SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 69, Tennessee State 60
@Eastern Illinois 73, Austin Peay 72
UT Martin 73, @Jacksonville State 56
Southeast Missouri 72, @Tennessee Tech 59
Belmont 85, @Eastern Kentucky 46
Murray State 70, @SIUE 61
MOREHEAD STATE 69, TENNESSEE STATE 60
MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Morehead State Women's Basketball team used a 13-point fourth-quarter effort from junior guard Jazzmyn Elston to power its way to a 69-60 victory over Tennessee State on senior day Saturday afternoon at Johnson Arena.
With the teams tied at 56 and 2:49 remaining in the final quarter, Elston drove to the cup and missed a contested layup but was able to get it back and finish the play for two points. The second-chance layup turned into an 8-0 run over the next 1:14 with Elston scoring the next six points on three-point buckets.
The Rossville, Ga., native finished the game with a team-best 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting which included a 5-of-9 mark from three-point range.
Prior to Elston heating up, seniors Breuna Jackson and Jaleesa Avery steadied the team on both ends as Jackson provided scoring and Avery rebounding. The 5-foot-5 Jackson tallied 17 points and made two triples while Avery nabbed a career-best 14 rebounds.
Along with Jackson and Avery, forward Orlandra Humphries was honored pregame during a special ceremony. Humphries made her first-career start in the game and totaled three rebounds and one blocked shot.
Tennessee State, which falls to 4-22 overall and 2-14 in the Ohio Valley Conference play for the 2019-20 season, had its scoring paced by Jazmine Young's 20 points. Young made 16-of-18 free throws and grabbed five rebounds while also dishing five assists.
With the win, Morehead State moves to 10-18 overall and 6-10 against OVC competition.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 73, AUSTIN PEAY 72
CHARLESTON, Ill. - The Panthers pulled out a tight one today against the Austin Peay Governors. Depsite the Panthers 30 turnovers on the day Eastern came out with a 73-72 win. Morgan Litwiller came up with a huge offensive rebound in the final seconds of regulation, and was fouled on the put-back attempt. Litwiller went to the line with a little over a second off the clock and sunk both to put the Panthers up one. Austin Peay got the ball to the half court line and heaved it up, but the ball sailed a little right of the basket and the Panthers pulled away with a big time win in front of an animated crowd. The Panthers record moves to 17-10 (11-5 OVC); Austin Peay moves to 16-11 (7-9 OVC).
The Panthers started off strong, shooting 57% from the field, but turnovers plagued their progress as they had already racked up 10 by the end of the quarter. Abby Wahl and Karle Pace led the Panthers with 4 points a piece. Kira Arthofer got into foul trouble early and was taken out of the game after she had notched her third foul. Jordyn Hughes was the only other player besides Pace and Wahl to attempt and make a basket. Austin Peay led 14-11 heading into the second quarter.
Pace and Wahl continued to push Eastern on the offensive end along with Grace McRae, who had put up 5 points in the quarter. Page Schumann came in for the Panthers and gave them a solid seven minutes. Schumann grabbed two boards and dished two assists along with playing stellar pressure defense. Pace downed a three-pointer that kept her streak alive, as she now has a three in 18 consecutive games. Pace led all scorers at half with 11. Austin Peay led 30-27 at halftime.
EIU came out with a new fire at the start of the second half. The team was not about to lose their final home game in front of the fans. Lariah Washington and Taylor Steele got more involved in the offense; as neither of the two had attempted a field goal in the first half. Austin Peay had done a good job of cutting off driving lanes for Washington, but she found her way, going 3-3 from the field and putting up 8 points in the quarter. Steele swished a three to add to her point total, and had came up with a team-high four rebounds. Panthers led going into the fourth 51-45.
The fourth was a nail-biter for anyone in attendance. The game went back and forth with Austin Peay starting a comeback. The turnovers continued to hinder EIU as the Governors had put 26 points on the board solely off of turnovers. The Governors took the lead in the final moments of the game. Wahl was given the ball with only 15 seconds left. She posted up and turned around for a beautiful push shot off the glass. The Panthers had taken the lead by a point. Austin Peay forced the ball inside and Pace was called for a foul. The Governors were given two free throws and sank them both to take the lead back by a point. Wahl was handed the reigns again, but missed the shot. Litwiller, through traffic, snagged the offensive rebound and was fouled on the put-back attempt. Litwiller walked to the line as the crowd held their breath. Litwiller sunk the first, tying the game and almost guaranteeing overtime if she missed the second. Litwiller, a calm and collected freshman, sank the second to put the Panthers up and seal their ninth and final home win of the season.
UT MARTIN 73, JACKSONVILLE STATE 56
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball capped off the road portion of its schedule with an impressive 73-56 victory at Ohio Valley Conference foe Jacksonville State on Saturday afternoon.
The Skyhawks (18-9, 14-2 OVC) saw the game never be in doubt, holding a lead as large as 21 points in the fourth quarter en route to the team’s eighth win in its last nine tries. UT Martin held one of the league’s hottest team to just a 32.8 percent clip from the field while winning the battle of the boards by 10.
UT Martin continued its hot shooting stroke as of late, shooting 49.0 percent from the floor. The Skyhawks saw three players score in double figures led by junior forward Chelsey Perry with 32 points while tallying nine rebounds, four assists and two steals. Fellow junior forward Maddie Waldrop tallied her second straight double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Rounding out the Skyhawk trio in double figures was junior guard Tamiah Stanford with 14 points off the bench.
Jacksonville State (12-15, 8-8 OVC) struggled mightily from the floor, specifically from beyond the arc, making just 2-of-17 three-point attempts. Senior Destiney Elliott ranked as the team’s lone scorer in double figures with 15 points while tallying a team-high seven rebounds.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 72, TENNESSEE TECH 59
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Tesia Thompson scored a game-high 24 points to lead Southeast Missouri (21-6, 13-3) to a 72-59 bounce back road win over Tennessee Tech (17-10, 10-6) Saturday afternoon at the Eblen Center.
SEMO swept TTU in a season for the first time since 2007-08 and regrouped to dominate the game from start to finish after dropping a 72-51 decision two days earlier at Jacksonville State.
SEMO heated up to shoot 57 percent from 3-point range in a big first half.
The Redhawks held TTU without a field goal for the first 8:21 of the contest. As a result, SEMO took an 8-0 lead behind four points each from Thompson and Carrie Shephard.
After holding a 15-9 advantage after the first quarter of play, SEMO closed out the first half on a 15-1 run to take a 20-point lead (38-18) at the intermission. The Redhawks outscored the Golden Eagles, 23-9, in the second quarter alone.
Taelour Pruitt and Jocelyn Taylor each knocked down a 3-pointer to start the run. Taylor later made a layup to push SEMO's lead to 38-17 before Kesha Brady split two free throws with one second left in the half.
Thompson scored 13 points in the opening stanza, which saw the Redhawks outscore TTU, 20-4, inside the paint.
SEMO picked up where it left off to start the second half with a 10-2 run and took its biggest lead when Jessie Harshberger made a jumper to make it 48-20 with just under eight minutes left in the third quarter.
TTU immediately responded with a 13-0 run, but never could get within single digits the rest of the way.
Thompson made eight field goals and shot 7-of-10 at the free throw line. She also grabbed seven rebounds, dished out four assists and had three steals.
Pruitt followed with 12 points, while Shephard and Harshberger contributed 10 apiece. Shephard, Pruitt and Harshberger also knocked down two 3-pointers each as SEMO fell one shy of matching its season-high in 3-pointers made. The Redhawks shot 57.1 percent (8-of-14) from beyond the arc.
Mackenzie Coleman led TTU with 16 points. The Golden Eagles shot just 34.5 percent from the field and 21.7 percent from 3-point range for the game.
BELMONT 85, EASTERN KENTUCKY 46
RICHMOND, Ky. - Senior Ellie Harmeyer's fourth-consecutive 20-point double-double fueled the Belmont Bruins in an 85-46 rout of Eastern Kentucky at McBrayer Arena Saturday afternoon. Three other Bruins recorded double-figure points, as they recorded their second-highest point total of the season and tied their season-best in 3-pointers made (12).
Harmeyer registered 23 points and 13 rebounds in 23 minutes played, as shot 8-for-12 from the field for Belmont (19-8, 14-2 OVC). Sophomore Jamilyn Kinney added 13 points and a team-best five assists, while senior Maddie Wright tallied 11 points and three rebounds. Freshman Nikki Baird chipped in a season and career-high 11 points on 3-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc.
The Colonels (10-17, 4-12 OVC) were led by the junior duo of Teri Goodlett and Bria Bass, who combined for 22 points and nine rebounds.
The Bruins held Eastern Kentucky to 27.3 percent shooting from the field, as they recorded 38 points in the paint and racked up a season-high 24 bench points.
MURRAY STATE 70, SIUE 61
EDWARDSVILLE, lll. - The Murray State women’s basketball team got a much needed win in its final regular-season road game of the year, topping SIUE, 70-61, Saturday afternoon at the Vadalabene Center in Edwardsville. With Morehead State also winning Saturday, the Racers and Eagles remained tied for the eighth place in the OVC standings. Despite the tie Murray State would currently get the final OVC championship berth by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Murray State led for over 35 minutes, but never held more than an 11 point lead, which did not come until the fourth quarter. The Racers shot an impressive 41.1-percent from the floor in the contest, including 47.6 percent in the second half. MSU also made six 3-pointers on the night and were a solid 75-percent from the free throw line.
Laci Hawthorne notched her seventh double-double of the season by scoring 20 point and pulling down a career-high 17 rebounds. Macie Gibson had 13 point and nine boards in the game, while Alexis Burpo had eight and nine, respectively. Meanwhile, Raegan Blackburn and Lex Mayes rounded out the four Racers in double-digits with 12 each.