THURSDAY'S SCORES
Eastern Illinois 83, @Eastern Kentucky 63
@Tennessee Tech 58, Austin Peay 49
@Morehead State 75, SIUE 69
@Jacksonville State 68, Murray State 51
Belmont 57, @Southeast Missouri 45
@UT Martin 88, Tennessee State 71
EASTERN ILLINOIS 83, EASTERN KENTUCKY 63
RICHMOND, Ky. - Eastern Illinois went into the game with a hindrance that no one was expecting: Taylor Steele out two to four weeks with an illness. This was a blow that most would struggle mightily with, but the Panther were resilient and came out ready to play. Karle Pace didn't skip a beat, as she scored her season-high 25 points this game. Morgan Litwiller had her best game of her career, grabbing seven rebounds and scoring 16 points. EKU couldn't find an answer as they lost by 20 points. Eastern record rises to 8-6 (2-1 OVC), while EKU falls to 6-8 (0-3 OVC).
The Panthers and Colonels started off neck and neck from the jump. Washington made up for 4 points going into the first media timeout. The Panthers looked stout on defense and held their own against the passing of EKU. Out of the break, the Panthers did a great job forcing the Colonels into turnovers. The freshman Litwiller played well in Steele's absence, scoring 8 points and nabbing two rebounds. Pace stole the show in the first with 10 points off 75% shooting and three steals. Panthers led the Colonels 27-14 going into the second quarter
Pace continued to show her game changing abilities doing everything for EIU. EKU looked like they were lost on offense during the first half of the game. By the 7:31 mark of the game, EKU had already played all of their eligible players. Grace McRae saw some action and scored her first points of the game and of the season for EIU. Litwiller hit her career high in the second quarter with 11 points with three minutes left to go in the half. The Panthers doubled the score of the Colonels going into half 46-23.
Eastern slowed down at the start of the half. Washington was the first Panther to score with a nifty up-and-under move that opened up the layup. The rest of the team was slow to score. Pace managed to draw a foul on a three-point prayer, which she turned into 2 points. The Panthers were shooting 16.7% at the halfway mark of the third quarter. The Colonels were fighting back, but the Panthers weren't willing to let their lead go. Nehls played some valuable minutes in the third, disrupting every rebound attempt by the opposition. The Colonels ended the quarter outscoring the Panther 24-22, however the Panthers stayed in the driver seat leading 68-47 at the end of the third.
Eastern started the quarter with mostly reserves in the game, but after the first timeout Matt Bollant saw something he didn't like and decided to sub in Pace again. EIU still led by plenty, however EKU stayed scrappy and continued to fight. Abby Wahl started to take control on the inside post as the Panthers looked to slow down the pace of the game. The Colonels lost momentum due to a few bad turnovers and went back to their old ways. Pace scored her season-high 25 points in the fourth. All players got into the game by the end of the game. The Panthers pulled off a blowout, even without the veteran Steele. Eastern defeats EKU 83-63 , the second consecutive victory against EKU for the Panthers.
Eastern Kentucky was led by Qay Stanton with 16 points while I'Liyah Green had 10 points and a team-best 15 rebounds. Samari Mowbray added 13 points.
TENNESSEE TECH 58, AUSTIN PEAY 49
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - For three quarters, Austin Peay State University women’s basketball held the lead over Tennessee Tech, but an untimely stretch of cold shooting in the fourth quarter did the Governors in, as they fell, 58-49, Thursday in the Eblen Center.
Tennessee Tech's Jordan Brock and Kesha Brady each had 11 points to lead the team.
Austin Peay (9-5, 0-3), was led by Arielle Gonzalez-Varner, who posted her season’s fifth double-double – 10 points and 11 rebounds. The senior from Cincinnati is the Ohio Valley Conference’s leading offensive rebounder – averaging 4.2 per game – and that’s where she did the majority of her damage against Tennessee Tech (10-4, 3-0), pulling down six offensive rebounds.
Tahanee Bennell, who made her first start since Dec. 1, led the initial charge for the Governors. Bennell hit a runner in the lane to start the contest, before knocking down a three-pointer two possessions later to give the Govs a 7-0 lead and force a Tennessee Tech timeout. Bennell and Gonzalez-Varner combined for nine first-quarter points to give the Governors an 11-8 lead at the end of the first 10 minutes.
Neither team was able to get it going on the offensive end in the second quarter, combining for just 20 points. But after the first 20 minutes of action, the Governors held a five-point advantage.
Both teams turned it up a notch in the third quarter, and it was the aggressive play in the paint of D’Shara Booker that helped the Govs maintain their lead. Booker scored five of her nine points in the third, with her biggest contribution of the period coming off an offensive rebound, which led to a three-point play. Her conversion of the traditional three-pointer gave the Governors a three-point lead, but the Golden Eagles responded with a three-pointer of their own to tie the game again.
With the game tied, Booker was able to get to the line on the next possession, knocking down two free-throws to give the Govs the lead back. A pair of defensive stops led to a Bennell layup at the buzzer to extend the Governors lead to four heading into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter was a struggle for the Governors offense, which could never get it going from the floor. The Govs were able to get to the free-throw line in the fourth, where they did the majority of their scoring, going 6-of-6 from the charity stripe.
With 7:58 remaining, the Governors only trailed by a possession, but the ensuing 16-4 Tennessee Tech run that spanned the next five minutes gave the Golden Eagles a 14-point lead from which the Govs could not recover.
The fourth quarter. Tennessee Tech shot 54.5 percent from the floor and 62.5 (5-of-8) percent from three-point range in the final ten minutes. The Golden Eagles outscored the Governors 23-10 in the fourth, to erase a lead that Austin Peay had held for nearly the entire first three quarters.
MOREHEAD STATE 75, SIUE 69
MOREHEAD, Ky. - SIUE women's basketball shot 66 percent from the field (8-12) in the fourth quarter but couldn't push past Morehead State down the stretch, dropping a 75-69 contest at Johnson Arena.
The Cougars outshot Morehead State from the field but were upended in rebounding 42-36 as well as on the free throw line. The Eagles hit 21 of 31 from the charity stripe while SIUE connected on 14 of 24 free throws.
SIUE, 3-11 overall and 1-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference, led 18-14 after one quarter but fell to shooting woes by missing its first eight shots of the period. The Cougars also made seven of their 24 turnovers for the game in the second period.
Allie Troeckler shined for the Cougars with 19 points and eight rebounds. She was one point shy of her season and career high in scoring.
Mikala Hall scored 11 points to match her career high. Kelsie Williams set her personal best in scoring for the third time this season, pumping in 11 points. That was her second career double-digit effort.
SIUE trailed by seven to start the fourth quarter and pulled to within three with 8:40 to play, but the Eagles used an 8-0 run to strengthen their lead. The Cougars hit five straight shots in the final three minutes, only breaking the streak on a halfcourt shot as time expired.
Morehead State, 6-9 overall and 2-1 in the OVC, finished with five players in double figures led by 21 points off the bench by Jazzmyn Elston. The Eagles also picked pick up 15 from Breuna Jackson, 12 from Tomiyah Alford and 11 each from Jaleesa Avery and Ariel Kirkwood.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 68, MURRAY STATE 51
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Jacksonville State's women's basketball team dropped visiting Murray State to win its Ohio Valley Conference home opener for the third-straight season, the longest such stretch since joining the league 17 years ago.
The Gamecocks (6-8, 2-1 OVC) slowed the fourth-best offense in the league down to a 34-percent shooting clip and just 4-of-21 from beyond the perimeter. The Racers (8-6, 1-2 OVC) were held below 55 points for just the third time all season, next to games against top-10 teams Louisville and Mississippi State.
Redshirt-senior Chloe Long posted just her second career double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds as JSU won for the ninth time in its last 10 games at Pete Mathews Coliseum. Junior Taylor Hawks led the way offensively with 21 points, while redshirt-junior Jessie Day pulled down a career-best 10 boards.
A jumper by Kiana Johnson gave the Gamecocks the early lead in the opening minute, a lead JSU would hold for more than 36 minutes of the contest. Johnson finished with eight points and three assists. After opening with a 6-0 lead, JSU led 15-13 ar the end of the first quarter.
MSU grabbed its only lead of the contest early in the second with a 17-15 advantage, but an ensuing 12-0 Gamecock run propelled the Red and White back ahead for good.
Jax State led led 31-25 at the half, improving to 5-0 this season when leading at the break, and soon padded its lead to a dozen after a pair of free throws by Day. The margin grew to as many as 14 following a trey from the wing by Jayla Walker with just over eight minutes to play in the final period. MSU would shave the deficit back to single digits in the closing minutes, but JSU converted at the stripe when fouled to hold off any late comeback attempt.
Macey Turley led the Racers with 15 points, just ahead of Cekeya Mack with 14.
BELMONT 57, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 45
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Senior Ellie Harmeyer's fourth consecutive double-double propelled the Belmont Bruins past the Southeast Missouri Redhawks, 57-45, at the Show Me Center Thursday evening.
Harmeyer finished with a season-high 27 points, 15 rebounds and three assists on a 10-of-12 clip from the foul line. Fellow senior Maura Muensterman recorded 13 points and three rebounds for the Bruins, as sophomore Conley Chinn chipped in eight points and seven rebounds.
Belmont (8-6, 3-0 OVC) rode a 15-2 run over the final seven minutes of the game, while they held the Redhawks to 28 percent shooting from the field on the night.
Junior Tesia Thompson led Southeast Missouri (9-5, 1-2 OVC) with 24 points and eight rebounds, as only three other Redhawks scored in the game.
UT MARTIN 88, TENNESSEE STATE 71
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin women's basketball team overcame an 11-point deficit in the first half before ultimately powering past Tennessee State in the final three quarters to secure an 88-71 Ohio Valley Conference victory.
The Skyhawks (7-7, 3-0 OVC) opened the team's four-game homestand with a sluggish start, seeing the visiting Lady Tigers jump out an 11-point lead early in the second quarter before later taking control of the game. UT Martin cruised from there, outscoring Tennessee State 46-19 over the ensuing 18 minutes of action.
UT Martin posted its top shooting performance of the season, making 50.8 percent of its attempts for a season-high. The Skyhawks tallied 16 assists on their 31 field goals while scoring 50 points in the paint and winning the battle of the boards for the third consecutive contest.
Four different players scored in double figures for the Skyhawks, led by reigning OVC Player of the Week Chelsey Perry with 22 points and eight rebounds in just 22 minutes of action. Tamiah Stanford also chipped in a career-high 20 points of her own, scoring 19 in the second half alone. Maddie Waldrop continued her impressive performances against TSU, tallying 18 points and eight rebounds, while Dasia Young tallied 10 points and six rebounds.
Tennessee State (2-11, 0-3 OVC) jumped out an early lead behind the strong play of junior Taylor Roberts. The forward scored 22 of her team-high 29 points in the opening half to lead all scorers. Joining her in double figures was Jazmine Young with 13 points and six assists.