SATURDAY'S SCORES
Eastern Illinois 79, @Morehead State 62
Tennessee Tech 61, @UT Martin 49
@Little Rock 65, Southeast Missouri 45
Tennessee State 79, @Lindenwood 74
@Southern Indiana 79, SIUE 59
EASTERN ILLINOIS 79, MOREHEAD STATE 62
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Eastern Illinois women's basketball jumped ahead early and never looked back, defeating the Morehead State Eagles 79-62 on Saturday afternoon to improve to 12-3 overall and 4-0 in Ohio Valley Conference play.
It was a quick start for the Panthers, as Lyric Johnson's first career three-pointer gave EIU the early 6-1 lead. The Panthers continued to keep the Eagles at arms' length, as two Macy McGlone free throws gave her 10 first-quarter points and put EIU up 20-13 with 1:41 remaining in the period. MSU quickly pulled to within two, but a free throw and a jumper from Lariah Washington pushed it back to five at the end of the first quarter. Washington picked right up where she left off to start the second quarter, scoring the first points to up the Panther lead to seven. MSU responded with a 6-2 run to make it 27-24, but did not get any closer as a subsequent 7-0 run capped by a converted and-one opportunity by McGlone gave EIU a 10-point lead. Following a stretch in which McGlone added to her first half total with five consecutive made free throws, EIU took a 40-28 lead before a bucket by Morehead State's Crystal Corley made it 40-30 at halftime.
The Panthers seized complete control in the third quarter, as a Taris Thornton three-pointer sparked a 9-3 EIU run to make it 49-33. The Eagles managed to cut it to 13 at 51-38, but the Panthers responded once again, using an 11-4 run to stretch the lead to 20 at 62-42. A Morehead three at the buzzer by Veronica Charles made it 62-45 going into the fourth. The Eagles would score 17 in the final period, but EIU matched them stride-for-stride, scoring 17 of their own to make the final score 79-62.
McGlone led the Panthers with the game of her career, scoring 26 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field and 10-of-11 shooting from the free throw line to go along with 15 rebounds, both of which were career highs. Washington had a double-double as well, scoring 17 points on 8-of-15 shooting and grabbing 11 rebounds.
Thornton contributed with 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting to go along with 3 rebounds. Julia Bengtson had seven points on 3-of-5 shooting while Lyric Johnson scored six on 2-of-4 shooting. Jackie Maulucci and Haley Cameron both came into the game in the second half and scored four and three points, respectively.
As a team, EIU out rebounded Morehead State 48-21 and recorded 16 assists on 29 made shots.
The Eagles had two players score in double figures, led by Sophie Benharouga, who had 13 points. Veronica Charles added 13 points, four assists and two steals and Crystal Corley added eight points and two steals.
TENNESSEE TECH 61, UT MARTIN 49
MARTIN, Tenn. - An 11-0 run in the second quarter provided a big lift for the Tennessee Tech women on Saturday afternoon and while the host UT Martin squad made things interesting in the fourth quarter, the Golden Eagles held on to take a 61-49 victory over the Skyhawks at the Elam Center.
Tech (9-5, 3-1 Ohio Valley Conference) earned its third-straight road victory and will spend the next week at home as the Golden Eagles host Morehead State on Thursday and Tennessee State on Saturday.
The Golden Eagles had four players in double-figure scoring, led by true freshman Reghan Grimes with 12 points – as well as a team-high six rebounds. Maaliya Owens scored 11, while Jordan Brock and Reagan Hurst each had 10 points.
Jada Guinn had eight points, five rebounds, six assists and three steals in the contest, putting her in some elite company in program history. She becomes one of six Tech players to score 750+ points, 300+ assists, 500+ rebounds and 125+ steals, joining Tech Hall of Famers Janet Holt, Pam Chambers, Tacarra Hayes, Chris Moye and Cecilia Ramsey.
Anaya Brown led the Skyhawks (6-9, 2-2 OVC) with 13 points and nine rebounds. Shae Littleford added 10 points. Sharnecce Currie-Jelks, UTM’s leading scorer who had 30 points on Thursday night, went down with a second-quarter injury, ending her day with five points and one rebound.
The first quarter was slow-starting for both teams as there was a combined eight missed shots to open the contest before Currie-Jelks gave the Skyhawks the first points of the game at the 7:40 mark. After a free throw for UTM a minute-and-a-half later, Owens answered, draining a 3-pointer to tie the game at 3-all at the six-minute mark.
Leads swapped back and forth but it was Grimes who put Tech into double-digits first with a pair of free-throws with 1:16 left in the quarter. Diamond Cannon answered with a layup on the other end to make it 11-10 UTM and that was how it stood as the first quarter came to a close.
Tech finished the opening stanza shooting 3-for-14, the Skyhawks 4-for-11.
It didn’t stay that way for long – the Golden Eagles surged to an 11-0 run, outscoring the Skyhawks 13-3 to close out the first half. Tech shot 73.3 percent in the quarter, powered by seven points from Kiera Hill in the paint, while Owens and Guinn both were perfect from the field – Maaliya knocking down a pair of 3-pointers and Guinn completing a trio of close shots.
The Golden Eagles took a 38-26 lead into the intermission.
UTM made a furious comeback, outscoring Tech 13-11 in the third and continued to chip away in the fourth, cutting the Golden Eagle advantage down to six points – 51-45 with 7:19 remaining. Tech outscored the Skyhawks 10-4 over the final stretch to preserve the victory.
LITTLE ROCK 65, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 45
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Sali Kourouma erupted for a season-high 30 points and Little Rock’s suffocating defense turned 28 Southeast Missouri turnovers in to 33 points as the Trojans easily dispatched of the Redhawks, 65-45, Saturday afternoon at the Jack Stephens Center.
The win, Little Rock’s fourth in a row, kept the Trojans (7-8, 4-0) unscathed in Ohio Valley Conference play. The Trojans scored 33 points off turnovers thanks to forcing 28 SEMO miscues, both of which marked season highs.
Kourouma cruised to 16 points at halftime and continued the scoring after intermission, becoming just the fifth OVC player to reach the 30-point plateau this season. Angelique Francis added 13 points for the Trojans.
Southeast Missouri (5-10, 0-4) became the sixth Little Rock opponent to be limited to under 50 points this season as the Redhawks were held to less than 31% (16-for-52) shooting from the field. Jaliyah Green led SEMO with 13 points, but she also was one of three players with a team-high five turnovers. The Trojans are now holding opponents to just 56.1 points per game this season, a mark that would set an Ohio Valley Conference record if the season ended today.
Little Rock jumped on the Redhawks from the start with Kourouma responsible for the 5-0 start. SEMO would tie it at 7-7 but Kourouma’s fast-break layup would break the tie and give the Trojans a lead they would not relinquish.
Shooting nearly 62% (8-for-13) in the first quarter, Little Rock had a 17-8 lead at the first break thanks to a defensive effort that held SEMO to just one point over the final five minutes of the period.
Little Rock expanded its 11-point halftime lead in the third quarter, going on an 11-0 run at one point and out-scoring the visiting Redhawks 20-9 in the quarter.
The Maroon and Silver tallied a season-high 12 steals in the contest with seven different players recording a swipe. Jaiyah Harris-Smith, who recorded a game-high three steals, also dished out a game-high seven assists. Nikki Metcalfe tallied three of Little Rock’s five blocks.
TENNESSEE STATE 79, LINDENWOOD 74
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Tennessee State women's basketball team fought back from a 59-58 deficit after the third quarter to defeat the Lindenwood Lions 79-74 on the road Saturday.
The Lady Tigers (6-9, 1-3) had three players score in double figures, led by Gia Adams, who had 27 points and three steals. Erica Haynes-Overton added 20 points and five steals and Ashley Malone helped out with 10 points off of the bench.
Lyric Cole pulled down two offensive rebounds to pace an offense that racked up second-chance opportunities for Tennessee State, grabbing 14 boards and turning them into 16 second-chance points.
The Tennessee State defense was a problem in Saturday's game, forcing 24 Lindenwoo turnovers while committing 16. Those takeaways turned into 29 points on the other end of the floor. Haynes-Overton's five steals led the way individually for the Lady Tigers.
Tennessee State kept it close in the first quarter, but entered the second frame down 18-16.
Lindenwood (MO) kept adding to that lead, building a 23-18 advantage before Tennessee State went on an 8-0 run, highlighted by a three from Saniah Parker, to take a 26-23 lead. The Lions then came roaring back to take a 33-32 lead heading into halftime.
Lindenwood continued to increase its lead after halftime, building a 59-53 advantage before Tennessee State went on a 5-0 run, punctuated by a three from Adams, to trim its deficit to 59-58 with seven seconds to go in the third, a score which remained until the end of the third quarter. Tennessee State took advantage of five Lindenwood turnovers in the quarter, scoring eight points off of takeaways.
Lindenwood kept widening its lead in the fourth, constructing a 69-62 advantage before Tennessee State went on a 10-0 run, finished off by Adams' layup, to seize a 72-69 lead with 2:05 to go in the contest. The Lady Tigers kept expanding the margin and coasted the rest of the way for the 79-74 win. Tennessee State took advantage of its opportunities in the post, scoring 16 of its 21 points in the paint.
Mary McGrath led the Lions with 18 points while Masyn McWilliams had 16 points. Deven Fuhring added 15 points and Paige Craft had 10.
SOUTHERN INDIANA 79, SIUE 59
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Southern Indiana defeated visiting SIUE, 79-59, on Saturday night. The Screaming Eagles improved to 2-2 in league play and 8-7 overall while the Cougars fell to 202 in OVC action and 3-12 overall.
USI's Vanessa Shafford recorded a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds. She shot 54.5 percent from the floor and 80 percent from beyond the arc. Mererdith Raley and Hannah Haithcock each had 14 points. Raley went a perfect 6-for-6 from the line while Haithcock added 10 boards for the double-double. Ashleynn Brown also reached double figures in points, scoring 10 points.
SIUE's Sofie Lowis led all players with 22 points. She added five rebounds, one block and one steal.