SATURDAY'S SCORES
Eastern llinois 72, @Tennessee State 61
Murray State 69,@UT Martin 56
Southeast Missouri 70, @Morehead State 62
@Austin Peay 71, Tennessee Tech 61
@Belmont 88, SIUE 50
EASTERN ILLINOIS 72, TENNESSEE STATE 61
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Eastern Illinois women's basketball got a much-needed 72-61 win at Tennessee State on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Panthers snap their three-game losing streak and improve to 14-13 overall and 9-7 in Ohio Valley Conference play. The win marks EIU's second straight sweep of TSU and their fifth consecutive win over the Lady Tigers.
EIU fell behind 6-0 early, as Tennessee State got the scoring started with back-to-back three pointers. The Panthers responded with seven straight of their own to take a 7-6 lead. TSU kept their early offense going and established a 14-10 lead, but the Panthers would again respond, using a 9-0 run to take a 19-14 lead as the 1st quarter expired. It was an all-around effort in the first stanza, as seven different Panthers got into the scoring column.
A Lariah Washington layup and a Morgan Litwiller three-pointer extended EIU's lead to 24-16 early in the second quarter before another TSU run cut the lead to 26-24. The Lady Tigers' defensive pressure played a factor, but EIU kept the offense rolling and was able to end the quarter on a 9-3 run to take a 38-29 halftime lead. The Third quarter began in similar fashion to the third, as a Jordyn Hughes three put EIU up double digits, but TSU kept up the defensive intensity and was able to cut the Panther lead to 45-43. A Litwiller putback followed by buckets by Kira Arthofer and Washington gave EIU a 51-47 lead going into the final period.
Another TSU three-pointer to start the 4th quarter made it a 1-point affair, but Arthofer made another layup in the lane to extend the lead back to three before a Washington fast break converted and-one opportunity made it 56-50. Three times TSU was again able to cut the lead to 1, but Abby Wahl, Arthofer, and Washington took turns making clutch, veteran plays to widen the lead for the Panthers. Up 65-61 with just under two minutes to play, Arthofer came up with what was her fifth steal of the ball game and went 1-for-2 at the free throw line. Litwiller then hit a dagger three-pointer to put EIU up 69-61 with 1 minute to play, and the Panthers made the free throws down the stretch that allowed them to seal the deal.
Washington finished with a team-high 19 points to go along with a team-high six assists and six rebounds. Wahl finished one rebound shy of a double-double, with 16 points and 9 rebounds. With those numbers, Wahl becomes only the 10th player in EIU school history with 1,200 career points and 600 career rebounds. Litwiller scored 13 on 5-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-5 from three-point range. Arthofer had 11 points to go along with five assists and five steals. Hughes contributed with six points.
As a team, the Panthers recorded 18 assists on 27 made shots.
Gia Adams led the Lady Tigers with 24 points while Tatyana Davis added 15.
MURRAY STATE 69, UT MARTIN 56
MARTIN, Tenn. - The Murray State women’s basketball used a pair of dominant first and third quarters to pick up a 69-56 win over UT Martin, Saturday at the Elam Center in Martin, Tennessee.
Fast Facts
While the Racers were barely outscored in the second and fourth, 18-14 and 12-11, respectively, their margins in the first and third were so large that it was enough for the win. MSU outscored UT Martin 25-16 in the first and 19-10 in the third.
The Racers outshot UT Martin from both the field and 3-point range in the game at 55.3-percent (26-47) to 40.0-percent (20-50) from the floor and 61.5 (8-13) to 50.0 (7-14) from 3-point range. Murray State also outrebounded the Skyhawks in the game, 33-21.
The win was the 20th of the season for Murray State, marking the first time that the Racers have won 20 or more games in a single season since 2008-09 and the seventh time overall.
Saturday’s win over UT Martin at the Elam Center put an end to an eight-game skid there for Murray State. It also marked the first that the Racers have swept the season series over UT Martin since the 2008-09 season.
Murray State’s win over UT Martin, coupled with a Tennessee Tech loss to Austin Peay, moved the Racers into a tie with the Golden Eagles for second place in the OVC with two games remaining in the regular-season.
The Racers are now 20-7 overall and 12-4 in the OVC and have won each of their last five games. Murray State is 9-5 in away games this season and should they win the season finale next Saturday at Southeast Missouri, they would be the first team in program history to win 10 away games in one season.
Katelyn Young led Murray State with a double-double of 22 points and 13 rebounds, while Hannah McKay had 14, Lex Mayes had 12 and Alexis Burpo had 11.
Shae Littleford and Holly Forbes led the Skyhawks with nine points each.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 70, MOREHEAD STATE 62
MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Deanay Watson led four Redhawks in double-digits scoring as Southeast Missouri women's basketball (6-21, 2-14 OVC) defeated Morehead State (1-25, 0-16 OVC), 70-62, Saturday afternoon at the Johnson Center.
Watson paced SEMO with her sixth double-double of the campaign, finishing with 17 points and 10 rebounds. The senior from Bradenton, Florida, shot 7-for-14 from the field including 2-for-2 on three-pointers.
Johné Stewart added a career-best 12 points in a team-best 34 minutes. The Jacksonville transfer from Memphis, Tennessee, shot 6-for-12 with five boards and four assists in her fifth career start as a Redhawk.
Kennedi Watkins chipped in 11 points while Jaliyah Green had 10 followed by Taelour Pruitt (nine points, four assists and four steals) and Kori Tomlin (seven points).
With the win, SEMO secured the 2021-22 season series against Morehead State.
SEMO and Morehead State were tied 26-26 at halftime after identical first (16-16) and second quarters (10-10).
The Redhawks outscored the Eagles, 25-16, in the third quarter shooting at a rate of 64 percent. SEMO shot 54.5 percent in the second half and 44 percent in the fourth frame.
The Redhawks distanced themselves from the Eagles, 41-32, after a 9-0 run. Green registered a triple to make the advantage 37-32 with 5:56 left in the third quarter.
Back-to-back baskets from Stewart and Green pushed the margin to 41-32 at 4:47 in the frame.
SEMO took its largest lead of the day, 49-36, with 1:36 to go in the third quarter. Tomlin nailed a triple before a three-point play from Pruitt.
Tomlin was 2-for-4 from distance Saturday with three rebounds, an assist and a steal.
Morehead State then cut the Redhawks lead to 53-51 at 6:17 in the fourth quarter after a 9-2 run to open the stanza.
Tomlin added another trey with 5:21 in the fourth to regrow the advantage to 58-53.
Stewart then tallied consecutive baskets to extend the lead to 62-54 with 3:59 remaining in regulation.
Watson hit her second basket from beyond the arc Saturday before a layup to make the score 67-56 at 55 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Morehead State took an early 3-0 lead after a three-pointer by Terri Smith at 7:55 in the opening quarter.
Watkins then notched a lay-up followed by a pair of free throws to provide SEMO a slight 4-3 edge.
The Eagles then went on an 8-0 run to pull ahead 11-4.
Watson knocked down from three-point range to cut the edge to 11-7 with 3:39 left in the first quarter. She led the Redhawks with seven points in the opening quarter Saturday.
SEMO closed out the opening quarter on a 9-0 rally to even the game at 16-16 heading to the second quarter. Green hit a triple at 1:14 in the quarter to make it a four-point game. Pruitt then converted her pair of free throws before a lay-up from Watson.
The Eagles then grew their advantage to 22-18 after a 6-0 run with 6:51 left in the first half.
Michaela Mayfield crashed the offensive glass to setup her put back bucket to trim the edge to 22-21 at 5:51 in the second quarter.
Green then tallied a jumper to switch the lead to SEMO, 23-22, with 3:02 left in the opening half.
Julan McDonald made a lay-up before Watkins split her pair of free throws to tie the game at 26-26 after 20 minutes of play.
Morehead State outshot SEMO slightly 46.3 percent to 45.6 percent and had a 33-32 edge in rebounds.
The Redhawks converted 40 percent (6-for-15) from three-point range including 67 percent in the first quarter.
SEMO was also 71 percent at the charity stripe and outscored Morehead State in the paint, 36-28.
Jada Claude had a game-high 19 points to lead four Eagles in double-figures scoring. McDonald had 12 points and 10 rebounds and Alana Denson had 11 points. Former Redhawk Terri Smith finished with 10 points, shooting 4-for-11 and 2-for-9 on three-pointers with three rebounds.
With the win, SEMO halted its losing streak at six games with its second Ohio Valley Conference win in 2021-22.
AUSTIN PEAY 71, TENNESSEE TECH 61
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -Austin Peay State University women's basketball team never trailed in its final Ohio Valley Conference game in the Winfield Dunn Center, as four Governors scored in double-figures en route to a 71-61 Senior Day victory over Tennessee Tech, Saturday.
Austin Peay (18-8, 11-5 OVC) got off to a blazing-fast start, with Karle Pace hitting back-to-back three-pointers to open the game and build a 6-0 lead that the Govs would never relinquish at the 7:06 mark in the first quarter. After Ella Sawyer and Shay-Lee Kirby hit two more threes to stretch the Governors lead to 12-0 with 5:34 left in the opening period, Tennessee Tech (17-9, 12-4 OVC) was finally able to get on the board when Anna Walker hit a jumper with 4:39 left on the clock.
After Anna Jones converted a layup for the first two of her team-high 20 points to bring the Golden Eagles back within 11 points, Lyric Cole went on a 4-0 run by herself to give the Govs their biggest lead of the first half, 17-4, with 3:31 left in the first quarter.
Yamia Johnson got the final points of the opening period when she hit a turnaround jumper in the paint to give Austin Peay a 12-point, 21-9, advantage after 10 minutes.
Tennessee Tech was able to open the second quarter on a 4-0 run and trim the deficit to just eight points, 21-13, with 8:30 left before the break. After a Sawyer three-pointer pushed the Austin Peay lead back to 11 points, 24-13, at the 7:53 mark, the Govs and Golden Eagles traded baskets for just under the next seven minutes of the contest.
With 56 seconds left before the break, Tennessee Tech went on a 4-0 run to cut the Austin Peay lead to just six points, 31-25, with 14 seconds remaining. But a De Leon Negron three-pointer at the buzzer gave the Governors a nine-point advantage, 34-25, at the half.
Austin Peay opened the second half on a 7-2 run and extended its lead to 14 points, 41-27, in the first 2:59 of the third period. But a quick 5-0 spurt for the Golden Eagles brought the Governors' lead back to single digits, 41-32, with 4:40 left in the third quarter.
With the Govs leading 49-39 with 31 seconds left in the third quarter, a De Leon Negron layup was the final points of the frame and Austin Peay led 51-39 after 30 minutes of basketball.
The Governors built their biggest lead of the game to open the fourth period, with Kirby knocking down a three-pointer and Pace converting an old-fashioned three-point play to build a 57-39 lead with 8:03 left in the game.
With the 18-point lead still intact at the 5:29 mark, Tennessee Tech fouled Cole on three-straight possessions in an attempt to extend the game, but the freshman from Memphis went 3-for-6 from the charity stripe and Austin Peay still led by 15, 67-52, with 4:25 left to play.
The Govs stretched the lead back to 18 points, 70-52, for the final time when Sawyer hit a pair of free throws at the 3:38 mark in the fourth period. Tennessee Tech was able to close the game on a 9-1 run, but it was not enough and Austin Peay cruised to its eighth wire-to-wire win of the season.
Austin Peay's Nina De Leon Negron scored a career-high 17 points and led the Governors in scoring for the first time in her career. Ella Sawyer scored a season-high 15 points while Karle Pace scored in double-figures for the team-leading 21st time this season with 15 points.
Tech's Anna Jones led all scorers with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting, hitting five of her six free-throw tries. Anna Walker also scored in double figures, putting up 15 points, including a 6-for-6 effort at the charity stripe. Jones also had six rebounds.
BELMONT 88, SIUE 50
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Setting the tone in the first quarter and putting things out of sight in the third quarter, the Belmont University women's basketball team won its eighth consecutive game Saturday afternoon inside the Curb Event Center. Behind 57 percent (33-of-58) shooting and five double-figure scorers the Bruins defeated visiting SIUE 88-50, completing the season sweep of the Cougars and collecting their 10th-straight win in the series.
With the home victory and Austin Peay's win over Tennessee Tech, Belmont clinches at least a share of the 2021-22 Ohio Valley Conference regular season title. The Bruins (18-7, 14-2 OVC) now own a two-game lead in the league race with two regular season games remaining.
Paced by senior forward Conley Chinn's season-high tying 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting, Belmont displayed its efficient offense throughout the 40 minutes of action and shot over 60 percent in both the first and fourth quarters. The Bruins erased their empty possessions to open the afternoon and finished with 22 assists on their 33 made field goals.
Forcing 21 SIUE turnovers, Belmont came up with a season-high 15 steals and scored 26 points off the Cougars' miscues. Outworking SIUE 40-35 on the glass, the Bruins connected on eight three-pointers, got 26 points off the bench, and scored 38 points in the paint.
Belmont led for nearly 36 minutes of the contest and did not trail after the 6:51 mark of the first quarter. The Bruins held the Cougars (10-17, 6-10 OVC) to 31 percent (21-of-68) shooting, including only 16 percent (3-of-19) from beyond the arc. SIUE didn't help its cause either, going 5-for-10 at the free-throw line.
Mikayla Kinnard led the Cougars with eight points and seven rebounds.