FRIDAY'S SCORES
Tennessee State 53, Bryant 43 (Miami, Fla.)
Middle Tennessee 81,
@SIUE 74
@Purdue 95,
Southern Indiana 57
TENNESSEE STATE 53, BRYANT 43
MIAMI - The Tennessee State women's basketball team kept Bryant to just 20 percent from 3-point range in a 5-for-25 shooting performance on the way to a 53-43 win over the Bulldogs at Ocean Bank Convocation Center Sunday.
The Tigers (2-4) had two players score in double figures, led by Zyion Shannon, who had 14 points and four steals. Caitlin Anderson added 12 points and two steals and Sanaa' St. Andre added eight points and four steals.
Tennessee State forced 25 Bryant turnovers while committing 19 themselves in Sunday's game. The Tigers turned those takeaways into 23 points on the offensive end of the floor. Shannon's four steals led the way for Tennessee State.
After playing to a 2-2 tie early in the game, Tennessee State went on a 6-0 run with 5:24 left in the first quarter, culminating in a bucket from Aaniya Webb, to take an 8-2 lead. The Tigers then lost some of that lead, but still entered the quarter break with a 10-8 advantage. Tennessee State did most of its first quarter damage in the paint, scoring eight of its 10 points close to the basket.
Tennessee State kept its first quarter lead intact before going on a 12-0 run starting at the 8:59 mark in the second period, highlighted by a bucket from Shannon, to increase its lead to 22-8. The Bulldogs cut into that lead, but the Tigers still enjoyed a 22-11 advantage heading into halftime. Tennessee State dominated in the paint, scoring 12 of its 12 points close to the basket.
After intermission, Tennessee State held on to its advantage and owned a 34-30 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Tennessee State played well near the basket, scoring 10 of its 12 points in the paint.
The Bulldogs proceeded to tie things up at 34-34 before Tennessee State went on a 9-0 run to seize a 43-34 lead with 3:58 to go in the contest. The Tigers kept expanding the margin and coasted the rest of the way for the 53-43 win. Tennessee State took advantage of seven Bryant turnovers in the quarter, scoring 11 points off of those takeaways.
MIDDLE TENNESSEE 81, SIUE 74
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - KK Rodriguez, Macy Silvey, and Sofie Lowis paced the Cougars' offense with double-figure outings, but Middle Tennessee came out on top, 81-74, Sunday afternoon inside First Community Arena.
SIUE Falls to 1-6 in its nonconference slate while Middle Tennessee improves to 5-2.
Entering halftime, the Cougars took a one-point lead, 40-39, while shooting 42 percent (14-33) from the floor and 5-16 from three-point land. SIUE forced 12 turnovers in the opening half of play while grabbing seven of its 15 rebounds on the offensive end.
Following the break, the Raiders jumped out to an 8-0 run and never looked back, holding their lead for the remainder of the contest. SIUE brought the game within five points with 48 seconds to go, but MTSU would escape Edwardsville with the victory.
SIUE concluded the contest shooting 45 percent (23-51), 43 percent (7-16) from deep, and 21-26 at the free throw line. The Cougars outrebounded the Raiders 35-32 while scoring 13 points off second chance opportunities.
Rodriguez led the Cougars with 28 points, her fifth straight game scoring 15 or more. She shot 7-14 from the floor, 1-2 from three-point territory, and 13-15 at the charity stripe. She also led SIUE with seven rebounds and four steals.
Silvey and Lowis also contributed double-figure outings with 18 and 11, respectively. Silvey finished 6-13 overall, 4-8 from deep, and 2-2 at the line. Lowis shot 4-8 from the floor while connective on two of five opportunities from long range. Silvey added five rebounds, her sixth game this season with five or more, while Lowis contributed four. Olivia Clayton added nine points with five boards.
Middle Tennessee's Ta'Mia Scott led the Raiders with 21 points.
PURDUE 95, SOUTHERN INDIANA 57
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.- University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball concluded its two-game road swing Sunday afternoon with a 95-57 loss at Purdue University.
Sunday's contest was USI's second straight game on the road against a Power-5 conference opponent and the second of three against a P-5 school during the non-conference slate.
Southern Indiana got off to a good start in the opening quarter, as senior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana) scored the game's first basket. The Screaming Eagles received balanced scoring early on, as all five starters found the hoop before the first media timeout. In the meantime, Purdue shot the ball well from deep, hitting three triples before the timeout and building a 20-14 lead. In the first six minutes, both teams shot over 60 percent. Purdue stayed hot and went on to hold USI scoreless for the remainder of the opening quarter, taking a 35-14 advantage into the second period.
The Eagles broke the scoring drought at the 8:33 mark of the second quarter when junior guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) drove to the basket to make it a 37-16 score. In the middle of the second, Raley tallied eight straight points for USI in the span of two and a half minutes, putting the senior forward into double figures. Southern Indiana finished the first half strong. Trailing 55-26 with 3:41 left until halftime, USI ended the first half on an 8-0 run. Freshman guard Triniti Ralston (Louisville, Kentucky) provided an energy boost off the bench during the run, pushing the ball for a layup and getting a big block on the defensive end. The Boilermakers led 55-34 at the intermission.
A tough scoring quarter in the third for the Eagles led to a 79-41 Purdue lead going into the fourth period. In the fourth, USI had a nice spurt on the offensive end in the middle of the frame, as Shafford connected for a couple of baskets and freshman forward Chloe Gannon (Manchester, Tennessee) scored after establishing an inside position underneath the hoop. Southern Indiana went on to record a pair of baskets under the three-minute mark to make the score 95-57 before both teams went scoreless for the last two minutes to end the game.
USI was 21-for-60 for 35 percent shooting and went for 79 percent (11-14) at the foul line. While the Eagles grabbed 11 offensive rebounds to Purdue's nine, the Boilermakers won the overall rebounding battle, 39-29. Individually, Shafford led Southern Indiana with 14 points while Raley posted 13 points.
Purdue shot 58 percent (34-59) from the floor, making nine threes, and was 78 percent (18-23) at the free-throw line. The Boilermakers had four players register double-digit scoring.
With Sunday's loss, USI moved to 3-2 on the season while Purdue improved a .500 mark of 3-3.