SATURDAY'S SCORES
Arkansas-Pine Bluff 81,
Southeast Missouri 63
Virginia Tech 54,
UT Martin 49
Tulsa 69,
Austin Peay 61
@Bellarmine 68,
Morehead State 61
@Murray State 66, Alabama A&M 40
New Mexico State 66,
Tennessee Tech 54
Gonzaga 74,
Eastern Illinois 53
ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 81, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 63
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Southeast Missouri women's basketball (2-4) fell to Arkansas-Pine Bluff (2-3), 81-63, Saturday morning at the Reed Green Coliseum to split its pair of Southern Mississippi's Lady Eagle Thanksgiving Classic games.
Shymaryia Christopher led SEMO offensively with a career best 15 points with four rebounds in 24 minutes of action.
The redshirt-freshman guard from Magnolia, Arkansas, shot 4-for-8 from the field and was 7-of-10 at the free throw line.
Roshala Scott added 13 points with two steals for her third-straight double-digit point game in 2021-22 after posting 14 against both Arkansas State (Nov. 22) and Mississippi Valley State (Nov. 26).
Arkansas-Pine Bluff, the 2021 Lady Eagle Thanksgiving Classic Champions, had three scorers register 17 or more points. Joyce Kennerson had a game-high 20 points while Zaay Green, a Texas A&M transfer, added 19 and Sade Hudson finished with 17.
The Lady Lions outscored SEMO, 23-9, in the final quarter to widen the gap and secure the Southern Miss Tournament title.
UAPB went on a 10-0 run to increase its advantage to 68-57 with 7:37 remaining in regulation. Kennerson had eight points and two three-pointers during the sequence.
Deanay Watson cut the deficit to 68-59 with 6:38 left to play Saturday. She finished with seven points in 19 minutes of play.
The guard from Bradenton, Florida, was a perfect 3-for-3 shooting and 1-for-1 at the charity stripe.
Jaliyah Green added a bucket to make it a 10-point game (71-61) at 5:27.
The Lady Lions closed the game on a 7-0 rally for their biggest lead of the day, 81-63.
UAPB opened the game with six unanswered points. SEMO responded with an 11-0 run to pull ahead 12-8.
Jaliyah Green hit a jumper to shift the lead to 9-8 at 6:17 in the opening quarter.
Halle Smith then connected on a triple to provide the Redhawks a slight 21-19 edge to finish the first stanza.
Smith was perfect from three-point range (1-for-1) and 50 percent from the field, finishing with a personal best seven boards and six points.
SEMO shot a game high 46 percent clip in the first quarter.
The Lady Lions extended their lead to 25-23 after a 6-0 run. Hudson knocked down a triple at 8:14 in the second half to conclude the span.
Hudson and Kennerson hit consecutive 3-ptrs to make the score 31-16.
Scott floated in a lay-up before a jumper from Christopher pushed the Redhawks ahead 34-33 with 56 seconds left in the half.
Christopher had 13 points at halftime, going 3-for-5 in the field and 7-for-8 on free throws.
Smith added a jumper to knot the game at 36-36 before Khadijah Brown split a pair of free throws to give UAPB a one-point edge.
Scott then sunk a pair of triples on consecutive SEMO offensive possessions to shift the lead to 44-39 at the 8:20 mark in the third frame.
Taelour Pruitt registered a bucket to increase the Redhawks margin to 49-45 with 6:07 left in the third.
UAPB clawed back with an 8-0 run to retake the lead 53-49.
With SEMO leading 54-53 after a free throw by Kennedi Watkins, the Lady Lions closed the third quarter on a 5-0 run (58-54) to set the stage for the final period.
Watkins chipped in eight points and six rebounds with a steal in 22 minutes. Pruitt and Jaliyah Green each had five points.
Pruitt also dished out five assists with two blocks and Green had four assists.
Diona Reed played in her second career game as a Redhawk, finishing with a personal best two points in 10 minutes with two rebounds and two blocks.
UAPB outshot SEMO, 38 percent to 34 percent, including a 50 percent fourth quarter.
The Lady Lions converted at a 46 percent rate from three-point range compared to SEMO's 27 percent.
The Redhawks were 17-for-23 from the charity stripe while UAPB was 63 percent on free throws. SEMO was 5-for-6 in the second quarter and 3-for-4 (75 percent) in the fourth quarter.
The Lady Lions cashed in on 21 points of SEMO turnovers.
SEMO's bench outscored UAPB, 25-12.
Saturday's morning contest featured 14 lead changes and four ties.
SEMO returns home to host Southern Illinois, Saint Louis and Harris-Stowe this upcoming week. The Redhawks face regional rival SIU Tuesday, Nov. 30 at 6:30 p.m., CT at the Show Me Center. SEMO then takes on Saint Louis Dec. 3 (6:30 p.m.) and Harris-Stowe Dec. 5 (2 p.m.)
VIRGINIA TECH 54, UT MARTIN 49
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Recap coming soon.
TULSA 60, AUSTIN PEAY 61
BOCA RATON, Fla. - Karle Pace and Yamia Johnson each scored in double figures for the sixth-straight game, but the Austin Peay State University women's basketball team fell to Tulsa, 69-61, at the Florida Atlantic University Thanksgiving Tournament, Saturday, at FAU Arena.
After neither side was able to score in the first 2:04 of the contest, Austin Peay (3-3) got on the board first with a pair of Liz Gibbs free throws. Tulsa (6-0) immediately answered back with Maya Mayberry scoring the first two of her game-high 20 points to tie the game with 7:30 left in the opening quarter.
With the score tied at 6-6 and 5:10 left in the first quarter, the Govs built a 12-6 lead behind a 6-0 run that started with two of Johnson's 11 points and was capped by Pace knocking down a triple for three of her team-high 16 points. With the lead back at five points and 40 seconds left in the quarter, Pace buried another three-pointer to give the Governors their biggest lead of the quarter, 18-10.
Tulsa was able to convert a pair of foul shots with 24 seconds left in the first quarter, but Austin Peay held an 18-12 lead after the opening ten minutes.
After a Maya Mayberry bucket opened the second-quarter scoring, Pace went on a 5-0 run all by herself, connecting on a jumper in the lane before drilling another triple to give Austin Peay its biggest lead of the contest, 23-14, with 8:05 left before halftime.
Trailing by nine points, the Golden Hurricane responded with a 16-0 run that lasted just over five and a half minutes, building a 32-25 lead with 2:31 left before halftime. Austin Peay trimmed the deficit to five on a D'Shara Booker layup with 35 seconds on the clock, but Mayberry got the final bucket of the half and Tulsa led, 38-31, at the break.
After trading baskets to open the second half, Austin Peay trailed by eight after a Kasey Kidwell layup with 7:10 left in the frame. The Golden Hurricane then went on a 6-0 run and built the biggest lead of the game, 51-37, with 4:12 left in the third quarter.
Trailing by 14, Austin Peay closed the third quarter on an 11-2 run, with a Kidwell jumper that hung on the rim until after the horn had sounded cutting the deficit to just five points, 53-48, with 10 minutes left to play.
After the Governors run to close the third quarter, Tulsa went on a 6-0 run to open the fourth quarter and stretch their lead back to double-digits, 59-48. Austin Peay was able to cut the Golden Hurricane advantage to just four points with 1:30 left in the game, but late-game foul shots allowed Tulsa to rebuild its lead and the Governors dropped their second and final game of the FAU Thanksgiving Tournament, 69-61.
Turnovers and free throws. Tulsa scored 24 points off of 21 Austin Peay turnovers, while the Governors were only able to score 12 points off 15 Golden Hurricane turnovers. Tulsa also got to the free-throw line 21 times and converted 17 attempts, the Govs only got to the charity stripe eight times in the game.
Austin Peay will not take the court for 14 days before playing a 2 p.m., Dec. 12 contest against Bellarmine at the Winfield Dunn Center. After taking on the Knights, the Governors will hit the road for a 4 p.m. (CT), Dec. 16 contest at UNC Asheville and a 2 p.m. (CT), Dec. 18 contest at Gardner-Webb.
BELLARMINE 68, MOREHEAD STATE 61
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Despite piecing together their finest half of the season, the Eagles dropped a heartbreaker to Bellarmine Saturday, 68-61.
It was a tale of two halves for Morehead State (1-5), who dominated the first half of the game, but couldn't keep the momentum up into the second half, as they watched Bellarmine race back from an 11 point halftime deficit to upend the Eagles in the final few minutes. The Eagles shot 51.5% from the field in the first half and outrebounded the Knights 18-12, only to be held to 25.9% from the field in the second half and losing the battle on the boards 20-14.
The Eagles were led by graduate student Terri Smith, who poured in a career high 22 points to go alongside four rebounds and three assists. Jada Claude joined Smith as the other double-figure scorer for the Eagles, scoring 10 points and pulling down seven rebounds, while Julan McDonald chipped in nine points of her own and Tyler Moore added eight points.
The Eagles opened the game hot from the field, connecting on their first five field goal attempts and shooting 60% for the quarter, and raced out to an early 22-12 lead. The offensive barrage continued into the second half, where the Eagles connected on four shots from beyond the arc and capped off their best half of the season, as they took a 44-33 lead into halftime.
The game would turn in the third quarter however, as the Morehead State offense was finally slowed down and the Eagles were held to only seven points in the frame, while Bellarmine used a 12-0 run over a four minute stretch to take their first lead of the game with 6:46 remaining.
The Eagles fought back, with an old fashioned three point play from Aiden Rainford knotting the game up at 56 apiece with 5:38 to go, but the Eagles could not find an answer for Bellarmine's offense, who made four of their final five shots while the Eagles missed their final three attempts, and the Morehead State comeback bid came up short.
The Eagles look to bounce back when they travel to Waco, Texas to continue their four game road trip as they take on #6 Baylor, Tuesday at 8:00 PM ET.
MURRAY STATE 66, ALABAMA A&M 40
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State women’s basketball team blew past Alabama A&M Saturday, 66-40, at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky.
Moving to 5-1 on the year with the win, the Racers are now off to their best start in over 30 years. The last time MSU started the season 5-1 or better was the 1988-89 season, when it opened the season at 6-0.
With a 26-point win Saturday, each of Murray State’s five victories have come by 20 or more points. In the five wins, Murray State has outscored its opponents this season by 30.0 points and has won each game by no less than 23 points
Katelyn Young recorded her third double-double of the season with 25 points and 11 rebounds. In addition, she was nearly perfect from the floor going 10-for-11 in the game, as well as 5-for-7 from the line.
Murray State continued to assist on made baskets at a high rate, coming up with 15 assists Saturday on 26 made shots.
Shooting 50.0-percent from the floor against Alabama A&M, Murray State has now shot 50-percent or better in five of six games this season and are 4-1 in those contests.
The Racers struggled in the first quarter, trailing by as many as six in the opening stanza. However, MSU was able to battle back and ended the first quarter tied at 17. From that point on, though, it was all Racers. MSU limited Alabama A&M to just eight points in the second and four in the third. Murray State went to outscore the Bulldogs in the fourth quarter as well, 16-11, to pick up the 26-point victory. Hannah McKay followed Young in the game with 13 points and five rebounds, while Macey Turley added 10 points, five boards and five assists.
Murray State returns to action on the road Tuesday, when it travels to Evansville to take on the Purple Aces. Tip-off from the Meeks Family Fieldhouse in Evansville, Indiana is scheduled for 6 p.m.
NEW MEXICO STATE 66, TENNESSEE TECH 54
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - – The Tennessee Tech women’s basketball team made a valiant comeback on Saturday against New Mexico State, but the Aggies’ 20-point lead in the third quarter was too much to overcome as the Golden Eagles close out the San Juan Shootout with a 66-54 loss.
Tech (2-4) return to action on Wednesday as the Golden Eagles head to Knoxville to take on the Tennessee Lady Vols for a 5:30 p.m. Central contest.
The Golden Eagles had three players score in double-figures, led by Mackenzie Coleman and Anna Jones each with 13 points, while Jada Guinn had 12 points. Jones had seven of her points at the free-throw line as she went 7-for-12 after drawing 10 fouls in the contest.
Tech spent a lot of time at the charity stripe as the Golden Eagles drew 24 fouls and went 18-for-30 at the line. In addition to Jones’ seven points, Guinn was 6-for-8 on free throws.
Guinn and Coleman each had a team-best seven rebounds, while Coleman and Jones led Tech in assists as well.
New Mexico State (3-2) emptied the bench, getting 14 players in action in the contest as the Aggies scored 31 of their 66 points from the substitutes. Deja Terrell played 18:36 in relief and went on to become NMSU’s top scorer in the game, tabbing in 11 points as she was 4-for-6 from the field and 3-for-3 at the free-throw line.
A trio of Aggie starters – Bigue Sarr, Melanie Isbell and Jade Bradley – had nine points. Sarr was 3-for-5 from the field and 3-for-4 from the line, while Isbell was 3-for-5, hitting all three of her 3-point tries and had a team-best four assists. Bradley was 3-for-7, 1-for-1 from three and 2-for-3 at the line.
After trailing by three at the end of the first quarter, the Aggies outscored Tech 13-7 in the second to take a 26-17 advantage at the half. The Golden Eagles went 3-for-14 during the 10-minute span, including 0-for-6 from 3-point range. It was a recurring theme for Tech in the game, going 2-for-16 from long range with Megan Clark and Maaliya Owens knocking down the two successful shots in the game.
The Golden Eagles fared better in the third quarter, bolstered by a 7-for-14 effort at the free-throw line as Tech shot 3-for-10. However, the Aggies extended their advantage using a 10-0 run, outscoring Tech 24-13 as NMSU was 8-for-14 from the field and 6-for-9 from the line.
Tech chipped away in the fourth quarter as the Golden Eagles spent more time at the free-throw line, going 10-for-14, using that to outscore the Aggies in the final stanza 24-16. Tech got the deficit back within single digits late, but NMSU went back to the final 12-point margin in the waning seconds.
GONZAGA 74, EASTERN ILLINOIS 53
HONOLULU, Hawaii. - Eastern Illinois women's basketball was defeated 74-53 by the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Saturday evening in their second game of the Unviersity of Hawaii round robin tournament. With their second straight loss, the Panthers drop to 4-2 on the season.
It was another slow start for the Panthers, as Gonzaga scored the first 9 points of the game before ending the first quarter with a 23-13 lead. EIU was able to make a run in the second quarter, as an 8-4 surge by the Panthers cut the Bulldogs' lead to 27-21. But EIU was ultimately unable to get any closer, as Gonzaga took a 34-25 lead into the locker room at halftime. Gonzaga then outscored the Panthers 40-28 in the second half to seal the deal.
Abby Wahl led the team in scoring with 13 points. Lariah Washington contributed with eight points, while Kira Arthofer stuffed the stat sheet with six points, five rebounds, five assists, and two steals. Morgan Litwiller also scored six, while Parker Stafford scored four on 2-of-3 shooting from the field.
Freshmen were again a factor for EIU, as Julia Bengtson was once again a force off the bench, scoring eight points on 3-of-5 shooting. Miah Monahan hit a three-pointer while also dishing out four assists. Taris Thornton blocked two shots for the Panthers.
EIU plays their final game in Honolulu against Utah on Sunday, November 28. Tipoff is set for 4 pm CT.