eight rebounds. Jazzmyn Elston added 11 points.
The win snapped a six-game losing streak for Tech against the Eagles of Morehead State, which dated back to Feb. 17, 2016 when the Golden Eagles handed Morehead State a 77-69 defeat in Cookeville. It was also the first time Tech has defeated the Eagles on their home court since Feb. 16, 2016, which ended in an 84-70 Tech victory.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 43, EASTERN KENTUCKY 33
RICHMOND, Ky. - Jacksonville State picked up its first road win of the season over Eastern Kentucky on Saturday to split the opening weekend of Ohio Valley Conference play.
After starting slow, JSU (5-8, 1-1 OVC) shut down the Colonels (6-7, 0-2 OVC) in a low-scoring affair to win 43-33 for the Gamecocks' ninth win in the last 11 meetings with EKU.
The defensive struggled between the two teams would tie the fewest total points in a game in program history at just 76, matching a four-year old mark that came against Belmont on Jan. 16, 2016.
Junior Kiana Johnson led the Gamecocks with 13 points, 10 of which came in the second half as JSU locked down its lead. Fellow junior Taylor Hawks followed Johnson with 10 points, while redshirt-senior Chloe Long pulled down a season-high 12 rebounds to come within two of her career mark. Also stepping up big was redshirt-freshman Karleigh Sledge who finished with five boards, four points and two steals in by far her most career playing time in 18 minutes off the bench.
It didn't look good early for JSU, shooting 2-for-15 from the field and 0-of-9 from beyond the arc in the opening quarter. The Gamecocks totaled just four first-quarter points and trailed by eight entering the second.
McKenna Lawrence provided a key spark off the bench with consecutive three-pointers early in the second to cut the deficit to two and force an EKU timeout. JSU stayed closed, but couldn't grab the lead until down by two in the closing seconds when Hawks put up a three that banged around the rim as the halftime horn sounded before falling through to send Jax State to the intermission up 19-18.
The six points allowed in the second were the fewest of the season for JSU's defense, but it wouldn't be long until the Gamecocks matched that mark again in the fourth. The Colonels failed to reach double-digit points in any of the final three quarters and tallied 18 turnovers against the Gamecock pressure.
Johnson drew a foul to begin the third for an old-fashion three-point play to cap an 8-0 run going back to the first half. After Long had a couple of buckets in the paint, JSU had its largest lead for the time at 26-20.
EKU climbed within three at the 5:48 mark of the final period, but would be denied offensively for the next five minutes as JSU slowly increased it lead to double digits. A pair of free throws by Sledge started a 9-0 span for JSU that iced the game down the stretch. JSU led 43-31 until the Colonels finally scored again in the closing seconds, but the outcome had already been decided.
De'Ayra Davis led the Colonels with 10 points.
UT MARTIN 69, AUSTIN PEAY 61
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball post duo of Chelsey Perry and Maddie Waldrop put on a show on the road at Ohio Valley Conference foe Austin Peay on Saturday afternoon, tallying a pair of dominating double-doubles en route to a 69-61 victory.
The Skyhawks (6-7, 2-0 OVC) shot 45.3 percent from the field while remaining unbeaten through the first road swing in league play. UT Martin used an impressive fourth quarter to put the game away by shooting 70 percent from the floor while outscoring Austin Peay by eight in the second half.
Leading the way for the Skyhawks was the play of Perry and Waldrop who left their imprint on the game throughout the contest. Perry became just the 16th player in program history to join the 1,000-point club after yet another strong afternoon, tallying 28 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks. The double-double marked the seventh of her career and second on the week. Meanwhile, Waldrop tallied a new career-high with 22 points while adding 13 rebounds and four steals for her second double-double of the season and third of her career.
Austin Peay (9-4, 0-2 OVC) dropped its second league game on the opening weekend after struggling from the field in the second half. Leading the way for the Govs was the play of forward Arielle Gonzalez-Varner who tallied a team-high 22 points while adding eight rebounds.
BELMONT 69, EASTERN ILLINOIS 45
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Belmont Bruins topped the Eastern Illinois Panthers, 69-45, Saturday afternoon to log its 13th consecutive victory at home in the Curb Event Center. The Bruins tallied their second-highest scoring margin (plus-24) and their largest rebounding margin (plus-29) this season.
Belmont (7-6, 2-0 OVC) had four players with double-figure points in the win, including senior Ellie Harmeyer, who posted her third-straight double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Harmeyer now has eight double-doubles this season, as she is among national leaders in the category.
Sophomore Jamilyn Kinney registered a season-high 13 points for the second game in a row, as sophomore Conley Chinn (12 points) and senior Maura Muensterman (10 points) rounded out the Bruins' double-digit scorers.
Overall, Belmont racked up a season-best 53 rebounds and 15 offensive rebounds, while five separate players grabbed five or more boards. The Bruins also dished out a season-high 15 assists.
The Panthers (7-6, 1-1 OVC) were led by junior Karle Pace, who nabbed 17 points on 7-of-19 shooting and three rebounds.
Muensterman knocked down a 3-pointer to cap off a 10-3 run out of the gates for Belmont at the 5:26 mark of the first quarter. Eastern Illinois answered with a pair of 3-point makes of its own, but the Bruins kept their foot on the pedal to hold a 7-point advantage with one minute remaining in the period. Freshman Cam Browning hit a layup on an assist from junior Madison Treece to give Belmont a 21-13 lead through the first 10 minutes.
The Panthers narrowed the deficit to two possessions after four minutes in the second period, but the Bruins soon pulled away. Belmont tallied an 11-point run in the following five minutes to jump out to a 34-19 lead. A pair of free throws from Harmeyer with 1:26 remaining in the half gave the Bruins a 36-23 advantage going into the locker room.
Belmont held its OVC counterpart to 30 percent shooting in the first half and led by a 29-9 margin on the glass. Harmeyer and Chinn combined for 20 points and 13 rebounds, as the Bruins hit nearly 45 percent of their shots through the first 20 minutes.
A post layup from Harmeyer sparked a 7-0 run for Belmont to open the second half. Freshman Kiki Britzmann's hit a 3-pointer at the 2:47 mark put the Bruins up 49-27. Belmont allowed just three points from Eastern Illinois and took a 57-30 lead to finish out the third quarter. The Bruins hit a game-high 63.6 percent of their shots in the period along with four makes from beyond-the-arc.
Kinney hit a deep range 3-pointer to kick off Belmont's fourth-quarter scoring at the 6:57 mark. Browning and sophomore Grace Smith tallied points on back-to-back possessions for the Bruins to take a 69-39 lead with three minutes left. Smith's 3-pointer gave Belmont its largest lead of the game (30 points), as it went on to notch a 69-45 home victory.
Browning racked up a season and career-best eight rebounds on the afternoon, while the Bruins held the Panthers to 26.7 percent shooting from the floor. Nine separate Belmont players posted an assist. In total, the Bruins led for just over 39 minutes in their second OVC contest of the season.
SIUE 76, TENNESSEE STATE 63
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Four players scored in double figures Saturday as SIUE women's basketball captured its first Ohio Valley Conference victory of the season, a 76-63 triumph at Tennessee State.
The road victory at the Gentry Center was led by 17 points from Allie Troeckler. Bria Stallworth and Christen King each scored 12 points while Mikayla Kinnard added 10 in SIUE's second-highest offensive output of the season.
SIUE, 3-10 overall and 1-1 in the OVC after ending a five-game losing streak, shot 26 of 56 from the field (46.4 percent) and 21 of 28 from the free throw line.
The Cougars built up as much as a 20-point lead in the second half before Tennessee State, 2-10 and 0-2, gave the hometown fans something to cheer about with a late run at the Cougars. The Tigers were within six points in the fourth quarter but never closer.
Just as in its previous victories this season, SIUE won the battle on the boards 42-26. Troeckler led the Cougar with seven. Kinnard had five, including four off the offensive glass. SIUE pulled down 15 offensive rebounds for the game.
SIUE survived 17 first-half turnovers and 28 for the game, the most this season.
Taylor Roberts paced the Tigers with 18 points. Tennessee State shot 21 of 56 from the field (37.5 percent).
MURRAY STATE 70, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 62
MURRAY, Ky. - Sadie Hill scored all 19 of her points in the second half, as the Murray State women’s basketball team rallied from a five-point halftime deficit to top Southeast Missouri State, 70-62, Saturday night at the CFSB Center in Murray.
Murray State kept pace early with the Redhawks, but a second quarter in which they made just three field goals, none of which were three pointers, led to the five point halftime lead by SEMO. Turnovers were also a problem for the Racers in the first as they gave up the ball 13 times with just three assists.
However, everything came together for Murray State in the second half. Sadie Hill led the charge for the Racers by putting up a career-high 19 points, with career-highs of five field goals and four 3-pointers, and also notching five rebounds and another career-high of five steals. In addition, the Racers cut down their turnovers to nine and added six assists. Finally, after shooting just 33.3-percent from the floor, the Racers were on fire in the second, shooting 41.3-percent in the half including an impressive 53.8-percent in the fourth quarter.
Macey Turley also scored 19 points in the game, while Lex Mayes led the Racer bench with 10 points. Alexis Burpo pulled down a career-best 13 rebounds in the game, while Cekeya Mack also had a big game off the bench with six points and eight boards.
Tesia Thompson led the Redhawks with 21 points and eight rebounds. Denisha Gardener tied a career-high eight rebounds and added a block against the Racers. Jessie Harshberger contributed 18 points and a team-high three steals.