WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
Oral Roberts 74,
@Little Rock 62
@Southern Indiana 85, Bethel 52
UT Martin 81, Purdue Fort Wayne 51
ORAL ROBERTS 74, LITTLE ROCK 62
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Little Rock shot just 31.9% from the field – a number skewed by a strong fourth quarter mark - and was just 1 of 13 from 3-point range as the Trojans fell to Oral Roberts, 74-62, Wednesday afternoon at the Jack Stephens Center.
Despite the fact that four Trojans (1-3) reached double figures, Little Rock was just 22 of 69 (31.9%) from the field Wednesday. Faith Lee and Toyosi Abiola led the Maroon and Silver with 16 points each, a high mark for both players in a Little Rock uniform.
Hannah Cooper led Oral Roberts (1-5) with 22 points and 10 rebounds while dishing out eight assists. Ariel Walker added 20 points and nine rebounds.
Angelique Francis recorded the first double-double of the year for the Trojans, grabbing a career-high 15 rebounds to go with her 11 points. Tia Harvey, who was 5 of 17 from the field, scored 10 points.
Little Rock never led in the game but was always within striking distance. The tide appeared to be turning late in the third quarter when the Trojans cut ORU's lead to just two late in the third quarter before the Golden Eagles ended the quarter on a 10-2 run and would pull away in the fourth quarter, leading by as much as 18.
One marked improvement for the Trojans was free throw shooting, hitting 73.9% of their chances at the charity stripe. Little Rock had been averaging just a 53.6% mark entering the game.
After a record four straight home games to open the season, Little Rock will hit the road after Thanksgiving to play at Auburn on Wednesday, Nov. 30. Tip-off is set for Noon and the game will air live on SECN+.
SOUTHERN INDIANA 85, BETHEL 52
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball picked up an 85-52 home win Wednesday against Bethel University (Ind.), as USI's junior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana) recorded a career-high 23 points on the afternoon.
Both teams tried to find their flow in the first few minutes of the first quarter Wednesday. For USI, sophomore guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) picked up right where she left off from her 21-point, 11-rebound performance on Saturday. Shafford scored five quick points off a mid-range jumper and a three-pointer that put USI ahead 7-2 in the early going. After a little bit of a dry spell, Bethel closed the gap to make the score 11-9 USI, but the Screaming Eagles went on to finish the first quarter on a 9-0 run to take a 20-9 advantage into the second period. Senior forward Hannah Haithcock (Washington Courthouse, Ohio) scored six straight points for USI in the late, first-quarter run.
After scoring five points in the first period, Raley attacked the basket in the early minutes of the second quarter, getting to the free-throw line. Her made free throws with 7:56 left in the first half put USI up by 20, 29-9. A minute later, the Screaming Eagles kept feeding Haithcock in the paint, as her bucket inside gave USI a 31-13 lead and put her in double figures. Southern Indiana went on another big run before halftime, putting together a 13-2 run inside the last four and a half minutes. Raley reached double digits for the game with 1:21 left in the second when she cashed in with a basket and a foul, hitting the free throw and giving USI a 41-18 lead.
The Screaming Eagles went into the intermission ahead 44-18. Raley and Haithcock led USI with 14 and 13 points, respectively, at the break. Southern Indiana shot 44.4 percent (16-36) in the first half while Bethel shot 26.1 percent (6-23) through the first two quarters. By halftime, USI had 16 fast break points, 19 points off turnovers, and 20 points in the paint.
Out of halftime, Shafford canned two straight triples in the first 90 seconds of the third to cross into double figures for the game and put USI up 50-18. Shafford and Raley were strong in the third quarter. Raley scored seven points quickly midway through the period to reach 21 points, setting a new career high after a made three with 4:34 remaining in the third. The three-pointer gave USI a 31-point lead, 59-28. Bethel had a 10-5 stretch in the back half of the third to make the score 64-39 USI heading into the fourth period.
About halfway into the fourth quarter, Southern Indiana's junior guard Lexie Green (Indianapolis, Indiana) found her rhythm from deep. Green put two consecutive three-point shots through the bottom of the net, and then she followed those threes up with a successful old-fashioned three-point play, giving her nine quick points and a 77-43 lead for USI with five minutes remaining in the fourth. Green hit double digits before the game went final.
USI was led in scoring by Raley with 23 points, a new career best for the junior, shooting 7-8 from the floor and 8-9 at the free-throw line. Raley also finished with eight rebounds. Shafford ended up with her second consecutive double-double effort, tallying 13 points and 10 boards. Haithcock had 15 points, and Green posted 11 points, a new career high and her first career double-digit game. Senior guard Tori Handley (Jeffersonville, Indiana) added seven points, six assists, and four steals. USI went 31-58 (53.4 percent) from the field, 8-17 (47.1 percent) from three, and 15-18 (83.3 percent) from the charity stripe. Southern Indiana outrebounded Bethel 35-24 and totaled 23 assists. The Screaming Eagles also registered 20 fast break points, 29 points off turnovers, and 36 points in the paint.
For Bethel, the Pilots were led by senior forward Katie Kinker with 13 points and sophomore guard Maiah Shelton with 10 points. The Pilots shot 40.4 percent (21-52) from the floor, 23.5 percent (4-17) from three, and 75 percent (6-8) from the line.
The Screaming Eagles will go 10 days before their next game. USI will play on December 3 at Murray State at 2 p.m. to begin a five-game road swing.
UT MARTIN 81, PURDUE FORT WAYNE 51
SAVANNAH, Ga. - The University of Tennessee at Martin women's basketball team capped off its stay at the Hostilo Hoops Community Classic with arguably its best all-around performance of the season en route to a commanding 81-51 victory.
The Skyhawks (2-4) not only rode their hot-shooting stroke – which made 54.5 percent of their field goal attempts – but also relied on the team's defense to surge past the Mastodons. UT Martin limited Purdue Fort Wayne to just 25 points in the opening half while allowing them to shoot just 31.1 percent from the field. The Skyhawks also won the rebounding margin by 10 and forced 21 turnovers.
UT Martin wasted very little time proving it would be the aggressors in the contest as the visitors on the scoreboard jumped out to a 15-0 run through the first five minutes. With a comfortable lead in hand, the Skyhawks would never look back as they led the entire contest.
While the Skyhawks margin was trimmed to as close as eight points in the second quarter, the team used another 8-0 run to take a significant lead into halftime. The second half would follow a familiar theme as Purdue Fort Wayne only cut the deficit down to single digits once in the second half. From there UT Martin put its foot on the gas pedal and outscored its opponent by 12 in the fourth quarter to run away with the 30-point victory.
Freshman Sharnecce Currie-Jelks wrapped up a strong tournament appearance with a career-high offensively for the second day in a row by tallying 21 points and six rebounds. She was also joined in double figures by fellow freshman Lexi Rubel who reached the double-digit plateau for the first time in her career with 12 points and a game-high seven rebounds. Sophomore Shae Littleford joined the newcomers with 11 points of her own while Seygan Robins led the team with four assists.
Purdue Fort Wayne (3-4) lost all three of its matchups in the Hostilo Hoops Community Classic after also falling to Norfolk State and Marshall. The Mastodons saw two players score in double figures for the squad as Amellia Bromenschenkel paced the team with 12 points while Audra Emmerson tossed in 10 points in the losing effort.
UT Martin will relax for the Thanksgiving holiday before returning to action on Wednesday, Nov. 30 against former Ohio Valley Conference rival Murray State. Tipoff from the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center is slated for 6 p.m.