TUESDAY'S SCORES
@Northern Illinois 77,
Lindenwood 60
@North Alabama 70,
UT Martin 63
NORTHERN ILLINOIS 77, LINDENWOOD 60
DEKALB, Ill. - The Lindenwood women's basketball team (0-4, 0-0 OVC) fell to Northern Illinois (1-3, 0-0 MAC) by a score of 77-60 on Tuesday night from DeKalb, Ill.
Lindenwood got off to a strong start with the help of Ellie Brueggemann who had seven quick points in the first quarter as the Lions jumped out to a 7-2 lead halfway through the first quarter. On the defensive end, Lindenwood was everywhere early, blocking three Huskies shots in the frame. NIU settled in, however and ended the quarter on a 12-2 run to take a 14-9 lead after one period.
The Lions opened the second quarter knocking down four of its first seven shots and after a Mya Skoff three, they trailed 23-19 at the halfway point. The Huskies would maintain the lead throughout and close the quarter on a 10-2 run to take its largest lead at 39-26 into the locker room. Lindenwood shared the ball well in the first half, with seven assists on 10 made field goals.
The Huskies maintained a comfortable lead to open the third quarter, but after back-to-back threes from Skoff and Mykayla Cunningham cut the lead to 50-42 with just under four minutes to go in the quarter. The Huskies closed the frame on a 9-2 run to restore their 13-point lead at 59-46 after three quarters.
It was a slow shooting start for both teams in the fourth quarter, as Lindenwood made just one field goal prior to the media timeout. The Lions were unable to claw their way back in the final frame as they fell 77-60.
NORTH ALABAMA 70, UT MARTIN 63
FLORENCE, Ala. - The University of Tennessee at Martin women's basketball team showed grit on the road by scratching back from a double-digit deficit, but ultimately ran out of steam down the stretch, falling to North Alabama 70-63.
The Skyhawks (0-5) struggled in the first quarter and faced a deficit as large as 11 points in the final seconds of the period. Down but not out, the young squad scratched an clawed before taking their first lead of the game three minutes into the third quarter while rattling off an 11-0 run. From there the lead swayed back and forth with six lead changes and a trifecta of ties down the stretch.
The fourth quarter alone saw the lead change hands five times but North Alabama pulled away down the stretch and outscored UT Martin by 13 points to secure the home victory.
UT Martin's top two scorers came in the form of freshmen Norah Clark and Morgan Borgstadt. Clark led the team with 15 points while adding six rebounds in her second career start. Borgstadt came off the bench and scored 13 points while adding four rebounds and three steals. The squad was rounded out in double figures by Anaya Brown who posted the second double-double of her career with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
North Alabama (2-3) was led by Martin native Alexis Callins who paced all scorers with 27 points – knocking down 10-of-19 shot attempts. Emily Jones also reached double figures for the Lions, adding 15 points off the bench in a winning effort.