TUESDAY'S SCORES
SIUE 87, @Butler 74
Murray State 74, @Mississippi Valley State 50
@Tennessee State 83, North Alabama 71
SIUE 87, BUTLER 74
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - SIUE women's basketball turned up the offense Tuesday with an 87-74 victory at Butler.
Mikia Keith, a product of local Indianapolis' Pike High School, played in front of her family and led the Cougars with 17 points, including a season-best four three-pointers.
Jaida Hampton scored all 16 of her points in the first half, more than doubling her top offensive effort of the season. Hampton hit three three-pointers for the Cougars.
Allie Troeckler pumped in 15 points, and Ajulu Thatha, who also played high school basketball in Indiana, joined the group in double figures with a bucket in the last 30 seconds of the game to finish with 10.
Both teams shot well from the field. SIUE hit a season-best 52.5 percent (32-61) from the field. Butler connected on 57.1 percent of its overall shots (28-49).
SIUE controlled the tempo from the start. The Cougars led by as many as 22 points (41-19) on a jumper by Bedford, Indiana, native Madison Webb in the second period with 7:02 left before halftime.
Butler, 0-5 to start the season, made scoring runs in the second and fourth periods led by 16 points from Zoe Jackson and 15 from Emilia Sexton, but turnovers and rebounds became an issue for the Bulldogs. Butler had 23 turnovers, which SIUE turned into 35 points. The Cougars also outrebounded Butler 35-20, pumping in 21 points on second-chance points.
SIUE had 15 steals for the game with five from Troeckler for the second straight game.
The Cougar bench played a big role in the win, accounting for 33 points.
MURRAY STATE 74, MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE 50
ITTA BENNA, Miss. - Sophomore guard Katelyn Young notched her second double-double of the season Tuesday, as the Racers topped Mississippi Valley State on the road, 74-50, at the Harrison HPER Complex in Itta Bena, Mississippi.
Katelyn Young notched her second double-double of the season Tuesday with 23 points and 11 rebounds. She was also an impressive 11-for-15 from the floor in the game.
Alexis Burpo followed Young with 16 points, while Macey Turley and Hannah McKay had 11 and 10, respectively.
Murray State shot a season-high 55.6-percent from the floor in the game and have now shot over 50-percent in each of the last four games.
The Racers continued to excel from the free throw line Tuesday as they went 11-for-14 to finish at 78.6 percent for the game.
Murray State outrebounded their opponent for the fourth time in five games this season Tuesday, as they pulled down 41 rebounds compared to 34 by the Delta Devilettes.
The Racers opened the game on an 11-0 run and never let up. Murray State never allowed MVSU to take the lead in the game, as it held the lead for 39:14 seconds.
The Racers will take Wednesday and Thursday off for the Thanksgiving holiday before returning to action at home Saturday. Tip-off from the bank is scheduled for 1 p.m.
TENNESSEE STATE 83, NORTH ALABAMA 71
FLORENCE, Ala. - Elise Harden dropped 21 points and pulled down eight rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench to lead Tennessee State over North Alabama 83-71 on Tuesday evening at Flowers Hall. The win puts the Lady Tigers at 3-2 on the season and will face Western Kentucky on Sunday.
Dominique Claytor posted her second consecutive double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds in 29 minutes. The Tigers also got double-figure contributions from two other players. Tatyana Davis added 14 points and Gia Adams had 12 points.
Kianni Westbrook nearly had a double-double with seven points and 10 rebounds in just 10 minutes on the court.
The Lady Tigers 40-31 at the half with Harden and Claytor playing an important role in the offensive production from the visitors. TSU took an early six-point lead in the first quarter, 9-3, after Westbrook scored the team's third straight layup. The Lady Tigers pounced on their opponent late in the frame and held a 15-6 edge with 2:18 left off Harden's fast-break layup.
North Alabama put up a fight in the second quarter and erased a 10-point disadvantage with 10 straight points before the pendulum quickly swung back in favor of TSU who used its run to regain the double-digit lead 30-20.
The second half saw the Lions pry within one possession in the third quarter, but every time the Lady Tigers answered back. After dwindling its lead to 55-53, TSU bounced back late in the third and carried a seven-point lead, 61-54, into the final period.
TSU never looked back in the fourth and cruised to a double-digit lead the rest of the way.
The Lady Tigers shot 48 percent from the field and outrebounded the Lions 49-30. The team netted half of its points from inside the paint with 44 and moved at a fast pace with 28 points on the fast break.
Julia Stratchan paced the Lions with 17 points and was one of four in double figures. Macey lee added 16 points and eight rebounds.