FRIDAY'S SCORES
Eastern Kentucky 79,
@Tennessee State 69
Milwaukee 59,
@Eastern Illinois 52
@Xavier 68,
SIUE 43
EASTERN KENTUCKY 79, TENNESSEE STATE 69
NASHVILLE - The Tennessee State women's basketball team got a 37-point showing from the bench but fell 79-69 to the Eastern Kentucky Colonels at home Friday.
The Tigers (2-7) had three players score in double figures, led by Jordan Aikens, who had 15 points. Zyion Shannon tacked on 11 points off the bench and Eboni Williams helped out with 11 points, six rebounds, and two steals.
Williams pulled down four offensive rebounds to pace an offense that racked up second-chance opportunities for Tennessee State, grabbing 13 boards and turning them into six second-chance points.
Tennessee State forced 17 Eastern Kentucky turnovers. The Tigers turned those takeaways into 20 points on the other end of the floor. Sanaa' St. Andre led the way individually with three steals.
After falling behind 2-0, Tennessee State went on a 5-0 run with 7:38 left in the first quarter, culminating in a three from Aaniya Webb, to take a 5-2 lead. The Tigers then surrendered that lead and entered the second quarter down 18-15.
Tennessee State kept the Colonels from increasing their lead before going on a 6-0 run, highlighted by a bucket from Shannon, to take a 28-25 lead. The Colonels then came roaring back to take a 36-32 lead heading into halftime.
Eastern Kentucky continued to increase its lead after halftime, building a 45-38 advantage before Tennessee State went on a 7-0 run, punctuated by a basket from Aikens, to tie things up at 45 with 3:55 to go in the third. The Tigers could not advance their rally further as the Colonels took a 56-52 lead into the fourth quarter. Tennessee State's bench made the most of its minutes in the period, as non-starters totaled 14 of the team's 20 third-quarter points.
Eastern Kentucky kept widening its lead in the fourth, constructing a 69-55 advantage before Tennessee State went on a 6-0 run, finished off by Webb's three, to shrink the deficit to 69-61 with 4:52 to go in the contest. Eastern Kentucky responded and outscored the Tigers the rest of the way, ending the game with a final score of 79-69. Tennessee State fired away from deep in the quarter, knocking down three shots to account for nine of its 17 points.
MILWAUKEE 59, EASTERN ILLINOIS 52
MATTOON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois women's basketball could not put together enough consecutive runs on Friday evening as they fell to Milwaukee in a game played at Lake Land College in Mattoon due to Winter Commencement on EIU's campus this weekend.
Milwaukee extended a two point lead after one period into a double digit lead late in the game as they beat EIU 59-52.
Macy McGlone was double and sometimes tripled teamed in the post most of the night but still managed to collect her seventh straight double-double with 16 points and ten rebounds.
One game after scoring a career-high 27 points at Wright State, Miah Monahan was held in check finishing with no points despite passing out eight assists and pulling down six rebounds.
EIU led on four different occasions in the opening quarter, the final time coming on the second of Sydney-James Desroches two first quarter baskets giving EIU a 9-7 lead with 1:26 to play in the quarter.
Milwaukee scored the final four points of the quarter and the first five points of the second quarter to go up seven points at 16-9. EIU cut the lead to four points on a Julia Bengtson 3-pointer midway through the quarter but trailed 27-22 at the half.
Ellie Buzzelle's 3-pointer with 7:17 to play in the third quarter brought EIU within two points at 32-30 as Buzzelle finished with 11 points.
Milwaukee answered with back-to-back 3-pointers of their own by Kendall Nead and Kamy Peppler to push the lead back to eight with Milwaukee eventually leading by 15 points late in the third quarter on a jumper by Nead. Nead had 19 points and 13 rebounds while Peppler had 14 points.
EIU got as close as five points the remainder of the game on a 3-pointer by McGlone with 6:46 left in the contest.
EIU falls to 3-8 on the year. Milwaukee is now 6-6.
XAVIER 68, SIUE 43
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Xavier began the contest on a 7-0 run and never looked back, holding its lead for the entirety of the contest to down SIUE women's basketball, 68-43, on Friday night at Cintas Center.
SIUE falls to 2-9 in its nonconference slate while Xavier captured its first win of the season and stands at 1-8.
The Cougars were held to 19 percent (10-52) overall while going 4-16 from long range and 19-25 at the free throw line. The Musketeers shot 47 percent (28-60) from the floor while going 8-24 from three-point territory.
Xavier outrebounded SIUE 41-38, but the Cougars owned the offensive glass, besting the Musketeers 16-14. Lezhauria Williams led the rebounding efforts for the Cougars with a season-high seven. Olivia Clayton, Ava Stoller, and Brianna Wooldridge contributed five board apiece.
Sofie Lowis led the Cougars with 17 points, her sixth contest in double-figures this season and the 26th of her career. The junior shot 5-14 overall, 3-6 from three-point land, and was a perfect 4-4 at the free throw line. She added three rebounds, a block, and an assist.
Stoller contributed nine points, five of which came at the charity stripe. She was a perfect 5-5 at the line while shooting 2-7 from the floor. Molly Sheehan and Halle Smith contributed four points each.
Xavier had three players score in double-figures, led by Aizhanique Mayo's 14.