SATURDAY'S SCORES
Southern Indiana 76, @Wright State 66
SIUE 62, @Northern Illinois 60
@Missouri State 68,
UT Martin 59
Tennessee Tech 83, @ULM 59
SOUTHERN INDIANA 76, WRIGHT STATE 66
DAYTON, Ohio - University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball earned its second straight win on the road Saturday afternoon, picking up a 76-66 win at Wright State University to begin the weekend trip to Ohio for the Screaming Eagles.
Southern Indiana (5-4) and Wright State (1-9) went back and forth in the first five minutes of the opening quarter Saturday. USI's first 11 points were scored by five different players. Senior guard Tori Handley (Jeffersonville, Indiana) cashed in on her only three of the game at 6:38 mark off an assist from senior forward Tara Robbe (Wildwood, Missouri), her third assist within the first four minutes of the contest.
Sophomore guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) shot the ball well in the first quarter, knocking down a pair of triples and a mid-range jumper for eight points. USI built a 20-11 lead with 44 seconds left in the first, but the Raiders scored five points in the last 30 seconds to cut USI's lead down to four, 20-16, after one.
After a solid start on the offensive end for both teams in the first quarter, the shooting numbers cooled off in the second quarter. Southern Indiana and Wright State shot near the 25 percent mark with only four makes for each school in the second.
For the Screaming Eagles, graduate forward Ashlynn Brown (Perrysburg, Ohio) made a pair of layups in the period, including one deep under the basket with under six minutes remaining until halftime to give USI a 29-22 lead.
Southern Indiana had a chunk of its scoring in the second quarter come at the charity stripe, hitting seven of ten attempts at the line. Before the end of the first half, USI pushed its advantage to ten on a couple of occasions, once after a three by Shafford to place her into double figures, and then again after a bucket by senior forward Hannah Haithcock (Washington Courthouse, Ohio).
USI led 36-27 at the intermission with Shafford pacing the Screaming Eagles in the opening 20 minutes with 13 points.
After being subbed out in the second quarter due to injury precautions, junior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana) returned to the game in the third quarter and did not miss a beat. A minute and a half into the third, Raley converted a basket and a foul to extend USI's margin to 39-27.
Southern Indiana's advantage grew on a big run late in the third. Consecutive makes by Haithcock gave USI a 17-point lead, 49-32, with 4:18 remaining in the quarter. Raley nailed a three-pointer at the 3:34 mark to make it 52-34 USI, putting Raley into double digits for the ninth straight game to start the season. Haithcock also made it to double figures before the end of the third frame with a pair of makes in the last minute and a half. USI carried a 57-39 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Screaming Eagles scored a quick six points in the first minute of the fourth, which was capped off by a layup from Robbe to give USI its largest lead of the game of 22 points.
Wright State responded to make the game interesting down the stretch, chipping away on a 9-0 run to bring the score down to a 63-49 lead for USI. Raley snapped WSU's run with her 16th and 17th points of the game.
Wright State continued to make a push in the fourth, as senior guard Bryce Nixon led the charge. With 3:49 remaining, Nixon reached the 20-point plateau in the game and trimmed USI's lead down to ten, 67-57. Following a three-pointer by Shafford to make it a 12-point game for USI, Nixon answered with a trey of her own to cut the deficit down to nine and 1:39 left in the fourth period.
With a little over a minute left, WSU made it an eight-point game, but the Screaming Eagles never let the Raiders get any closer than that. Clutch free throws by Shafford, Robbe, and Raley secured the victory for Southern Indiana.
USI was led on the day by Shafford and Raley, scoring 20 points each. Both reached the 20-point mark for the second time this season. Raley was 6-10 shooting in the game with seven made free throws and eight rebounds. Shafford went 6-11 overall, 3-3 from three, and 5-6 at the line with four rebounds. Haithcock finished with 14 points on 6-10 shooting with six boards.
USI shot 26-for-55 for 47.3 percent overall, making five triples and 19 free throws on the afternoon as well. The Screaming Eagles won the rebounding battle 42-29, including 14 offensive rebounds that led to 13 second-chance points. USI was strong in the paint, recording 38 points inside.
Wright State went 20-for-53 for 37.7 percent overall, hitting 10 three-pointers and 16 free throws in the game. Nixon led Wright State as the only Raider in double figures on the day, tallying 24 points.
The Screaming Eagles will conclude this weekend's double-dip of games and the lengthy road swing Sunday at 1 p.m. CT at the University of Cincinnati.
SIUE 62, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 66
DEKALB, Ill. - The Cougars trailed by as many as 15 points against the NIU Huskies but rallied in the second half to take a 62-60 victory over NIU at NIU Convocation Center. A layup by KK Rodriguez with four seconds to go gave the Cougars the go-ahead bucket to secure the win.
Following the win, SIUE picks up its first win of the season and move to 1-8 overall. NIU falls to 8-2.
The Cougars trailed by nine at the conclusion of the first half, shooting 25 percent (7-28). NIU took advantage of second chance opportunities, scoring 17 points off 11 SIUE turnovers and outrebounded the Cougars 11-5 on the offensive end. SIUE cut their deficit to five with 4:51 to go in the second quarter after a three ball but finished the remainder of the quarter scoreless.
SIUE held NIU, the 12th best three-point scoring team in the country to just 18 percent (3-17) in the first half. SIUE was 3-11 from beyond the arc heading into the locker room.
The Cougars used a 17-2 run between the end of the third and midpoint of the fourth to knot the game at 55 after a three ball from Molly Sheehan with 4:50 to play. SIUE took the lead for the first time in the game with 2:34 in the contest after a jumper by Sofie Lowis near the free throw line. A steal by KK Rodriguez and a layup from Lowis gave the Cougars a four-point advantage.
The Huskies would answer with a layup of their own before an NIU foul forced Ajulu Thatha to the free throw line. She went 1-2 to take a three-point lead.
With 13 seconds to play, an NIU missed layup allowed the Lowis to grab a defensive rebound where SIUE used a timeout with 9 seconds left. Rodriguez inbounded the ball into the backcourt where NIU tipped the pass and went in for a layup to tie the game at 60 with 6 seconds to go.
SIUE called timeout and Mikayla Kinnard found Rodriguez on the inbound where she executed the basket with four seconds remaining. A missed layup for the Huskies with one second remaining allowed SIUE to secure the rebound and hold victory at the final buzzer.
SIUE shot 33 percent in the contest while holding the Huskies to 32 percent.
The Cougars concluded the game shooting 17-21 at the free throw line and held NIU to just 19 attempts. Sheehan led the way for SIUE, knocking down 7-8. Thatha also had eight attempts and connected on six.
Three players scored in double-figures for the Cougars, led by Sheehan with 18 for a new career high. She had three, three-pointers in the game. She also picked up SIUE's lone block.
Lowis added 17 points, her fifth double-digit scoring effort in the last six games. She was 6-16 from the floor and 3-4 at the line. She also dished out two assists and added two steals.
Thatha finished the game with a double-double off the bench, adding 14 points while grabbing 11 rebounds. She was 2-4 from three-point territory.
SIUE forced nine steals, led by Rodriguez with 5 for a new career best.
Olivia Clayton's eight rebounds also tied a career high.
The Cougars will fly to Seattle to take on Liberty and host Washington in the Husky Classic. SIUE will play Liberty on Monday, Dec. 19 before wrapping up its nonconference schedule with Washington on Tuesday, Dec. 20.
MISSOURI STATE 68, UT MARTIN 59
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The University of Tennessee at Martin women's basketball team played its third game in six days with a limited roster but still went toe-to-toe with Missouri Valley Conference foe Missouri State before ultimately falling 68-59.
A depleted Skyhawks (4-7) squad competed throughout the contest despite just eight available players once again. Along with the limited depth, UT Martin also faced foul trouble which saw two other starters foul out of the contest midway through the fourth quarter.
Neither team shot the ball at a high rate but the game came down to the gritty plays which saw Missouri State tally 18 offensive boards and outrebound UT Martin by 14. The two squads also forced numerous turnovers as the Skyhawks tallied nine steals and forced 17 miscues.
UT Martin shot 36.8 percent from the floor while knocking down only 3-of-18 three-point attempts. Three players scored in double figures for the Skyhawks with Seygan Robins and Sharnecce Currie-Jelks each tossing in 14 points each. Robins led the defensive attack with four steals while Currie-Jelks added six rebounds. Freshman Anaya Brown narrowly missed out on her second straight double-double after scoring 12 points and snagging eight rebounds.
Missouri State (4-4) received a game-high 23 points off the bench from Kennedy Taylor who also added seven rebounds. The Lady Bears also saw the tandem of Sydney Wilson and Isabelle Delarue combine for 21 points. Meanwhile on the boards, Indya Green grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.
The Skyhawks will wrap up non-conference play with a trip to fellow MVC foe Evansville on Thursday, Dec. 22.
TENNESSEE TECH 83, ULM 59
MONROE, La. - Tennessee Tech picked up an 83-59 win at ULM on Saturday.
Maaliya Owens led the Golden Eagles with 18 points, including hitting four three-pointers. She added seven rebounds and five assists in the win.
Jada Guinn recorded 14 points, six rebounds and a team-best seven assists. REagan Hursts added 13 points, two rebouns and four assists. Anna Walker and Jordan Brock each had 10 points in the game.
Tech will travel to the Tulane Holiday Tournament on Tuesday where it will play VCU.