SATURDAY'S SCORES
Eastern Illinois 78, @UT Martin 63
Morehead State 72, @Lindenwood 66
@Little Rock, 42, Tennessee State 36
@SIUE 78, Southern Indiana 69
Tennessee Tech 76, @Southeast Missouri 72
EASTERN ILLINOIS 78, UT MARTIN 63
MARTIN, Tenn. - Eastern Illinois women's basketball used a strong all-around performance to defeat the UT Martin Skyhawks 78-63 on the road on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Panthers push their record to 16-3 overall and 8-0 in Ohio Valley Conference play.
Lariah Washington got things started for the Panthers offensively, hitting the first two shots of the game to give EIU a 4-0 lead one minute into the game. After UT Martin answered with a 7-0 run, the Panthers would answer right back with an 11-0 run, highlighted by back-to-back buckets from Washington, who hit her first four shots of the game for nine points. Seygan Robins kept the Skyhawks in the game with back-to-back three-pointers, but a 7-2 EIU run gave the Panthers a 22-15 halftime advantage. The three-point shot would keep the Skyhawks in it in the second quarter, as the Panther lead was cut to 30-28 before a Macy McGlone layup followed by back-to-back Washington buckets put EIU back up by eight. The teams traded buckets before a turnaround jumper from Morgan Litwiller gave EIU a 40-35 halftime lead.
After Robins hit another three to start the second half, the Panthers began to seize control, using a 16-4 run capped by seven straight points from McGlone to take a 56-42 lead. UTM would cut the lead to 11, but a Litwiller free throw upped it back to 12 going into the fourth quarter. Litwiller would hit another turnaround jumper to start the final period, but another Skyhawk three cut it back down to 11. UTM would not get any closer however, as a 10-1 EIU run highlighted by six more points from McGlone, who continued to find gaping holes in the Skyhawks defense, blew the game open, giving the Panthers a 69-49 cushion with 5:28 to go. UT Martin ended the game on a 14-9 stretch against the EIU reserves to make the final result 78-63.
McGlone scored 25 points, 17 of which came in the second half, on 9-of-12 shooting, including a 7-of-9 performance from the free throw line to go along with five rebounds and a career high-tying four steals. The game marked her third 20-point performance of the season. Washington totaled 19 points, 13 of which came in the first half, on 9-of-13 shooting to go along with seven rebounds. Litwiller contributed with 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting, three rebounds, three assists, and two blocked shots, while Miah Monahan had 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting to go along with seven assists and six rebounds. Taris Thornton recorded five points and three rebounds off the bench, while Hannah Purcell recorded four points and five rebounds off the bench. Haley Cameron came into the game late to score four points.
As a team, the Panthers shot 30-of-53 from the field for a 56.6% shooting percentage. EIU accumulated 18 assists on 30 made shots, outrebounded the Skyhawks 37-25, and outscored UTM 40-18 in points in the paint.
UT Martin was lead by Seygan Robins with 17 points, including hitting five three pointers. Shae Littleford and Josie Storey each had 10 points.
MOREHEAD STATE 72, LINDENWOOD 66
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Morehead State women's basketball team rallied from a 53-49 deficit after the third quarter to defeat the Lindenwood Lions 72-66 on the road Saturday.
The Eagles had four players score in double figures, led by Sandra Lin, who had 13 points and five assists. Hallie Rhodes added 12 points and Sophie Benharouga chipped in as well with 12 points and seven rebounds. Jayden Rhodes stuffed the stat sheet as well, with nine points, nine rebounds, four steals, and two assists.
Morehead State collected 35 rebounds in Saturday's game compared to Lindenwood's 34, led by Jayden Rhodes' nine boards. The Eagles also cleaned up the offensive glass, turning 14 rebounds into 10 second chance points.
Morehead State forced 21 Lindenwood turnovers while committing 14 themselves in Saturday's game. The Eagles turned those takeaways into 22 points on the offensive end of the floor.
Morehead State struggled out of the gate, falling behind 23-14 at the end of the first quarter.
Lindenwood kept adding to that lead, building a 34-24 advantage before Morehead State went on a 6-0 run, highlighted by a bucket from Valentina Saric, to narrow its deficit to 34-30. The Eagles continued to chip away, reducing the Lindenwood lead to 37-35 heading into the break.
Lindenwood continued to increase its lead after halftime, building a 40-35 advantage before Morehead State went on a 6-0 run, punctuated by a basket from Benharouga, to grab a 41-40 lead with 8:15 to go in the third. Lindenwood responded to seize a 53-49 lead entering the fourth quarter. Morehead State played well near the basket, scoring all 14 of their points in the paint.
Morehead State then came back to even it up at 63-63 before going on a 6-0 run to seize a 69-63 lead with 44 seconds to go in the contest. The Eagles held onto that lead for the rest of the game for the 72-66 win. Morehead State took advantage of its opportunities in the post, scoring 16 of its 23 points in the paint.
Lindenwood's Alana Striverson led all players with 24 points, including hitting four three-pointers.
LITTLE ROCK 46, TENNESSEE STATE 36
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Sali Kourouma scored a game-high 25 points and the vaunted Trojan defense held Tennessee State to just 36 points as Little Rock held on for a 42-36 win over the Lady Tigers Saturday at the Jack Stephens Center.
Apart from Kourouma’s 38% shooting and game-high points output, Little Rock’s offense struggled but the Trojans were once again buoyed by a defense that limited TSU to its lowest scoring output in a conference game this year and held them to an Ohio Valley Conference single-game low one assist while forcing 21 turnovers.
The Trojans (10-9, 7-1 OVC) did not allow Tennessee State – a team shooting better than 24% from long range – to connect on a 3-pointer and held Erica Haynes-Overton, the conference’s third leading scorer – to just 15 points with just six points in the second half. Kianni Westbrook added 11 points.
Tennessee State (7-12, 2-6 OVC) only reached double figures in one of the four quarters, not scoring more than seven points in any frame outside of their 17-point third-quarter output.
Kourouma finished with 25 points – the most points an OVC player has scored on TSU so far this season – and finished a second consecutive game with nine rebounds, barely missing out on a double-double. No other Trojan reached double figures in scoring, but Angelique Francis grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.
Even with Kourouma’s offensive success, Little Rock only shot 28.3% from the field and just 50% from the free throw line.
Of Little Rock’s 42 total points scored, 18 of those came off of Tennessee State’s 21 turnovers. TSU, which is the only OVC team to surpass 50 points against the Trojans this season in Little Rock’s 64-57 win on Dec. 31, were unable to replicate that offensive production.
Little Rock is now holding all opponents to just 53.2 points per game and limiting OVC opponents to a staggering 44.1 points per game. Both of those numbers are the lowest in the league since at least the 1997-98 season and are believed to be conference records.
SIUE 78, SOUTHERN INDIANA 69
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - – University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball made a big, fourth-quarter charge against Southern Illinois University Edwardsville on Saturday afternoon, but the Screaming Eagles' push came up a little short as the Cougars held on to win 78-69.
SIUE started off fast in the first 90 seconds of the game with an early 6-0 advantage. Southern Indiana then found its offensive spark to narrow the early deficit under the eight-minute mark of the first quarter. Sophomore guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) drilled back-to-back jumpers, including one from three, to bring USI back within one, 8-7.
Later in the first quarter, Southern Indiana began attacking downhill aggressively, earning trips to the foul line. The assertiveness from USI forced SIUE into early foul trouble. The Screaming Eagles made nine trips to the charity stripe in the first quarter, knocking down seven free throws. SIUE led 18-16 after the opening 10 minutes.
At the beginning of the second quarter, the Cougars pushed their lead back up to six. After a pair of made free throws for USI, junior guard Lexie Green (Indianapolis, Indiana) canned a three from the top of the arc to trim the deficit down to one, 22-21. The offenses slowed down over the course of the next few minutes. A layup by senior forward Hannah Haithcock (Washington Courthouse, Ohio) with 3:58 left in the first half put USI ahead, 25-24. Both offenses went back and forth for the remainder of the second period, as SIUE took a three-point lead, 35-32, into halftime.
Out of the break, SIUE came out with extensive pressure and hot shooting to begin the second half. The Cougars went on a 10-0 run over the first 1:38 of the third quarter. Trailing 45-42, the Screaming Eagles responded with consecutive baskets to cut the margin back down to nine, 45-36.
Midway into the third period, graduate forward Ashlynn Brown (Perrysburg, Ohio) made two consecutive baskets inside to bring SIUE's lead down to five, 47-42. In the last 3:30 of the third quarter, SIUE's defense and offense clicked, as the Cougars outscored USI 11-3 for the remainder of the third to take a 58-45 lead into the fourth quarter.
SIUE increased its lead at the start of the fourth period, extending the margin up to 18, 63-45. Approaching the halfway point of the fourth, the Screaming Eagles started their pushback, as junior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana) connected on consecutive layups. Inside the five-minute mark, a layup by Brown was followed by a buried three-pointer from senior guard Tori Handley (Jeffersonville, Indiana) to make the score 65-54 SIUE.
A minute later, Raley cashed in at the foul line and then made a jumper in the next possession to bring USI back within seven, 65-58. Southern Indiana was able to cut the deficit down to five, 65-60, with three minutes left, but SIUE closed out the game from there with a pair of key jumpers and free throws down the stretch.
Southern Indiana was led on the afternoon by Raley with 19 points on 6-14 shooting and 7-8 at the foul line. The junior also pulled down eight rebounds and dished out four assists. Shafford tallied 14 points, going 5-12 from the field, and grabbed six boards. Brown also recorded double figures with 10 points in the game. USI went 22-62 for 35 percent from the floor, including four three-pointers, and 21-25 for 84 percent at the stripe. The Screaming Eagles outrebounded the Cougars 44-37 overall and 17-11 on the offensive glass.
SIUE was led in scoring by sophomore guard Molly Sheehan, who posted 18 points with four made triples. Sophomore guard Sofie Lowis and senior forward Ajulu Thatha each scored 13 points. The Cougars were 26-62 for 42 percent on the day, hitting eight three-pointers, and went 18-21 for 86 percent at the free-throw line.
TENNESSEE TECH 76, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 72
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Tennessee Tech defeated Southeast Missouri, 76-72, on Saturday afternoon. With the win the Golden Eagles improved to 12-6 overall and 6-2 in the OVC while the Redhawks fell to 8-11 overall and 3-5 in league play.
Jada Guinn led the Golden Eagles with 20 points, going 7-for-10 from the field and 6-for-8 at the line. She also had eight rebounds and four steals. Reghan Grimes added 14 points, four rebounds, three assists, three blocks and one steal. Anna Walker recorded nine points and six rebounds in the win.
The Redhawks' Jaliyah Green scored a team-high 21 points, going 7-for-8 from the line. Kennedi Watkins came off the bench to record 16 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals. Alecia Doyle added 11 points and five boards in the game.