SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Tennessee State 83, Little Rock 78 (OT)
UT Martin 67, @Tennessee Tech 58
TENNESSEE STATE 83, LITTLE ROCK 78 (OT)
NASHVILLE - Saniah Parker hit a game-tying shot with 20 seconds left on the clock to send the game to overtime and Caitlin Anderson put the Tennessee State women's basketball team ahead for good with 2:04 to go the extra period to give the Tigers an 83-78 win over the Little Rock Trojans at home Saturday.
The Tigers (4-8, 1-1) had three players score in double figures, led by Anderson, who had 17 points, six rebounds and six assists. Sanaa' St. Andre tacked on 15 points and two steals and Zyion Shannon helped out with 12 points and two steals off the bench.
Tennessee State out-rebounded Little Rock 37-36 in Saturday's game, paced by seven boards from Lyric Cole. The Tigers also grabbed 16 offensive rebounds and scored 14 second-chance points.
Tennessee State forced 23 Little Rock turnovers while committing 16 themselves in Saturday's game. The Tigers turned those takeaways into 26 points on the offensive end of the floor. Saniah Parker's three steals led the way for Tennessee State.
Tennessee State struggled out of the gate, falling behind 20-10 at the end of the first quarter.
Tennessee State then cut the Trojans lead to 32-24 before going on a 7-0 run, highlighted by a bucket from Cole, to narrow its deficit to 32-31. The Tigers kept the rally going and overtook the Trojans on a three from Aaniya Webb with 00:11 left for a 36-34 halftime advantage. Tennessee State dominated in the paint, scoring 14 of its 26 points close to the basket.
Tennessee State then lost its advantage in the third quarter and trailed the Trojans 53-47 entering the fourth. Tennessee State's bench made the most of its minutes in the period, as non-starters totaled six of the team's 11 third-quarter points.
Little Rock kept widening its lead in the fourth, constructing a 68-61 advantage before Tennessee State went on an 8-0 run to seize a 69-68 lead with 1:22 to go in the fourth. The Trojans then fought back to even things up at 71-71 and sent the game to overtime. Tennessee State took advantage of its opportunities in the post, scoring 12 of its 24 points in the paint.
Little Rock then snagged a 77-75 advantage with 2:11 left in the first overtime before Tennessee State responded by going on a 5-0 run to seize an 80-77 lead with 1:12 to go in the period. The Tigers kept expanding the margin and coasted the rest of the way for the 83-78 win.
UT MARTIN 67, TENNESSEE TECH 58
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin women's basketball team once again passed a road test with flying colors this afternoon, topping defending Ohio Valley Conference champion Tennessee Tech by a 67-58 margin at the Hooper Eblen Center.
The Skyhawks raced out to a 25-12 lead after the first quarter but the Golden Eagles chipped away and took their first lead of the contest with six minutes to go in the third quarter. The score was knotted at 53-all with four minutes remaining in the game but UT Martin (5-8, 2-0 OVC) iced the victory with a clutch 14-2 run down the stretch.
Kenley McCarn tossed in 10 of her game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter, adding a career-best seven rebounds and five assists in a complete performance. Anaya Brown (16 points, nine rebounds) and Lexi Rubel (14 points, 10 rebounds, five assists) also reached double figures in the scoring column for the Skyhawks, who shot an even 50 percent (24-for-48) from the floor.
Tennessee Tech (5-8, 0-2 OVC) was led by Maaliya Owens' 14 points while Reagan Hurst and Anna Walker scored 12 and 11 points, respectively. The Golden Eagles were held to 32.2 percent shooting (19-of-59) overall and 30.8 percent (8-for-26) from beyond the three-point arc.
Rubel ensured the Skyhawks got off to a hot start, scoring all of UT Martin's points during an 8-2 advantage a little over three minutes in. Tennessee Tech came back to equal the score at 8-all but the Skyhawks wrapped up the quarter on a 17-4 run, shooting 72.7 percent (8-of-11) with a perfect 7-for-7 mark from the free throw line in the opening 10 minutes.
The Golden Eagles began the second quarter with six unanswered points until a Norah Clark three-pointer from the right wing kept UT Martin's lead at double digits (28-18). Tennessee Tech answered with 10 of the next 12 points but Mah Minthe was responsible for the Skyhawks' final four points of the first half, ensuring UT Martin led 32-28 at the break.
Rubel's game-high 10 points guided the Skyhawks in the opening 20 minutes while Walker and Hurst scored seven points apiece to lead the Golden Eagles, who were held to 25 percent shooting (7-of-28).
A backdoor layup from Clark and a bucket inside by Brown opened the second-half scoring, padding UT Martin's lead out to 36-28. Tennessee Tech then went on a 10-0 run to take its first lead of the day with 6:12 to go in the third period. The Skyhawks accounted for six consecutive points to retake the lead at 44-40 but the Golden Eagles led by a slim 47-46 margin going into the fourth quarter.
McCarn buried a straightaway trey on the first possession of the fourth quarter as she scored the first five points in a 7-0 surge for UT Martin. Following six straight points by Tennessee Tech to tie the score at 53-all, McCarn sank a three-pointer from the left corner and the Skyhawks never looked back – not trailing from that point forward.