SUNDAY'S SCORES
@Northern Kentucky 75,
Tennessee Tech 53
Arkansas 93,
@Little Rock 49
@East Tennessee 54,
Morehead State 35
@Eastern Illinois 83, Loyola 73
NORTHERN KENTUCKY 75, TENNESSEE TECH 53
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - Recap coming soon
ARKANSAS 93, LITTLE ROCK 49
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Recap coming soon.
EAST TENNESSEE 54, MOREHEAD STATE 35
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - The Morehead State women's basketball team got a 28-point performance from the bench, but fell 54-35 to the East Tennessee State Buccaneers on the road Sunday.
Sophie Benharouga led the Eagles with nine points, closely followed by Aina Subirats, who posted a career-high eight points, including two baskets from beyond the arc. Erola Aliberch tacked on five points off of the bench and Hallie Rhodes helped out with three points.
Tolisha Walker pulled down two offensive rebounds to lead an offense that racked up second chance opportunities for Morehead State, grabbing 11 boards and turning them into 11 second chance points.
Morehead State's defense held East Tennessee State to only 38.3 percent shooting from the field, including 26.1 percent from beyond the arc.
The Eagles return to Johnson Arena Tuesday for their home opener against Spalding (Ky). Tip-off is slated for 5:00 PM and can be found on ESPN+ or listened to on the Eagle Sports Radio Network.
Morehead State struggled out of the gate, shooting only 20 percent in the first quarter, while allowing 21 rebounds.
East Tennessee State kept adding to their lead, building a 24-12 advantage before Morehead State went on a 5-0 run, highlighted by a three from Aliberch, to narrow its deficit to 24-17. East Tennessee State responded and expanded its lead, leaving the Eagles trailing 29-19 heading into halftime.
East Tennessee State continued to increase its lead after halftime, building a 35-22 advantage before Morehead State went on a 7-0 run, punctuated by a basket from Aina Subirats, to trim its deficit to 35-29 with 1:32 to go in the third. East Tennessee State countered and stretched its lead to 40-29 heading into the fourth. Morehead State knocked down two three-pointers in the quarter to score six of its 10 total points.
Morehead State could not pull any closer in the fourth, losing by a final of 54-35. Morehead State fired away from deep in the quarter, knocking down one shot to account for three of its six points.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 83, LOYOLA 73
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois women's basketball used a strong second half to earn a home victory over the Loyola Chicago Ramblers on Sunday afternoon at Lantz Arena. With the win, the Panthers have started 4-0 in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history.
Morgan Litwiller drilled a three-pointer to get the scoring started for the Panthers, but the Ramblers responded with a 13-4 run. The Panthers used a 6-2 spurt to pull within two, but an EIU foul at the buzzer resulted in two made Rambler free throws to make it 17-13 after one quarter of play. Macy McGlone hit a free throw and then a pull-up jumper to pull the Panthers to within three at 19-16 early in the second period, but a 10-5 Loyola Chicago run made it 29-21 midway through the period. Hannah Purcell hit back-to-back shots to make it a four-point game, but the Ramblers would again go on a run, increasing their lead to 36-26. Baskets by McGlone and Lariah Washington in the final two minutes were both immediately matched by the Ramblers at the other end as Loyola Chicago took a 40-30 lead into the break.
McGlone again went to work in the paint to start the second half, scoring six of EIU's first eight points in the period to help the Panthers close the gap to 43-38. After a Rambler layup pushed the lead back to seven, Julia Bengtson found her shot, hitting a three-pointer to make it 45-41. After a Loyola free throw, two more back-to-back baskets by McGlone and Washington cut the lead to one. After another Rambler free throw, McGlone was fouled in the lane and hit two free throws to tie it up at 47-47. After two more Loyola free throws, Purcell once again made here presence known, hitting a tying layup before Washington turned a miss on the other end into a fast break layup to give EIU a 51-49 lead. Loyola made back-to-back baskets to retake the lead before an exchange of free throws between the two teams was followed by a Litwiller three-pointer from near mid-court to give EIU a 56-55 lead going into the final period. The Panthers played dominant defense in the third quarter, holding the Ramblers to just 3-of-15 shooting for the quarter.
Loyola's Maya Chandler hit a three to start the final stanza, but Bengtson hit another three-pointer and followed that up with a layup, giving EIU a lead that they ultimately would not relinquish. After a three-pointer from Washington made it 66-60, the Ramblers hit another three in response before Taris Thornton, playing in her first game of the season, took over the game offensively, scoring back-to-back layups to make it 70-63. Loyola cut it back to five before a three-pointer from Purcell followed by a steal-and-layup by Washington gave EIU a 10-point lead. The Ramblers would fight back, but two more Thornton buckets would keep Loyola at bay, and EIU would hit their free throws down the stretch to put the game on ice.
McGlone led all scorers with a career high 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting to go along with a career high-tying nine rebounds.
Washington scored 17 points, dished out a career high nine assists, and grabbed seven rebounds. Litwiller contributed with 11 points and six rebounds, while Purcell set a new career high with nine points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting from the field. Thornton scored eight points, all of which came in the fourth quarter, on 4-of-5 shooting from the field. Julia Bengtson scored eight points on 3-of-5 shooting, including 2-of-4 from three-point range, while Monahan again was superb running the point, scoring five points, dishing out six assists, and grabbing four rebounds.
For Washington, 13 of her 17 points and seven of her nine assists came in the second half.
The Panthers amassed 50 points in the paint and outscored Loyola Chicago 13-6 in fast break points and 19-3 in bench points. EIU accumulated 21 assists on 32 made shots and shot a season best 57.1% from the field for the game.