WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
Central Arkansas 77,
@Lindenwood 64
@Michigan 103,
SIUE 59
@Tennessee Tech 84, Lincoln Memorial 57
CENTRAL ARKANSAS 77, LINDENWOOD 64
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Lindenwood women's basketball team (0-5, 0-0 OVC) dropped a midweek tilt with Central Arkansas (4-3, 0-0 ASUN) by a score of 77-64 from Hyland Arena in St Charles, Mo.
It was a defensive battle in the first quarter as both teams shot under 45 percent from the field. Neither squad trailed by more than five points in the opening frame as the Sugar Bears held a 13-10 lead after one quarter.
UCA started the second on an 8-1 run which forced a Lindenwood timeout. After the media timeout, the Lions settled in and started to chip away. Reagan Rapert scored five quick points, including a three-pointer, which made the score 29-24 with under two minutes to go in the half. The Sugar Bears held a 33-26 advantage after 20 minutes.
Out of halftime, the Sugar Bears went on a 17-4 run, which extended their lead to 50-30 near the midway point of the third quarter. The Lions showed a little life at the end of the frame after Mary McGrath drilled a three-pointer to close out the quarter, cutting the deficit to 59-41.
The Lions had their best shooting quarter in the final frame as the team shot 50 percent from the field. Lindenwood forced five turnovers in the fourth and ended the game on a 16-6 run with eight of those points coming from Mya Skoff. Skoff finished the contest with a team-high 12 points. However, it wasn't enough as Lindenwood fell 77-64.
MICHIGAN 103, SIUE 59
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Molly Sheehan, Sofie Lowis, and KK Rodriguez each scored in double-figures, but Michigan overpowered the Cougars, 103-59, on Wednesday night at the Crisler Center.
SIUE falls to 1-7 in its 2023 nonconference slate. Michigan improves to 6-1.
The Cougars and Wolverines went toe-to-toe through the first five minutes and 20 seconds of the first quarter, knotted at 12 before a media timeout. Following the break, Michigan used a 20-3 run over the next eight minutes and 10 seconds to run away with the contest.
Michigan's leading scorer, Laila Phelia, who entered the game averaging 17.3 points per contest, was held to just four points by the Cougars' defense. Michigan also averaged 17.3 offensive rebounds per game entering the contest, but SIUE held the Wolverines to 13 on the offensive glass.
Michigan concluded the contest 57 percent (39-69) from the floor while holding the Cougars to 31 percent (18-58) overall. The Wolverines outrebounded SIUE, 50-27 while forcing 19 turnovers. The Cougars forced 16 turnovers, 10 of which came in the first half, but Michigan scored 23 points off its turnovers compared to SIUE's four.
SIUE converted on six of its 17 three-point opportunities while Michigan went 14-25 from deep. The Cougars concluded the contest 17-25 at the free throw line.
Sheehan turned in a season high in scoring, co-leading SIUE with 14 off the bench. She was 5-7 overall, 3-4 from beyond the arc, and 1-1 at the stripe.
Lowis added 14 points, her third game finishing in double-figures this season. The junior shot 3-7 from the floor and 2-6 from deep. She also converted six of her eight attempts at the line while grabbing four rebounds. Rodriguez scored 12 points in 23 minutes of play. She was 4-11 overall, 1-3 from three-point land, and 6-8 at the stripe.
Freshman Ava Stoller scored seven points while grabbing four boards. Halle Smith also collected four rebounds, three of which came on the offensive end. Lezhauria Williams added three rebounds while leading the Cougars with three assists.
TENNESSEE TECH 84, LINCOLN MEMORIAL 57
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Reghan Grimes was a spark Wednesday night as the Tennessee Tech women cruised to an 84-57 victory over Division II Lincoln Memorial.
The Golden Eagles improved to 2-4 on the season, while the game does not count against the visiting Lady Railsplitters as they are counting the game as an exhibition contest.
Grimes, the sophomore from Nashville, scored a career-high 20 points as she finished 5-for-6 from the field, including a 3-point shot in the middle of Tech’s 13-0 run in the first quarter, while also going 9-for-12 at the free-throw line. Grimes also had six rebounds.
Anna Walker added 12 points and six boards, while Cayla Cowart scored 10 points with four caroms.
Alexa Smiddy led LMU with 12 points, while Lauren Flowers scored 10. Jordan Maney, the team’s leading scorer for the season, was held to six points after she left the game with an apparent injury.
Lincoln Memorial jumped out to a 6-0 lead with two 3-pointers, while the Golden Eagles missed their first five shots. Tech didn’t stay in that slump for long, draining 17 of its next 23 shots – including a run of seven consecutive – to soar back on top and put some distance before the intermission.
Grimes scored eight points in the first period as she went 3-for-3 with three rebounds, while Peyton Carter had four of her five assists in the contest in the opening stanza.
Tech finished the first period shooting 8-for-15, even after missing the first five shots of the contest. The hot shooting continued in the second quarter and even improved as Tech was 10-for-15 from the field. The Golden Eagles outscored the Lady Railsplitters 25-14 even after both teams went on long scoring droughts in the quarter.
The third period saw the status quo relatively unchanged as the two teams matched point for point, but as Tech went on a two-minute scoring drought late in the third, LMU hit six of its last eight shots to outscore the Golden Eagles 18-15.
Tech was unfazed as it shot over 60 percent for the final 10 minutes, outscoring LMU 22-12 to close out the contest.