UPCOMING SCHEDULE
THURSDAY, JANUARY 12
SIUE at
Eastern Illinois* - 5 p.m. (ESPN+)
Lindenwood at
Southeast Missouri* - 5 p.m. (ESPN+)
Little Rock at
Southern Indiana* - 5 p.m. (ESPN+)
Morehead State at
Tennessee Tech* - 5:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
UT Martin at
Tennessee State* - 5:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
SATURDAY, JANUARY 14
Southeast Missouri at
Morehead State* - 12 p.m. (ESPN+)
Little Rock at
Eastern Illinois* 1 p.m. (ESPN+)
Tennessee State at
Tennessee Tech* 1 p.m. (ESPN+)
Lindenwood at
SIUE* - 3 p.m. (ESPN+)
UT Martin at
Southern Indiana* - 5 p.m. (ESPN+)
All Times Central
*OVC Game
OVC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
PLAYER
Erica Haynes-Overton, G • Gr., 5-6 • Nashville, Tenn. • Tennessee State
Haynes-Overton had her second 30-point scoring game of the season as she finished with 30 points (11-of-16) against SIUE, with seven rebounds, and three assists. She finished with 20 points in the comeback win against Lindenwood on Saturday afternoon, with five steals and two assists. Saturday marked her sixth 20+ point performance of the season.
Others Nominated: Lariah Washington, Eastern Illinois; Sali Kourouma, Little Rock; Jaliyah Green, Southeast Missouri; Sofie Lowis, SIUE; Vanessa Shafford, Southern Indiana; Reagan Hurst, Tennessee Tech; Sharnecce Currie-Jelks, UT Martin
Co-NEWCOMER
Macy McGlone, F • So., 6-3 • Greenville, Wis.• Eastern Illinois
McGlone began her week by scoring eight points, grabbing five rebounds, and blocking two shots as EIU earned a 67-62 road win over Tennessee Tech. She followed that up with a career game in EIU’s 79-62 road win over Morehead State, scoring a career-high 26 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field and 10-of-11 shooting from the free throw line. She also recorded a career-high 15 rebounds, including nine offensive rebounds, and had four assists and one block in the win.
Erica Haynes-Overton, G • Gr., 5-6 • Nashville, Tenn. • Tennessee State
Haynes-Overton had her second 30-point scoring game of the season as she finished with 30 points (11-of-16) against SIUE, with seven rebounds, and three assists. She finished with 20 points in the comeback win against Lindenwood on Saturday afternoon, with five steals and two assists. Saturday marked her sixth 20+ point performance of the season.
Others Nominated: Jayla Brooks, Little Rock; Veronica Charles, Morehead State; KK Rodriguez, SIUE; Kiera Hill, Tennessee Tech
FRESHMAN
Sharnecca Currie-Jelks, F • Fr., 6-2 • Jackson, Tenn. • UT Martin
Despite leaving Saturday’s game in the second quarter with an injury, Currie-Jelks was a big-time playmaker for the Skyhawks in the second week of OVC play. Currie-Jelks averaged 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game while shooting 77.8 percent from the field. She opened the week with a career night against Southeast Missouri by scoring a career-high 30 points while notching her second double-double with 13 rebounds. She made 12-of-15 field goal attempts (80.0 percent) while also making six free throws. Then against Tennessee Tech, she got off to a hot start with five points in the first quarter before leaving the game with an injury in the second.
Others Nominated: Lyric Johnson, Eastern Illinois; Hallie Rhodes, Morehead State; Reagan Hurst, Tennessee Tech
Other Notable Performances
• Reagan Hurst (G, Fr.), Tennessee Tech - Scored a season-high 19 points against Eastern Illinois, shooting 8-for-12 from the floor. She finished the week averaging 14.5 points each time out.
• Lariah Washington (G, Sr.), Eastern Illinois - Averaged 19.0 points, 6.5 points and 4.0 assists per outing to help the Panthers remain undefeated in OVC play.
• Sali Kourouma (F, R-Jr.), Little Rock - Recorded 30 points in the win over Southeast Missouri. She finished the week with 18.0 points per game to help the Trojans remain undefeated in league action.
• Jaliyah Green (G, So.), Southeast Missouri - She scored in double-digits in both games last week to extend her streak to four straight. She put up 13 points each game.
• Sofie Lowis (G, So.), SIUE - She tied her career-high with 22 points at Southern Indiana. She also had 13 points in the win over Tennessee State.
• Vanessa Shafford (G, So.), Southern Indiana - Recorded 15.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game last week. Against SIUE, she had 18 points and 12 rebounds.
NOTES FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE
OVC Overview: Eastern Illinois improved to 4-0 in league play for the first time since the 2011-12 season. Lindenwood's Mary McGrath averaged 16.0 points per game last week, shooting 65.0 percent from the floor and bringing down 8.5 rebounds per outing. Little Rock is limiting opponents to 56.1 ppg this season, a mark that would be the best mark in the Ohio Valley Conference since the number began to be tracked with the 2009-10 season. Morehead State's Veronica Charles led the Eagles in scoring last week with 12.5 points per game. Southeast Missouri's Jaliyah Green has scored in double digits in the last four games as she averaged 13.0 points per game last week. SIUE's Sofie Lowis tied a career-high with 22 points at Southern Indiana last week. Southern Indiana's win over SIUE snapped a two-game skid and improved USI's home record to 6-1 this season. Tennessee State picked up its first OVC win against Lindenwood behind Erica Haynes-Overton's 20 points. Tennessee Tech's Reagan Hurst had a season-high 19 points against Eastern Illinois. UT Martin had four players score in double figures for the fifth time this season against Southeast Missouri
30-Point Performances: There have been seven 30-point performances in the OVC so far this year.
Lariah Washington, Eastern Illinois
30 points vs. Northern Illinois (12/3/22)
33 points at Valparaiso (11/16/22)
Erica Haynes-Overton, Tennessee State
30 points at SIUE (1/5/2023)
32 points vs. Omaha (11/27/22)
Sali Kourouma, Little Rock
30 points vs. Southeast Missouri (1/7/23)
Sharnecca Currie-Jelks, UT Martin
30 points vs. Southeast Missouri (1/5/23)
Kenley McCarn, UT Martin
31 points vs. Troy (11/10/23)
OVC on ESPN+: For the fifth year, the Ohio Valley Conference will have a minimum of 600 conference events on ESPN+. ESPN+ is an integrated part of the completely redesigned ESPN App. Already the leading sports app, the new ESPN App is the premier all-in-one digital sports platform for fans across mobile and tv-connected devices. ESPN+ is also available through ESPN.com.
Coaching Experience: UT Martin's Kevin McMillan is the longest tenured coach in the OVC as he enters his 14th season at the helm of the Skyhawks. He currently ranks third in OVC history with 252 wins and first among active coaches. He has had eight 20-win seasons at UT Martin and has made the conference tournament in each of his 13 years.
2021-22 in Review: Belmont earned the 2021-22 OVC regular season title and the OVC Tournament crown. The Bruins earned the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament while Tennessee Tech earned the WNIT automatic bid. Murray State earned was an at-large selection to the WNIT and Austin Peay was picked for the WBI. Belmont defeated Oregon in double overtime in the first round before falling to Tennessee in the second round. Tennessee Tech defeated SMU in the first round of the WNIT before falling to Houston in the second round. Murray State fell to Vanderbilt in the first round of the WNIT while Austin Peay went 1-2 in the WBI. Belmont's Bart Brooks was named OVC Coach of the Year while the Bruins Tuti Jones earned Defensive Player of the Year honors. Murray State's Katelyn Young was named the Player of the Year and Tennessee State's Gia Adams earned Freshman of the Year honors.
OVC Championship Returns to Evansville: The Ohio Valley Conference returns to the Ford Center in Evansville for the sixth-straight year. The 2023 OVC Basketball Championships will be held March 1-4.
Regular Season Champions: With Belmont earning the regular-season crown last year, 10 different teams have won a regular-season crown. Little Rock, Lindenwood, Morehead State, SIUE and Southern Indiana are the only current members that have not won a regular-season title.
OVC on ESPNU: The OVC will have one women's games air on ESPNU on Feb. 23. The matchup will be decided two weeks prior to the air date.
New Faces: The OVC will welcome three new members this season in Lindenwood, Little Rock and Southern Indiana. The Lions' Katie Falco is entering her fifth year at the helm of Lindenwood while Little Rock's Joe Foley will begin his 20th season as the head coach. Rick Stein enters his 24th year at the helm of the Screaming Eagles.
Let the Season Begin: The 2022-23 regular-season begins on Nov. 7 with Conference play beginning on Dec. 29. The OVC Championship will take place March 1-4 in Evansville, Indiana.