SUNDAY'S SCORES
@No. 4 Indiana 87,
Morehead State 24
@Cincinnati 99,
Southern Indiana 57
@Evansville 64,
Southeast Missouri 53
@Little Rock 60, Arkansas State 44
@Eastern Illinois 78, Central Michigan 67
INDIANA 87, MOREHEAD STATE 24
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Morehead State women's basketball team fell to the No. 4 team in the country, Indiana, Sunday afternoon 87-24.
Veronica Charles led the Eagles with six points and two steals. Sophie Benharouga tacked on five points and seven rebounds and Sandra Lin chipped in as well with three points and two steals.
The Eagles break for the upcoming holidays, but return to the floor on Dec. 29 to open conference play at Tennessee State, with tip-off slated for 6:30 PM ET. .
CINCINNATI 99, SOUTHERN INDIANA 57
CINCINNATI, Ohio - University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball had its season-long five-game road swing conclude Sunday afternoon with a 99-57 loss at the University of Cincinnati. The game at Cincinnati wrapped up a two-game trip to Ohio during the weekend for USI.
Cincinnati jumped out to a 10-0 lead to open the game, connecting on three shots and two from three in the first three minutes. Senior guard Mya Jackson hit two from downtown during the early scoring run for the Bearcats.
USI scored at the 5:40 mark after a dump pass inside to senior forward Tara Robbe (Wildwood, Missouri) led to a trip to the free throw line where Robbe converted both free throw attempts. USI tightened up the defense in the second portion of the first quarter, earning multiple stops.
Senior guard Soffia Rieckers (Evansville, Indiana) scored twice in the last 2:30 of the first quarter, driving to the basket and hitting a mid-range, pull-up jumper to make it an 18-8 Cincinnati lead. USI's defense forced a shot clock violation in the last minute of the first period, and then a buzzer-beating layup by senior forward Hannah Haithcock (Washington Courthouse, Ohio) made the score 18-10 Cincinnati going to the second quarter.
The momentum from the first-period buzzer-beater carried over into the second quarter for Haithcock, who scored two quick baskets in the first minute of the second to bring USI back within seven, 21-14. After that point, the Bearcats improved their advantage by mostly getting to the free-throw line halfway through the second quarter.
Following a layup by junior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana) with 4:35 remaining until halftime, the Screaming Eagles endured a scoring drought for nearly a four-minute span. Southern Indiana cashed in on five free throws in the last 30 seconds of the first half to snap the scoring skid.
Cincinnati led 43-25 at halftime. Haithcock led USI with eight points after 20 minutes with Rieckers right behind her with 7 points.
At the start of the third quarter, the Screaming Eagles tallied buckets on a layup by Raley and a three-pointer by sophomore guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) to make the score 47-30 Cincinnati. Shafford made her second triple of the period with 5:37 left.
Later in the third, the Bearcats went on an 11-0 run to grab a 73-40 lead before USI's senior guard Tori Handley (Jeffersonville, Indiana) penetrated inside for a layup with a little over 90 seconds left in the third quarter. Haithcock swished in a face-up jumper with 37 seconds remaining in the third to reach a dozen points in the game. Cincinnati took a 76-45 margin into the fourth period.
Haithcock went to work again to start the fourth period, getting a bucket in the paint to reach 14 points. The Bearcats responded with a 12-0 run over the next three and a half minutes to take an 88-47 lead. Southern Indiana answered with four points over the next couple of possessions, as Robbe was on the receiving end of a solid bounce pass from Haithcock preceding a made hook shot in the lane by Robbe.
Near the three-minute time stamp in the fourth, Screaming Eagles sophomore guard Aubrey Burgess (Linton, Indiana) drained a hook shot. Sophomore guard Takiya Howard (Chicago, Illinois) went 4-4 at the free-throw line late in the fourth quarter after attacking the basket, recording the final points of the day for USI.
For the game, Haithcock led the Screaming Eagles with 14 points on 6-11 shooting. Robbe was second on the day with nine points, hitting a pair of shots from the field and five attempts at the charity stripe.
USI went 20-52 from the floor for 38 percent and 15-19 for 79 percent at the line. Southern Indiana had 27 rebounds with 11 coming on the offensive glass.
Cincinnati was led by Jackson with 19 points on 7-10 shooting overall and four made triples. Three other players finished in double figures for Cincinnati. As a team, the Bearcats shot 30-60 for 50 percent from the field with nine made threes. Cincinnati pulled down 40 rebounds in the contest.
The Screaming Eagles will return home to Screaming Eagles Arena next Wednesday at 6 p.m. for a non-conference season finale against Brescia University (Ky.). The game will be Southern Indiana's final tune-up before the start of the Ohio Valley Conference season on December 29.
EVANSVILLE 64, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 53
EVANVILLE, Ind. - Rahmena Henderson scored 12 points and Kennedi Watkins added 10 as Southeast Missouri (4-6) fell to Evansville (5-3), 64-53, Sunday afternoon at Meeks Family Fieldhouse.
SEMO trailed, 13-11, after the first quarter before UE used a 22-9 second-quarter surge to take a 35-20 lead at the intermission.
UE used a 10-0 run to extend its lead to 29-13 when Abby Feit knocked down a 3-pointer with just under three minutes to go.
Feit scored 15 of her game-high 23 point in the first half alone.
SEMO held a five-point lead (8-3) with 7:22 remaining in the first quarter following a Watkins basket on a fast break.
The Redhawks made it a two-possession game (59-53) when Sophie Bussard buried a 3-pointer at the 1:32 mark, but that was as close as they would get.
Henderson and Watkins each shot 5-of-7 from the field. Bussard added six points and six rebounds for SEMO which shot 35.5 percent (22-of-62).
UE outrebounded the Redhawks, 45-33.
Feit was one of three double-digit scorers for the Purple Aces. She made 7-of-13 field goals and did not miss a free throw going 7-of-7. Feit completed her double-double with 12 rebounds.
Jossie Hudston followed with 13 points and Kynidi Mason Striverson chipped in 10. UE led for all but 6:11 of the contest.
SEMO hosts Illinois-Chicago in its final non-conference game on Dec. 20
LITTLE ROCK 60, ARKANSAS STATE 44
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Little Rock defeated visiting Arkansas State, 60-44, on Sunday afternoon. It was the Trojan's 18th straight home win against ASU.
Tia Harvey and Nikki Metcalfe each had a team-high 17 points. Harvey brought down four board while Metcalfe had six.
Jaiyah Harris-Smith recorded eight points and team-bests of nine rebounds and eight assists. Faith Lee had eight points and eight boards.
Little Rock treturns to action at Missouri State on Wednesday.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 78, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 67
CHARLESTON, Ill. - The stars shined bright in the fourth quarter as Eastern Illinois women's basketball overcame foul trouble from multiple starters and survived a Sunday afternoon scare from the Central Michigan Chippewas at Lantz Arena. With the win, the Panthers improve to 8-2 overall on the season.
Lariah Washington and Morgan Litwiller provided the early offensive spark for the Panthers, combining to score the first 10 points for the team as EIU took the early 10-6 lead. Washington then found McGlone in the lane for a layup to up the lead to six. After a CMU bucket cut it back down to four, Miah Monahan made her first three-pointer of the contest to give EIU a 15-8 advantage. The Chippewas scored five straight to cut the lead to two, but EIU managed to hold onto a 19-14 lead at the end of the quarter.
Foul trouble then became the story for EIU in the second, as Washington went to the bench after picking up her second foul just six seconds into the period and McGlone sat out the entire quarter after having picked up her second foul with just 33 seconds remaining in the first. Monahan subsequently hit another three to extend EIU's lead to 22-15, but the Panthers struggled to find their offensive rhythm without Washington and McGlone on the court, as CMU used a 7-1 run over a five minute period to make it a one-point game. The Panthers finally broke the scoring drought with 4:28 remaining in the period as Julia Bengtson was fouled in the act of shooting a three and made all three free throws to extend the lead to four. After two Chippewa free throws, Monahan found Ellie Colson in the paint, who converted on a layup for her first points of the season to extend the lead back to four. After two more CMU free throws, the Panthers would finish the half on an 8-1 run as Litwiller and Bengtson both hit threes and Colson made a second layup off a pass from Bengtson, making it 36-27 at halftime.
"I thought the end of the second quarter was big," said head coach Matt Bollant. "We were only up two, and we ended up ending the half up nine, and so I thought that was a good lift. [It] gave us a little breathing room."
The third quarter began with a dry spell from both teams that was broken by a CMU second chance bucket 2:40 into the period. Washington responded with a layup, but would pick up her third foul just a couple of minutes later which would coincide with another shooting drought for the Panthers as the Chippewas used a 16-6 run to take their first lead of the game at 45-44 with her back on the bench. Hannah Purcell would respond with a layup that would spark a 6-2 EIU spurt to give the Panthers back the lead at 50-47 going into the fourth quarter. After re-entering the game, Washington would take over in the fourth quarter, hitting EIU's first two made field goals of the period and a couple of free throws to give the Panthers a 57-50 lead. McGlone then found a driving Haley Cameron who took it to the basket to give EIU a 59-50 lead. CMU would come back with a 7-2 run to cut the lead to four, but Monahan hit her third three of the game to up the lead back to seven. Another CMU three would cut it back to four, but the Chippewas would not get any closer, as a 7-0 EIU run highlighted by a converted and-one opportunity by Litwiller gave EIU an 11-point lead and put the game on ice for the Panthers.
Washington scored 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting for her fifth 20-point effort of the season. She also contributed with six assists. Monahan scored 15 points, including three three-pointers, and dished out four assists. Litwiller scored 10 points and had four rebounds and a block, while Lyric Johnson had four rebounds, four assists, and two blocked shots in her second consecutive start. Macy McGlone had a near-double double with nine points on 3-of-4 shooting and 11 rebounds. Six of her rebounds came in the first quarter.
Off the bench, Julia Bengton scored six points, all coming in a key stretch in the second quarter, and three rebounds. Purcell had five points while Colson scored four for her first points of the season. Taris Thornton had three points, all of which came on free throws.
The Panthers amassed 20 assists on 27 made field goals and doubled up CMU in points in the paint, 36-18. As a team, EIU had six blocks, tying them for the most they've had a game in the Matt Bollant era.
Up next, the Panthers will head to the Twin Cities where they will take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Thursday, December 22. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 PM CT.