SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Illinois 78, Tennessee State 70 (OT)
@Murray State 79, Morehead State 44
SIUE 69, @Southeast Missouri 61
@Belmont 73, UT Martin 48
@Tennessee Tech 59, Austin Peay 56
EASTERN ILLINOIS 78, TENNESSEE STATE 70
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois women's basketball pulled off their third overtime win of the season, defeating the Tennessee State Lady Tigers 78-70. With the win, the Panthers move to 10-10 overall on the season and 5-4 in Ohio Valley Conference play.
EIU started hot, responding to a TSU first bucket with a 10-2 run to take an early 10-4 lead. Led by seven first quarter points from Morgan Litwiller, the Panthers went up 19-10 before a TSU three-pointer cut it to 19-13 at the end of the first quarter. Back-to-back buckets by Taris Thornton followed by a Miah Monahan three-pointer upped EIU's lead to 26-15. Two made TSU free throws were followed by six more Panther points to widen the gap to 32-17. However, the Lady Tigers would respond with a 13-4 run to close the half, making EIU's lead 36-30 at halftime.
TSU would extend their run early in the third, scoring the first eight points of the period to go up 38-36. Not to be outdone, Lariah Washington would give the Panthers the lead right back with nine straight points. EIU kept the Lady Tigers at arms' length throughout the remainder of the period, as another Washington bucket gave the Panthers a 56-45 lead going into the fourth quarter. After the two teams traded buckets to start the period, TSU would make yet another big run, using a 7-0 spurt to cut the lead to 58-54. A Kira Arthofer converted and-one opportunity put EIU back up by seven, but five more TSU points made it a two point contest. The Lady Tigers would ultimately take a 68-66 lead with 1:37 to go in regulation, before another Washington basket tied it at 68. Both teams had opportunities to win it in the final 1:18 of regulation, but could not capitalize, and the game went into overtime.
Litwiller found Abby Wahl in the lane who made the layup to get the scoring started in overtime. The teams would go scoreless for the next three minutes before two Washington free throws made it 72-68. An Arthofer jump shot then upped the lead to six with 54 seconds to go. Arthofer followed up that bucket with a steal, and EIU made their free throws down the stretch to put the game on ice. TSU did not score a point in the overtime period until there were nine seconds remaining.
Washington finished with 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting and 11 rebounds, for her first double-double of the season and fourth of her career. She also became the 27th player in school history to score 1,000 career points.
Wahl scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Litwiller scored 11 points and recorded seven rebounds and four assists. Arthofer had 10 points, six assists, and four steals. Monahan had a career day, scoring 11 points and grabbing seven rebounds, both career highs. She also had four assists.
The Panthers outscored the Lady Tigers 44-28 in the paint and outrebounded TSU 49-35. The team also shared the ball efficiently once again, recording 20 assists on 27 made baskets.
Gia Adams led Tennessee State with 22 points while Dominique Claytor had 16 and Alexis Pierce added 12.
With the win, the Panthers improve to 3-0 in overtime games this season.
MURRAY STATE 79, MOREHEAD STATE 44
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State women’s basketball team posted their biggest win over Morehead State in series history with a 79-44 victory over the Eagles Saturday at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky.
With the win, Murray State clinched a winning season, marking the first time since the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons that the Racers have had winning seasons in consecutive years.
In clinching the winning season, Rechelle Turner becomes the first head coach to win both seasons of a back-to-back since Bud Childers in 1987-88 and 1988-89.
The 35-point win over Morehead State was the largest margin of victory for either team in the entire 89-game history of the rivalry. The previous highest winning margin was set Feb. 15, 2001 when the Racers dropped a 26-point decision at Morehead State, 102-76. However, the Racers matched that total over seven years later in a first round OVC tournament game at the CFSB Center with an 87-61 victory that led to the program’s first-ever OVC tournament championship
Katelyn Young led four Racers in double-figures in the game with her sixth double-double of the season of 20 points and 10 rebounds. Macey Turley followed Young with 19, while Alexis Burpo and Hannah McKay had 17 and 17, respectively. Burpo was also just one rebound shy of her own double, pulling down nine boards Monday.
For the 12th time this season, Murray State finished the game with a field goal percentage of 50.0-percent or better. The Racers went 27-for-50 from the floor in the game. MSU entered the game shooting 46.6-percent from the field, the 10th best percentage in the nation.
Also, for the 12th time this season, Murray State shot better than 80-percent from the free throw line going 21-for-26 for 80.8-percent. The Racers entered Saturday shooting 79.8 from the charity stripe, the fifth highest total in the nation.
Katelyn Young led Murray State in the game with 16 points, while Bria Sanders-Woods came off the bench to score 12 points and Alexis Burpo added 10
Murray State continued to crash the boards Saturday, outrebounding the Eagles by 17, 43-36. That will significantly increase Murray State rebound margin of 9.0 that it entered the game, the 16th largest gap in the nation
Hannah McKay pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds Saturday, followed by Burpo with six and Young with five.
Jada Claude led Morehead Staet with 17 points while Terri Smith added 11.
SIUE 69, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 61
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - SIUE women's basketball rallied from down double digits for a second straight game and collected a 69-61 victory Saturday over Southeast Missouri at the Show Me Center.
Mikayla Kinnard scored a season-high 21 points for the Cougars, who improved to 9-11 overall and 5-4 in the Ohio Valley Conference.
Kinnard said Smith continues to impress upon her team that toughness, hustle and work ethic for 40 minutes is how this team will continue to get better.
As SEMO, now 5-16 overall and 1-9 in the OVC, led by as many as 12 in the second half, the Redhawks also held a substantial 21-11 edge in rebounds in the first half.
SIUE would come back to win that battle on the boards as well 34-32.
The Cougars won despite eight three-pointers from the Redhawks and 18 points each from Taelour Pruitt and Deanay Watson.
BELMONT 73, UT MARTIN 48
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Getting back to its winning ways, the Belmont University women's basketball team cruised to a 73-48 triumph over defending Ohio Valley Conference regular season champion the University of Tennessee at Martin Saturday evening inside the Curb Event Center. The Bruins (11-7, 7-2 OVC) knocked down a season-high 16 three-pointers and outscored the visiting Skyhawks (5-13, 2-5 OVC) 54-28 over the final three quarters of play.
The 16 treys are the most made threes in a single game by Belmont since Dec. 10, 2020, versus Tennessee State. The victory snapped the Bruins' two-game slide.
Eight different Belmont players found the bottom of the net from beyond the arc and all 10 available Bruins scored in the triumph.
Despite a sluggish start, Belmont used an impressive second quarter and a steady second half of sound defensive play to pick up its seventh OVC win of the season. The Bruins outworked UT Martin 41-33 on the boards and outpaced the Skyhawks 31-15 off the bench.
A trio of Belmont players scored in double figures led by freshman guard Kilyn McGuff's career-high 14 points on 4-for-7 three-point shooting.
After falling behind 8-4 early, back-to-back triples from sophomore forward Madison Bartley and senior forward Conley Chinn gave the Bruins a 10-8 lead four minutes in.
A 9-3 UT Martin run put the Skyhawks up 17-13, but Belmont responded with consecutive treys from McGuff and junior guard Nikki Baird that pushed the Bruins back in front at 19-17.
UT Martin's Shae Littleford connected on a three before the end of the opening quarter as the Skyhawks led by one at 20-19, but the second period belonged to Belmont.
The Bruins outscored UT Martin 21-6 in the second quarter behind 57.1 percent (8-of-14) shooting, going 5-for-8 (62.5 percent) from outside. A Chinn layup got things going before sophomore guard Tuti Jones and senior guard Jamilyn Kinney splashed in threes to give Belmont a 29-20 lead midway through the quarter. McGuff hit a three-pointer to make it 34-20 with just under three minutes remaining in the half before sophomore guard Destinee Wells made it a 17-point game at 40-23 with under a minute to go in the period.
Taking a 14-piont, 40-26 lead into the locker room, the Bruins shot 51.9 percent (14-of-27) from the field across the first 20 minutes and went 9-for-17 (52.9 percent) from long range in the first half.
After the Skyhawks shot 61.5 percent in the first quarter, Belmont limited UT Martin to only two made field goals on 2-for-15 shooting (13.3 percent) in the second.
The Bruins were scoreless for the first three minutes of a lackluster start to the third quarter by both squads. However, a 9-0 Belmont run over 4:38 gave the Bruins a 21-point lead at 49-28. A Kinney triple right before the third quarter buzzer pushed Belmont's advantage out to 26 at 56-30. Another Kinney three put the Bruins up 28 at 59-31 with 8:22 to go, capping a 10-3 Belmont run.
McGuff and Baird once again went back-to-back on three-point makes midway through the fourth quarter to give the Bruins their largest lead of the evening at 32 (66-34) with 4:37 left.
The Skyhawks ended the game on a 14-7 run but both senior guard Macie Culbertson and McGuff drained threes in the closing minutes.
Belmont held UT Martin to only one made field goal in the third quarter and 21.7 percent (5-of-23) shooting in the second half. The Skyhawks went 2-for-11 (18.2 percent) from deep in the final 20 minutes and 10 of their 22 second-half points came at the foul line.
The Bruins shot 41.2 percent (7-of-17) from distance in the second half, finishing 16-for-34 (47.1 percent) overall from three-point land. Belmont shot 42.6 percent (23-of-54) for the contest and totaled 11 free throws while keeping UT Martin to 29.4 percent (15-of-51) from the floor.
For the second-straight outing, Kinney posted double-figure scoring with 11 points on 3-for-5 outside shooting. Kinney also added five rebounds and four assists as Wells recorded 10 points, pulled down a career-high tying seven boards and distributed four assists.
The Skyhawks were led by guard Paige Pipkin's 13 points and Littleford's 10.
TENNESSEE TECH 69, AUSTIN PEAY 56
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University women's basketball team had a look to tie the game from three-point range at the end of regulation, but Yamia Johnson's shot drew iron and the Governors fell to Tennessee Tech, 59-56, In Ohio Valley Conference action, Saturday, at the Hooper Eblen Center.
After trading baskets on the first four possessions to open the contest, Austin Peay (13-6, 6-3 OVC) fell behind Tennessee Tech (12-7, 7-2 OVC) when Anna Jones hit back-to-back three-pointers to take a 10-6 lead with 5:07 left to play in the opening quarter. With 2:22 left in the first period, a Kasey Kidwell three-pointer brought the Govs back within two points, 13-11, and then after a pair of Golden Eagles free throws and a pair of D'Shara Booker layups the game was tied, 15-15, with 40 seconds left in the period.
With the clock winding down on the first quarter, Johnson attacked the rim and was able to draw a foul with 0.2 seconds remaining. Johnson then proceeded to knock down both free throws and Austin Peay led, 17-15, at the end of the first period.
On the first possession of the second quarter, Austin Peay pushed its advantage to four points, 19-15, on a Booker turnaround jumper just 26 seconds into the frame. A low-scoring, back-and-forth second quarter saw the Governors leading 25-24 with 2:11 left before halftime. After a 2:06 scoreless drought for both teams, Johnson connected from three-point range with five seconds left on the clock to give the Govs a 28-24 lead at the break.
Austin Peay opened the second half on a 4-0 run, with a Pace jumper and Cole layup giving the Govs their biggest lead of the contest, 32-24, with 8:23 left in the third period. However, a quick 5-0 Tennessee Tech run to cut the lead to just three points and sparked a longer 13-4 run that lasted 4:15 and gave the Golden Eagles a one-point, 37-36 lead at the 4:08 mark in the quarter.
Tennessee Tech was able to push its lead to four points with 1:17 left in the period, but once again, the Governors got the final points of the quarter and trailed, 42-40, after 30 minutes of basketball.
A Booker free throw and a Kidwell fast-break layup put the Governors back in front, 43-42, just 1:15 seconds into the final period. But the Golden Eagles quickly retook the lead, with Mackenzie Coleman scoring three-straight points to go ahead, 45-43, with 7:49 to play.
But Ella Sawyer had an answer to Coleman's three-straight points and scored four-straight points by herself, hitting back-to-back shots to give Austin Peay a 47-45 lead with 6:33 left in the contest. The two sides traded baskets for the next two minutes of the contest and the Governors led, 50-49, with 4:17 left to play before Tennessee Tech went on a 6-1 run to take a four-point lead with 2:34 left on the clock.
With 14 seconds left in the contest, Austin Peay was able to cut the deficit to just a single point, 57-56 when Johnson converted the old-fashioned three-point play. The Golden Eagles pushed the lead back to three after knocking down a pair of free throws, setting up the Johnson shot at the end of the regulation that just missed.
Anna Jones led Tennessee Tech with 16 poits and nine boards while Maaliya Owens added 13 points. Coleman finished with 10 points.