THURSDAY'S SCORES
Tennessee Tech 75, @Southeast Missouri 58
@Murray State 76, Tennessee State 62
@Belmont 65, Austin Peay 46
TENNESSEE TECH 75, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 58
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Jaliyah Green registered a career-best 16 points with five rebounds as Southeast Missouri women's basketball (4-12, 0-5 OVC) fell to Tennessee Tech (8-7, 3-2 OVC), 75-58, Thursday evening at the Show Me Center.
Green, a freshman from Wentzville, Missouri, shot 5-for-12 from the field and was a perfect 6-for-6 at the charity stripe in a career-best matching 34 minutes. Kennedi Watkins added 10 points and three boards.
Mackenzie Coleman notched 24 points and three blocks to lead Tennessee Tech and had 12 points at halftime. Jada Guinn had nine while Anna Jones, Kesha Brady, Anna Walker and Ansley Hall each added eight points.
Tennessee Tech led SEMO, 39-25, at the break. The Golden Eagles shot 50 percent in the opening half including 56 percent in the first quarter.
TTU opened the game with a 5-0 lead that the Redhawks cut to 5-3 after a triple by Johné Stewart.
Stewart made her first career start at SEMO, finishing with three points and three rebounds in 14 minutes of court time.
The Golden Eagles closed the opening frame on a 6-0 run to push the edge to 24-11.
Tennessee Tech then extended its advantage to 34-13 after an 8-0 rally with 5:14 remaining in the opening half.
Green forced a Golden Eagles turnover for a fast break bucket as time expired to bring the TTU margin to 39-25. Halle Smith made a jumper in the Redhawks' possession prior.
SEMO shot 50 percent in the third quarter and opened the stanza on a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to single-digits.
Deanay Watson registered a lay-up to open the rally. Green then added a basket before a Watson free throw trimmed the margin to 41-35 at the 7:00 mark.
The Golden Eagles then regrew their advantage to 58-41 to conclude the third quarter. Anna Walker hit a three-pointer to make the scoreboard read 54-39 TTU.
Coleman added a lay-up with 18 seconds left in the frame.
The Golden Eagles then took their largest lead of the evening, 71-45, after a bucket by Coleman with 4:31 left in regulation.
Watson and Kori Tomlin each finished with seven points for SEMO. Smith led the Redhawks with Green, grabbing five rebounds.
Taelour Pruitt dished out a team-high five rebounds to go along with five points and two steals.
Tennessee Tech shot 51 percent from the field Thursday while the Redhawks converted at a clip of 43 percent. SEMO concluded the game shooting 6-for-11 in the fourth quarter.
Both teams shot 80 percent or higher on free throws. The Golden Eagles went 13-for-16 at the line.
TTU outscored SEMO, 16-8, on second chance opportunities.
Peyton Carter tallied a game-high seven assists.
With the win, Tennessee Tech halted SEMO's win streak in the all-time series at seven games.
MURRAY STATE 76, TENNESSEE STATE 62
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State women’s basketball team used a big fourth quarter to end Tennessee State’s six-game winning streak and give the Tigers their first OVC loss with a 76-62 win Thursday night at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky.
The Racers fell behind 9-0 to start the game and did not take its first lead until under two minutes left in the third quarter.
After leading 52-51 at the end of the third quarter, the Racers outscored Tennessee State, 25-12 in the fourth. The 25 points scored in the final stanza were the most by the Racers this season, as were the 46 second-half points.
Murray State took advantage of Tennessee State’s 25 fouls on the night, by going 24-for-33, including 16-for-19 in the second half, from the free throw line. In contrast, the Tigers were 10-for-13 off just nine personal fouls.
Despite TSU turning the ball over just 12 times, the Racers took full advantage by scoring 18 points off turnovers. In comparison, TSU scored just five points off of 13 Racer turnovers.
Murray State outrebounded Tennessee State, 32-26, in the contest and were led by Katelyn Young and Alexis Burpo who had seven each. Hannah McKay also had a good night on the boards, pulling down six.
Katelyn Young scored a game-high 22 points Thursday, including a 9-for-10 performance at the free throw line. McKay followed with 19 points, while Macey Turley and Burpo added 12 and nine, respectively.
The Racers continued to assist on a high percentage of their baskets Thursday, with 17 assists on 23 made field goals. Alexis Burpo led the way in the category with seven, while Bria Sanders-Woods had six, to go along with eight points
Gia Adams led the Lady Tigers with 22 points on 8-of-16 from the field. Sierra McCullough and Dominique Claytor each finished in double figures with McCullough adding eight rebounds to her line.
BELMONT 65, AUSITN PEAY 46
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Behind tough play and timely scoring runs the Belmont University women's basketball team won its fourth-straight Thursday evening with a hard-fought 65-46 victory over Austin Peay State University inside the Curb Event Center. Sophomore forward Madison Bartley tallied a game-high 18 points and the Bruins (8-5, 4-0 OVC) outscored the visiting Governors (9-5, 2-2 OVC) 35-23 in the second half of the Ohio Valley Conference home contest.
Forcing 21 Austin Peay turnovers and matching its season high with 14 steals, Belmont racked up 25 points off the Governors' miscues and overcame a 32-16 differential in bench points.
Despite lackluster shooting by both squads, the Bruins scored 20 points on 46.2 percent (6-of-13) shooting across the final 10 minutes and limited Austin Peay to only three made field goals in the fourth quarter.
A nifty find by sophomore guard Destinee Wells in the post gave Belmont an early 8-2 lead just under three minutes in and Bartley scored seven of the Bruins' first 10 points of the game. A three-pointer by sophomore guard Tuti Jones capped an impressive 11-0 Belmont run and made it a 13-2 affair after five-and-a-half minutes of play.
A lengthy scoring drought that lasted for the remainder of the first quarter and 10 unanswered Governor points got the visitors within one at 13-12 early in the second period. Five-straight points from Bartley put the Bruins up 18-12 two-and-a-half minutes into the second quarter but Austin Peay once again worked its way back into the game. A pair of free throws by the Governors' Yamia Johnson knotted things at 23 with just under three minutes remaining in the half.
A three by sophomore guard Blair Schoenwald and four points from freshman forward Tessa Miller allowed Belmont to close the first half on a 7-0 run. The Bruins took a 30-23 lead into the break after shooting 38.5 percent (10-of-26) across the opening 20 minutes. Austin Peay was held to 1-for-4 from distance in the first half but went 8-for-11 at the free-throw line.
Scoring the first four points of the second half the Governors got back within three at 30-27, but from there on it was all Belmont. A 9-0 Bruin stretch capped by a Bartley jumper gave Belmont a commanding 39-27 lead midway through the third quarter. Jones nailed a corner trey right before the end of the third, putting the Bruins in front by 13 at 45-32 heading into the final quarter.
After Austin Peay got within nine at 48-39, Belmont went on a game-clinching 15-2 run over four-and-a-half minutes of play sparked by Schoenwald's third three-pointer of the evening. Wells completed the convincing stretch with a traditional three-point play, giving the Bruins their largest lead of the contest at 63-41 with 2:12 to go. Freshman guard Kilyn McGuff scored on a layup in the final minute.
Yamia Johnson led Austin Peay with 15 points and 10 rebounds.