THURSDAY'S SCORES
@Southeast Missouri 56, UT Martin 54
@Little Rock 61, Tennessee Tech 45
@SIUE 72, Morehead State 66
Eastern Illinois 63, @Tennessee State 58
Southern Indiana 73, @Lindenwood 60
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 56, UT MARTIN 54
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - The University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball team led for over 33 minutes of clock time this evening but Southeast Missouri mounted a fourth quarter comeback en route to a 56-54 win at the Show Me Center.
The Skyhawks (7-11, 3-4 Ohio Valley Conference) led by as many as 12 points in the first quarter but committed 24 turnovers for the game. After the Redhawks took their first lead of the contest at the 6:56 mark of the fourth quarter, UT Martin eventually reclaimed a three-point advantage with 45 seconds left. However, Southeast Missouri accounted for the final five points of the game – including the go-ahead bucket by Kori Tomlin with 0.7 seconds to go.
Five Skyhawks scored at least eight points this evening, guided by 12 points from freshman Josie Storey. Anaya Brown (11 points, game-high eight rebounds, two blocks, two steals) also scored in double digits while Shae Littleford tallied nine points, a career-best six rebounds and six assists. Sydneey Boykin added nine points (thanks to three 3-pointers) while Sharnecce Currie-Jelks posted eight points in 20 minutes off the bench.
The Redhawks (8-10, 3-4 OVC) were led by Sophie Bussard’s 15 points while Rahmena Henderson came away with 12 points. Southeast Missouri was limited to 35.2 percent (19-of-54) shooting but scored 21 points off turnovers.
Six different Skyhawks scored in the first quarter as UT Martin raced out to a 17-8 lead after 10 minutes of play. The Skyhawks began the game on a 7-0 run as the UT Martin defense held Southeast Missouri without a field goal for the first 5:33. Boykin nailed back-to-back three-pointers before a layup from Currie-Jelks pushed the Skyhawk advantage out to a dozen (17-5) with a little over a minute to go in the first period.
The Redhawks, who scored the final three points of the first quarter, accounted for the first seven points of the second period to get within one at 17-16. UT Martin responded with seven of the next nine points, capped off with five straight points out of Storey to make the score 24-17 at the 4:03 mark. Boykin tacked on another trifecta a little over a minute later to nudge the Skyhawks’ advantage back out to seven points – the same margin that UT Martin took into the locker room at the break.
Boykin’s nine points led all scorers at the half while Southeast Missouri was paced by nine points out of Bussard. The Redhawks shot just 29.6 percent (8-of-27) and were forced into 10 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.
After Brown knocked down a 15-foot jumper to start the second half scoring, Southeast Missouri went on a 7-0 run to pull within a single possession with just over six minutes remaining in the third quarter. Soon thereafter, Currie-Jelks (12-foot baseline jumper) and Storey (deep three-pointer) extended the Skyhawk advantage back out to 36-29. A layup from Brown with 59 ticks left in the quarter kept UT Martin’s lead at seven but the Redhawks scored the final four points of the period to whittle the Skyhawk advantage to 42-39 through 30 minutes of play.
Currie-Jelks swished a 15-foot jumper on the first possession of the fourth quarter but Southeast Missouri came back with an 8-0 run to take its first lead of the game. Four Littleford free throws briefly swung the score back in favor of UT Martin but the Redhawks reclaimed a 51-50 lead at the 3:22 mark. Three free throws by Seygan Robins and another free throw from Brown gave the Skyhawks the aforementioned 54-51 advantage with 45 seconds left to play but Southeast Missouri made a three-pointer on the ensuing possession. After Tomlin’s pull-up jumper, the Skyhawks advanced the ball to the frontcourt out of a timeout and got a look at a potential game-winning trey but the contested shot rimmed out at the buzzer.
LITTLE ROCK 61, TENNESSEE TECH 45
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Little Rock defeated visiting Tennessee Tech, 61-45, on Thursday night. The Trojans improved to 9-9 overall and 6-1 in league play while the Golden Eagles dropped to 11-6 overall and 5-2 in the OVC.
Little Rock's Sali Kourouma came off the bench to lead the team with 22 points. She went 3-for-6 from three-point range and added nine rebounds, two assists, three blocks and three steals. Jayla Brooks added 13 points while Tia Harvey had 10 points. Jaiyah Harris-Smith flirted with a triple-double with six points, seven rebounds and 10 assists in the win.
Tennessee Tech was led by Maaliya Owens with 12 points, including hitting a pair of three-pointers. Peyton Carter added eight points and a team-best 12 rebounds.
SIUE 72, MOREHEAD STATE 66
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Morehead State women's basketball fought from 18 points down to cut their deficit to two points in the fourth quarter, but couldn't complete the comeback as they fell to SIUE Thursday night 72-66.
Molly Sheehan led the Cougars with 18 points, going 4-for-8 from beyond the arc. KK Rodrigues had 16 points and five rebounds. Sofie Lowis also reached double-digits in points with 12 to go along with seven boards.
The Eagles had two players score in double figures, led by Sophie Benharouga, who had 13 points. Jayden Rhodes had a career game, posting season-high marks with13 points, seven rebounds and two steals and Veronica Charles added nine points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals.
Rhodes pulled down five offensive rebounds to lead an offense that racked up second chance opportunities for Morehead State, grabbing 14 boards and turning them into 12 second chance points.
Morehead State forced 23 SIUE turnovers while committing 11 themselves in Thursday's game. The Eagles turned those takeaways into 16 points on the other end of the floor. Sandra Lin's three steals led the way for Morehead State.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 63, TENNESSEE STATE 58
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Eastern Illinois women's basketball survived a stout defense from a game Tennessee State Lady Tigers squad en route to a 63-58 road win on Thursday evening. With the win, the Panthers improve to 15-3 overall and 7-0 in Ohio Valley Conference play.
After TSU drew first blood, Morgan Litwiller set the tone early for the Panthers, hitting two quick threes which were followed up by a Lariah Washington jumper in the lane to give EIU an early 8-2 advantage. The Lady Tigers responded by turning up their pressure, forcing five EIU turnovers over a span of two-and-a-half minutes while using a 7-0 run to retake the lead. The Panthers responded with a 13-4 run that was capped by a Lyric Johnson layup to take a 21-13 lead. TSU's Ashley Malone hit a three-pointer in the waning seconds of the period to make it 21-16 going into the second quarter. After Washington hit the first shot of the second quarter to up the lead back to seven, the game became a defensive stalwart as four minutes passed with only two buckets from either side. The cold streak was finally broken when Litwiller and TSU's Saniah Parker traded two threes apiece to make it 31-24. She then drilled her fifth three of the half and Washington then found an open Taris Thornton on the other end following a defensive stop to give EIU a 36-24 advantage. TSU's Erica Haynes-Overton responded with a layup to make it 36-26 at halftime after the final 2:16 of the quarter ended with zero points.
With EIU up 41-30 midway through the third, TSU began their comeback, pressing their way to a 9-1 run to pull within three at 42-39. Thornton and Hannah Purcell would answer with back-to-back driving layups to up the lead back to seven going into the fourth quarter. With EIU up 50-43 two minutes into the final period, Haynes-Overton would hit a jumper and then convert on a steal-and-score to cut EIU's lead back down to three. Thornton, however, would answer the bell once more, using a smooth move to drive to the bucket for a layup and then hitting on two free throws to put EIU up seven once more. Following a Litwiller layup, TSU used their press to once again cut it to five, but Litwiller hit her seventh three-pointer of the game to make it 59-51 with 3:35 remaining. Parker responded with a three of her own for the Lady Tigers, but EIU was able to get the necessary stops and hit their free throws down the stretch en route to a 63-58 win.
Litwiller led the way offensively for the Panthers, scoring a season-high 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting, including 7-of-9 from three-point range. Her seven made threes tie both her career high and the EIU school record for most three-pointers in a game by a single player. She also contributed seven rebounds. Thornton came off the bench to score 15 points, many of which came in key moments of the game when TSU had cut the lead to one possession, and grab five rebounds.
Washington scored eight points and dished out four assists, while Macy McGlone scored six points and grabbed 12 rebounds for her seventh double-digit rebounding effort of the season. Purcell had 4 points on a perfect 2-of-2 shooting while Julia Bengtson came off the bench to drain a three. Despite not scoring, Miah Monahan still distributed seven assists.
As a team, the Panthers accumulated 15 assists on 23 made shots.
TSU was led by Saniah Parker with 15 points, including hitting a trio of three pointers. She also had six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Erica Haynes-Overton added 14 points while Ashley Malone came off the bench to scored 13 points.
SOUTHERN INDIANA 73, LINDENWOOD 60
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Southern Indiana picked up a 73-60 road win over Lindenwood on Thursday. The Screaming Eagles improved to 9-9 overal and 3-4 in the OVC while the Lions fell to 1-17 overall and 0-7 in league play.
USI's Hannah Haithcock led all players with 31 points as she went 13-for-19 from the field and a perfect 5-for-5 from the line. She also had eight rebounds and three steals. VAnessa Shafford had 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals in the win.
Mary McGrath paced Lindenwood with 19 points, hitting three three-pointers. She added six rebounds and three steals. Devin Fuhring scored 16 points while Emily Benzschawel added 14 points.