SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Tennessee State 81, Tennessee Tech 72
@SIUE 82, Eastern Illinois 77
Little Rock 53, @UT Martin 49
@Southeast Missouri 69, Morehead State 55
@Southern Indiana 66, Lindenwood 43
TENNESSEE STATE 81, TENNESSEE TECH 72
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - he Tennessee State women's basketball team rallied from a 51-47 deficit after the third quarter to knock off the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles 81-72 at home Saturday.
The Lady Tigers (9-15, 4-9) had three players score in double figures, led by Erica Haynes-Overton, who had 21 points and two steals. Sierra McCullough added a double-double with 19 points and 15 rebounds and Gia Adams chipped in as well with 15 points.
Tennessee State grabbed 48 rebounds in Saturday's game compared to Tennessee Tech's 29, led by McCullough's 15 boards. The Lady Tigers also put in work on the offensive glass, turning 21 rebounds into 17 second-chance points.
Tennessee State's defense held Tennessee Tech to only 37.7 percent shooting from the field. The Lady Tigers also limited Maaliya Owens to 4-of-15 shooting in the game.
Tennessee State struggled out of the gate, falling behind 14-9 at the end of the first quarter.
The Lady Tigers continued to lose ground in the second quarter and faced a 32-25 halftime deficit.
Tennessee State started to cut into the deficit after halftime, bringing it to 51-47 by the end of the third quarter. Tennessee State played well near the basket, scoring 18 of its 22 points in the paint.
Tennessee State managed to gain control and had a 74-69 lead before going on a 7-0 run to grow the lead to 81-69 with 24 seconds to go in the contest. The Golden Eagles narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but the Lady Tigers still cruised the rest of the way for the 81-72 win. Tennessee State took advantage of its opportunities in the post, scoring 20 of its 34 points in the paint.
Tennessee Tech had four players reach double-digits in points with Jada Guinn leading the way with 17. Maaliya Owens added 14 points while REagan Hurst had 11 and Anna Walker scored 10.
SIUE 82, EASTERN ILLINOIS 77
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Eastern Illinois women's basketball saw their 13-game winning streak snapped with a 77-82 road loss to the SIUE Cougars on Saturday afternoon. With the result, the Panthers drop to 20-4 overall and 13-1 in OVC play, falling into a tie with Little Rock for first place.
The first quarter was a game of runs as the Panthers got out to the fast start, beginning the game on a 9-0 run. SIUE quickly countered with a 7-0 run of their own before EIU responded with a 13-0 run that saw four different Panthers get into the scoring column. SIUE hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to make it 22-10 going into the second quarter. The Panthers kept the Cougars at arms' length for the first half of the second period, as Ellie Colson once again provided solid minutes off the bench with both Macy McGlone and Hannah Purcell in foul trouble, converting on an and-one opportunity to make it 32-18. Things then began to shift however, as SIUE used a 14-1 run to close the gap to a single point. The Panthers answered again, as Miah Monahan scored five straight points and Lariah Washington answered a Cougar with back-to-back buckets of her own to make it 42-34, but an SIUE converted and-one opportunity made it 42-37 at halftime.
Both teams kept things close throughout the third quarter, with SIUE converting on another and-one opportunity to tie the game up at 46 midway through the period and hitting a three to take a 55-53 lead with 1:29 left in the quarter. Washington hit a jumper from the free throw line to tie it up heading into the final period. It was another game of runs in the fourth quarter, as SIUE began the period on a 10-4 run to take a 65-61 lead with just over seven minutes to go. Not quitting, the Panthers used a 9-0 run highlighted by a converted and-one opportunity from Morgan Litwiller to take a 70-65 lead with 4:22 left. SIUE would have the last run however, as a 14-2 run gave them a 79-72 lead with 24 seconds left, effectively putting the game out of reach.
Litwiller led the team with 19 points and set a new career high with seven assists. McGlone had 18 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field to go along with eight rebounds. Monahan finished with 13 points and five assists while Washington had 13 points and six rebounds. Colson scored a season-high five points and Lyric Johnson had four points and four rebounds.
Free throws played a major part in the outcome, as EIU went 18-of-29 from the line, with their 11 misses being the most of any game this season. From the field, the Panthers shot 50%, hitting 27 of 54 shots. The Panthers were outscored in the paint for just the third time this season, with SIUE holding a 38-36 advantage in that area.
Mikayla Kinnard led SIUE with 22 points while Ajulu Thatha had 17 points. Thatha added seven revounds, two assists and five steals. Macy Silvey had 14 points and a team-best eight boards while KK Rodriquez added 11 points.
LITTLE ROCK 53, UT MARTIN 49
MARTIN, Tenn. - Sali Kourouma scored 22 points, Little Rock shot nearly 54% from the field and the Trojans moved into a tie for first place after leaving UT Martin with a 53-49 win Saturday afternoon at the Elam Center.
Little Rock (16-9, 13-1 Ohio Valley) recorded its 10th consecutive win over a team from Tennessee but, despite leading for over 37 minutes, was never able to fully pull away from the host Skyhawks (10-15, 6-8).
Kourouma’s 22 points led all players while she added five rebounds and a career-high five steals in the win, while Tia Harvey’s 12 points put her in double figures for the third straight game. Jayla Brooks set a pair of career-highs with nine rebounds and nine assists while drawing her 10th charge of the season.
The Trojans led by as much as 14 early in the fourth quarter before UT Martin methodically began chipping away at that margin. A 6-0 Skyhawk run brought the Trojan lead down to four with 2:12 to go with a 51-47 Little Rock advantage.
But Harvey hit a pull-up jumper with 1:37 to go and Little Rock’s defense, which held an OVC opponent under 50 points for the 11th time in 14 tries this season, allowed just one field goal attempt from UTM in the final 97 seconds of action, a 3-pointer from Paige Pipkin. Pipkin scored 12 points for the Skyhawks while Anaya Brown led UTM with 13 points and nine rebounds. Sharnecce Currie-Jelks and Seygan Robins both scored 11 points.
Little Rock’s defense continues to wreak havoc on the league, holding the Skyhawks to just six assists while forcing 17 turnovers courtesy of 11 steals.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 69, MOREHEAD STATE 55
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Jaliyah Green scored a game-high 15 points to lead Southeast Missouri (11-14, 6-8) to its second-straight win, a 69-55 victory over Morehead State (9-16, 5-9) Saturday afternoon at the Show Me Center.
With the win, SEMO improved to 9-3 at home this season.
Down one (21-20), with 3:31 remaining in the second quarter, SEMO closed out the first half with a 12-2 run to take a 32-23 lead at the intermission.
Green's jumper got things going and Kiyley Flowers followed with five points in a row. Green added five more points, including a 3-pointer to polish off the Redhawks strong finish in the opening stanza.
SEMO recovered from a slow start which saw it shoot just 26 percent in the first quarter to shooting over 50 percent in the second period. The Redhawks made 8-of-15 field goals with Green (9) and Flowers (5) combining for 14 of SEMO's 18 points in the second quarter.
The Redhawks never fell behind the rest of the way.
Rahmena Henderson's 3-pointer gave SEMO its first double-digit lead at 37-27 with 8:15 to go in the third quarter. Green later split two free throws to extend the Redhawks margin to 13 (40-27).
Sophie Bussard then scored five-straight points to push SEMO's lead to 47-31 at the 4:05 mark. Bussard's surge keyed an 8-0 run as the Redhawks took control of the game from there on out.
SEMO led by as many as 19 before putting the Eagles away for good.
Green shot 6-of-16 from the field, made a pair of 3-pointers and grabbed six rebounds as one of four Redhawks with double figures in the scoring column. Henderson was close behind with 14 points, while Kori Tomlin added 12 and Bussard chipped in 11.
The Redhawks made a near-perfect 13-of-14 free throws and forced 17 turnovers.
SEMO completed a two-game sweep of MSU this season.
Valentina Saric came off the bench to lead Morehead STate with 12 points while Veronica Charles added 11 points.
SOUTHERN INDIANA 66, LINDENWOOD 43
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - – University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball set an early tone against Lindenwood University on Saturday, soaring to a 66-43 win at Screaming Eagles Arena.
Saturday's win improved USI's record to 11-14 overall and 5-9 in the Ohio Valley Conference, placing USI in a tie for seventh in the OVC standings. Lindenwood dropped to 2-20 on the season and 1-13 in the OVC.
Saturday was USI Women's Basketball's annual Play4Kay game, as the team wore pink jerseys to raise cancer awareness. The Play4Kay game, which is named after the late Hall of Fame coach Kay Yow (North Carolina State), who passed away in 2009 following a 22-year battle with cancer, is the WBCA's breast cancer awareness initiative. For more information on the Kay Yow Cancer Fund and to join the fight, go to https://wbca.org/about/kay-yow-cancer-fund.
Saturday was also Senior Day for USI Women's Basketball, which recognized five seniors after the contest. Guard Soffia Rieckers (Evansville, Indiana), guard/forward Lexi Thompson (Lafayette, Indiana), forward Tara Robbe (Wildwood, Missouri), forward Hannah Haithcock (Washington Courthouse, Ohio), and graduate forward Ashlynn Brown (Perrysburg, Ohio) were recognized after the game.
The first quarter was a little erratic at the start on the offensive end, as both teams tried to settle into the flow of the contest. However, USI really set a tone on the defensive end, taking Lindenwood out of its comfort zone. With USI trying to get into a consistent groove offensively, one of the Screaming Eagles' best scoring options early on was junior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana). Raley received a couple of entry passes and went up strong for two baskets within the first three minutes of the game to give USI a 6-2 lead. The Lions made a small run to tie the game in the middle of the first, but Raley scored once again, and sophomore guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) drained a three to push the Screaming Eagles back ahead, 11-6, by the end of the opening quarter.
Southern Indiana had a strong start to the second period, as Haithcock found the basket twice within the first minute to put USI ahead, 15-6. Seconds later, Shafford swished another triple through the bottom of the net. The Screaming Eagles continued to attack the paint, earning three more buckets inside during the middle minutes of the second quarter. With under three minutes left in the first half, Raley was the first USI player to crossover into double figures after getting a nice pass from Rieckers. Raley's score increased USI's lead to 13, 26-13. USI maintained a 13-point advantage heading into the halftime locker room, 30-17, as Raley led USI in the first half with 12 points.
Coming out of the break, USI continued to be relentless inside. Haithcock got the second-half scoring started for the Screaming Eagles before Raley capitalized on a three-point play. Three minutes into the third period, Haithcock hit double figures with a basket to give USI a 37-17 lead. A minute later, Shafford reached double digits on a three-pointer. Southern Indiana outscored Lindenwood 13-4 in the first five minutes of the third, taking a 43-21 advantage at the halfway point of the third period. In the latter minutes of the third, Brown joined USI's offensive fun in the paint, scoring multiple times and even converting a three-point play to get up to eight points by the end of the quarter. USI carried a 54-32 margin into the fourth quarter.
Brown joined her teammates in double figures, as she made a layup a minute and a half into the fourth period. USI kept adding to its lead, reaching a 26-point advantage by the midway point of the fourth. At the two-minute mark of the fourth, Rieckers, Haithcock, Brown, Thompson, and Robbe exited the game together to a standing ovation on Senior Day. USI would cruise the rest of the way.
Haithcock led USI on the night with 19 points and nine rebounds. The senior forward moved into 12th all-time in USI scoring history, passing assistant coach Emma DeHart. Raley was second in scoring on the night for USI, posting 15 points with eight boards. Shafford scored 13 points, including three made triples. Brown tallied 10 points with seven rebounds. Brown played in her 121st career game at USI on Saturday, which is second all-time in USI history behind DeHart's 126 games played. As a team, USI was 25-61 for 41 percent shooting, 13-17 for 76.5 percent at the line, and made three triples. Southern Indiana outrebounded Lindenwood 43-28, including 15-5 on the offensive glass which led to 26 second-chance points. USI also outscored Lindenwood 19-9 off turnovers and 40-22 in the paint.
Lindenwood was led by graduate guard Devin Fuhring with 12 points and 10 points from sophomore guard Mary McGrath. The Lions went 16-47 for 34 percent overall, 8-14 for 57.1 percent at the stripe, and made three three-pointers.