FRIDAY'S SCORES
@Kentucky 73,
Morehead State 48
@Southern Indiana 88, Western Illinois 75
@Saint Louis 95,
SIUE 38
@Kansas City 82,
Tennessee State 70
KENTUCKY 73, MOREHEAD STATE 48
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Morehead State women's basketball team got a 33-point showing from the bench, but fell 73-48 to the Kentucky Wildcats on the road Friday.
Sophie Benharouga led all scorers with 17 points and seven rebounds. Crystal Corley added two points and nine rebounds and Sandra Lin helped out with five points and four steals.
Morehead State out-rebounded Kentucky 38-27 in Friday's game, led by Corley's nine boards. The Eagles also grabbed 13 offensive rebounds and scored 14 second chance points. The defense also picked up 11 steals and forced the Wildcats into 18 turnovers.
Next up, the Eagles head to Richmond for a rivalry matchup with EKU Sunday with tip-off slated 6:00 p.m.
Morehead State struggled out of the gate, falling behind 17-6 at the end of the first quarter, but settled into the game in the second quarter, where defensive pressure kept them within one point of the Wildcats.
The Eagles continued to lose ground in the second quarter and faced a 26-14 halftime deficit.
Kentucky continued to increase its lead after halftime, building a 44-16 advantage before Morehead State went on a 9-0 run, punctuated by a basket from Hallie Rhodes, to trim its deficit to 44-25 with 4:10 to go in the third. Kentucky countered and stretched its lead to 54-27 heading into the fourth. Morehead State took advantage of six Kentucky turnovers in the quarter, scoring four points off of takeaways.
Kentucky kept widening its lead in the fourth, constructing a 63-32 advantage before Morehead State went on a 7-0 run, finished off by Isabel Gonzalez's jumper, to shrink the deficit to 63-39 with 4:18 to go in the contest. Kentucky responded and outscored the Eagles the rest of the way, ending the game with a final score of 73-48. Morehead State took advantage of its opportunities in the post, scoring 12 of its 21 points in the paint.
SOUTHERN INDIANA 88, WESTERN ILLINOIS 75
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball earned an 88-75 victory in front of a loud home crowd at Screaming Eagles Arena Friday night against Western Illinois University, securing a historic first win as an NCAA Division I program against another D-I school.
Southern Indiana had a hot start in the first three minutes of the opening quarter, jumping out to a 10-2 lead. Sophomore guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) connected on two baskets before back-to-back threes from senior guard Tori Handley (Jeffersonville, Indiana) and junior guard Lexie Green (Indianapolis, Indiana).
After gaining a 21-9 lead after the first quarter, USI's defense continued to be aggressive, forcing 13 turnovers by Western Illinois within the first 15 minutes of the contest. USI built a 32-13 lead, but midway through the second, Western Illinois went on a 7-0 run in a span of one minute and 25 seconds to cut USI's advantage down to 12. The Screaming Eagles responded quickly after a called timeout, as Shafford hit a triple to push USI's lead back to 15 with 5:17 left in the second quarter.
Western Illinois came back to within nine of USI with 2:03 left in the first half, but Southern Indiana was able to push it back to double figures before halftime. Senior forward Hannah Haithcock (Washington Courthouse, Ohio) made a solid cut to the basket with 1:28 left in the second, receiving a bounce pass from Shafford for a layup. USI led 41-30 going into the halftime locker room.
The Screaming Eagles outrebounded the Leathernecks 18-16 in the first half. USI went 15-31 for 48 percent overall and 5-10 from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes. Western Illinois shot 12-28 for 43 percent and 3-6 from three. Defensively, USI forced 18 turnovers for 21 points with 10 steals in the first half. The top scorer at the break was Shafford with 12 points on 5-6 shooting.
The Leathernecks trimmed USI's lead down to nine again early in the third quarter, but once again, the Screaming Eagles had a quick answer. Handley followed a two-point shot from Shafford with a three-pointer two minutes into the third to give USI a 14-point advantage. Western Illinois' redshirt junior guard Jada Thorpe tried to will the Leathernecks back close with eight points in the third quarter at the free throw line, but USI's Haithcock had a strong quarter of her own, scoring eight points in the third to reach 10 or more points for the 50th time in her USI career. USI led 61-50 through three periods of play.
Haithcock continued her solid second half with a basket and a foul with 8:23 left in the fourth quarter. With USI leading 65-54, the Leathernecks responded with four straight points to bring the game to within seven, the closest Western Illinois had been in the game since USI led 15-8 with 3:40 left in the first quarter.
With 6:12 remaining in the fourth, Thorpe made her way to the charity stripe again for Western Illinois, hitting all three free throws in the trip and bringing the Leathernecks to within four of USI 70-66. Southern Indiana had another answer, as a layup from Haithcock and a three-pointer by junior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana) increased USI's lead back to nine, 75-66, with 5:42 left in the fourth. Haithcock later followed with another bucket to score her 22nd point of the game and 20th of the second half to give USI a 77-67 advantage with 4:39 left to play. Raley and the Screaming Eagles put the finishing touches on the game, as Raley hit two more three-pointers and scored eight points in the last 3:15 to seal an 88-75 win for the Screaming Eagles.
Haithcock finished with 22 points, the fifth 20-point outing of her career. She went 8-12 overall and hit six free throws in 27 minutes. Following her eight late points, Raley scored 18 off the bench for USI. Shafford recorded 16 points on 6-8 shooting and five rebounds, while Handley scored 13 with four rebounds and five steals. Also of note, graduate forward Ashlynn Brown (Perrysburg, Ohio) pulled down 10 rebounds and senior guard Soffia Rieckers (Evansville, Indiana) posted seven assists.
USI shot 50 percent as a team, going 30-60 from the floor, and hit eight triples. The Screaming Eagles won the rebounding battle 35-28, including 10 offensive boards. USI totaled 22 assists, 15 steals, and 31 points off WIU turnovers. The Leathernecks shot 42 percent, hitting 22 of 52 shots, and made seven threes. Both squads hit over 20 free throws, as USI went 20-27 from the stripe and Western Illinois went 24-31. The Leathernecks' Thorpe made 14 free throws, missing only one attempt, on her way to 19 points to lead Western Illinois.
SAINT LOUIS 95, SIUE 38
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Recap coming soon.
KANSAS CITY 82, TENNESSEE STATE 70
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Tennessee State women's basketball team had 10 fewer turnovers than Kansas City, but fell 82-70 to the Kangaroos on the road Friday.
The Lady Tigers (1-1) had three players score in double figures, led by Gia Adams, who had 27 points and four steals. Saniah Parker added 11 points, six rebounds, and two blocks and Sierra McCullough helped out with a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Tennessee State offense was strong from downtown, pouring in eight threes on 26 attempts. Adams hit five treys for the Lady Tigers in the contest.
Tennessee State forced 24 UMKC turnovers while committing 14 themselves in Friday's game. The Lady Tigers turned those takeaways into 15 points on the other end of the floor. Adams' four steals led the way for Tennessee State.
Tennessee State struggled out of the gate, falling behind 20-12 at the end of the first quarter.
UMKC kept adding to that lead, building a 29-14 advantage before Tennessee State went on a 7-0 run, highlighted by a three from Parker, to narrow its deficit to 29-21. UMKC responded and expanded its lead, leaving the Lady Tigers trailing 39-30 heading into halftime.
UMKC continued to increase its lead after halftime, building a 60-39 advantage before Tennessee State went on a 5-0 run, punctuated by a basket from Parker, to trim its deficit to 60-44 with six seconds to go in the third, a score which remained until the end of the third quarter. Tennessee State took advantage of nine UMKC turnovers in the quarter, scoring four points off of takeaways.
UMKC kept widening its lead in the fourth, constructing a 76-55 advantage before Tennessee State went on a 7-0 run, finished off by Adams' three, to shrink the deficit to 76-62 with 2:13 to go in the contest. The Lady Tigers kept their comeback going, but UMKC managed to hold on for the 82-70 win. Tennessee State pulled down four offensive rebounds to score six second-chance points out of 26 total in the period