WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
@UT Martin 69, Freed-Hardeman 41
@#18 Louisville 74,
Morehead State 48
UT MARTIN 69, FREED-HARDEMAN 41
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin women's basketball team picked up its biggest win of the season with a 28-point victory to cruise past NAIA foe Freed-Hardeman in front of a packed Education Day crowd.
The Skyhawks (2-7) hosted approximately 3,000 local students and signed plenty of autographs after posting a big home victory in the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center. UT Martin saw a balanced scoring column with three players reaching double figures while nine different players recorded a bucket for the home team.
Both teams got out of the gates slow with just 17 combined points in the opening quarter before the Skyhawks pulled away in both the second and third quarters to push their advantage out to as large as 30 points in the opening minutes of the fourth. The Skyhawks posted a strong defensive effort by forcing 23 turnovers while limited the Lady Lions to just 28.9 percent shooting from the field. Along with UT Martin's defensive prowess, it converted turnovers into 26 points while dominating the paint where it added another 32 points.
Anaya Brown just missed out on a double-double after tallying game highs in both points (15) and rebounds (nine) while Kenley McCarn ranked second on the team with 11 points along with six rebounds and four steals. Lexi Rubel also jumped in double figures for the fourth consecutive game after filling the stat-sheet with 10 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals.
While the game served as an exhibition matchup for Freed-Hardeman (11-2), the Lady Lions put up a good fight early in the contest but just could not get their shots to fall. 10 players scored for the visitors while Carissa Curtis and Kelsey Bender led the team with nine points each off the bench.
#18 LOUISVILLE 74, MOREHEAD STATE 48
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Morehead State women's basketball team got an 18-point showing from the bench, but fell 74-48 to the Louisville Cardinals on the road Wednesday.
Veronica Charles led the Eagles (4-6) with 15 points. Hallie Rhodes tacked on six points, seven rebounds and two steals and Hannah Hicks helped out with four points and a season-high 11 rebounds off the bench.
Hicks pulled down five offensive rebounds to lead an offense that racked up second chance opportunities for Morehead State, grabbing 13 boards and turning them into nine second chance points.
Morehead State kept it close in the first quarter, but entered the second frame down 16-14. Hannah Hicks led the Eagles with four first quarter points.
The Eagles continued to lose ground in the second quarter and faced a 41-22 halftime deficit.
Louisville continued to increase its lead after halftime, building a 57-31 advantage before Morehead State went on a 5-0 run, punctuated by a basket from Rhodes, to trim its deficit to 57-36 with 41 seconds to go in the third. The Eagles were unable to cut further into the deficit, but did not cede ground to Louisville either and entered the fourth quarter trailing 59-38. Morehead State turned three offensive rebounds into seven second chance points on the way to scoring 16 total points in the quarter.
Morehead State could not pull any closer in the fourth, losing by a final of 74-48. Morehead State took advantage of five Louisville turnovers in the quarter, scoring four points off of those takeaways.