SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 67, Lindenwood 62
@Little Rock 46, Eastern Illinois 42
@Tennessee Tech 74, UT Martin 63
@Tennessee State 87, SIUE 83
@Southeast Missouri 63, Southern Indiana 59
MOREHEAD STATE 67, LINDENWOOD 62
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Women's basketball team rallied from a 48-44 deficit after the third quarter to knock off the Lindenwood Lions 67-62 at home Saturday.
The Eagles had three players score in double figures, led by Sandra Lin, who had 23 points and seven assists. Veronica Charles tacked on 20 points, seven rebounds and seven steals and Jayden Rhodes chipped in as well with 11 points and two steals.
The Morehead State defense was a problem in Saturday's game, forcing 25 Lindenwood turnovers while committing 11. Those takeaways turned into 17 points on the offensive end of the floor. Charles' seven steals led the way individually for the Eagles.
The Eagles now prepare for their final two regular season games, first traveling to Charleston, Ill., Wednesday to take on Eastern Illinois.
How It Happened
Morehead State struggled out of the gate, falling behind 19-12 at the end of the first quarter.
Lindenwood kept adding to that lead, building a 35-24 advantage before Morehead State went on a 5-0 run to narrow its deficit to 35-29. Lindenwood responded and expanded its lead, leaving the Eagles trailing 38-29 heading into halftime.
After intermission, Morehead State cut its deficit to 41-36 before going on an 8-0 run, punctuated by a basket from Sophie Benharouga, to grab a 44-41 lead with 2:42 to go in the third. Lindenwood responded to seize a 48-44 lead entering the fourth quarter. Morehead State played well near the basket, scoring 12 of its 15 points in the paint.
Morehead State managed to gain control and had a 51-50 lead before going on an 8-0 run, finished off by Charles' layup, to grow the lead to 59-50 with 2:24 to go in the contest. The Lions narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but the Eagles still held on for the 67-62 win. Morehead State took advantage of eight Lindenwood turnovers in the quarter, scoring eight points off of those takeaways.
Lindenwood's Masyn McWilliams led the team with 18 points while Devin Fuhring had 13 and Mary McGrath added 12.
LITTLE ROCK 46, EASTERN ILLINOIS 42
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Sali Kourouma scored 21 points, Little Rock's defense was dominant once again and the Trojans clinched at least a share of the Ohio Valley Conference regular season championship Saturday with a 46-42 win over Eastern Illinois at the Jack Stephens Center.
Winning its 13th regular season title in the past 16 years, Little Rock (18-9, 15-1 OVC) became the first school to win the conference championship in their first year in the league.
In doing so it also avenged an earlier season loss to the Panthers (20-6, 13-3 OVC), the only blemish on the Trojans' conference record so far.
To secure the win, Little Rock employed the suffocating defense that thrills Trojan fans and horrifies the rest of the league. EIU, a team that averages 70 points per game, was held to a season-low 42 points. That total was lower than their previous season-low mark, their 44 points scored in the Jan. 14 game against Little Rock.
It didn't hurt that the Trojans held Lariah Washington, the OVC's leading scorer that was averaging 17.2 points per game entering Saturday's contest, to just two points on 1-for-13 shooting. That is Washington's most anemic offensive performance since Nov. 26, 2019 when she was limited to two points at Wisconsin as a freshman.
The Panthers had no answer for Kourouma, who had 11 of her 21 points by halftime. She also grabbed four rebounds while being credited with two steals and two blocks. It was Eastern Illinois' first chance to experience the native Malian after she did not play in the previous meeting between the two teams.
Angelique Francis scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds with six of those points coming in the fourth quarter. Honored on the court before the game alongside Toyosi Abiola and Nikki Metcalfe, Francis drew four fouls and made any action in the paint extremely difficult for EIU. Metcalfe also matched Kourouma with a game-high two blocked shots while scoring four points.
Jaiyah Harris-Smith led all players with 11 rebounds and was one of three Trojans credited with four assists while Jayla Brooks had six rebounds, six drawn fouls – including drawing her 11th charge of the season – while also tallying four assists.
Eastern Illinois was led by Macy McGlone's 15 points while Taris Thornton added 13 points. Washington led EIU with eight rebounds.
TENNESSEE TECH 74, UT MARTIN 63
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball squad placed three scorers in double figures today but the Skyhawks fell by a 74-63 margin at Ohio Valley Conference rival Tennessee Tech.
Sharnecce Currie-Jelks earned the fourth double-double of her remarkable freshman campaign with 17 points and a game-high 10 rebounds while adding a pair of steals and a block. Paige Pipkin finished with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including a 5-for-7 effort from three-point range. Seygan Robins’ 14 points rounded out the double-digit scorers while the freshman pair of Anaya Brown (seven points, seven rebounds, three assists) and Josie Storey (career-best seven assists) also heavily contributed today for UT Martin, who is now 11-16 with a 7-9 OVC record.
Tennessee Tech (17-9, 11-5 OVC) was led by Maaliya Owens’ game-high 27 points. Jordan Brock added 15 points for a Golden Eagle squad that shot 50 percent (11-of-22) from three-point range and 85 percent (17-for-20) from the free throw line.
After Tennessee Tech scored the first five points of the contest, UT Martin answered with a right-wing trey from Pipkin and a reverse layup from Currie-Jelks to even the score. The Golden Eagles followed with an 8-0 run before Pipkin sank another triple at the 5:31 mark.
Robins connected on a pull-up jumper 40 seconds later but Tennessee Tech scored the next nine points of the contest. Pipkin knocked down her third three-pointer of the contest a little less than three minutes into the second quarter but the Golden Eagles used another lengthy run – this time an 8-0 surge – to go on top 33-13 at the media timeout.
The Skyhawks struck for an 8-0 run to wrap up the second quarter, starting with a deep trifecta by Robins that just beat the shot clock. Currie-Jelks added a bucket inside before a Brown three-ball with 23 seconds remaining before the halftime break to make the score 39-27.
Pipkin had a game-high 11 points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting performance in the opening half as UT Martin forced nine turnovers. Owens and Brock each had 10 points for Tennessee Tech, who shot 63.2 percent (12-of-19) from the floor.
Robins scored on the Skyhawks’ first possession of the second half as UT Martin came out aggressive. Currie-Jelks scored seven consecutive points in the span of 1:34, capped off with an old-fashioned three-point play to will the Skyhawks within eight points (44-36) at the 7:32 mark of the third quarter.
A long three-pointer from Robins and a pair of Josie Storey free throws helped keep UT Martin within single digits before the Golden Eagles scored eight unanswered points, taking a 58-43 lead at the end of the third quarter.
The Skyhawks accounted for the first six points of the fourth quarter as a Pipkin fast break layup closed out the run and trimmed their deficit to 58-49. Moments later, Currie-Jelks scored on back-to-back trips down the floor before Pipkin splashed her fifth and final triple of the afternoon as UT Martin closed the gap to 70-63. However, time ran out on the Skyhawk comeback attempt.
TENNESSEE STATE 87, SIUE 83
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee State women's basketball team fought back from an 11-point deficit at 55-44 with 7:31 remaining in the third quarter to knock off the SIUE Cougars 87-83 at home Saturday
The Lady Tigers (11-15, 6-9) had four players score in double figures, led by Erica Haynes-Overton, who had 19 points, six rebounds, eight assists, and three steals. Gia Adams tacked on 18 points and Saniah Parker chipped in as well with 16 points, five assists, two steals, and two blocks.
Tennessee State out-rebounded SI 35-30 in SIUE game, paced by Sierra McCullough's 13 boards.
After jumping out to a 4-2 advantage, Tennessee State went on an 8-0 run with 8:34 left in the first quarter, culminating in a bucket from Parker, to increase its lead to 12-2. SIUE then responded to tie things up at 25-25 heading into the second quarter.
The Cougars then took control in the second quarter and the Lady Tigers entered halftime behind 46-40.
SIUE continued to increase its lead after halftime, building a 55-44 advantage before Tennessee State went on a 12-0 run, punctuated by a basket from Haynes-Overton, to grab a 56-55 lead with 4:31 to go in the third. Before the third period was over, the Lady Tigers added one point to that lead and entered the fourth quarter with a 65-63 edge. Tennessee State played well near the basket, scoring 14 of its 25 points in the paint.
The Cougars proceeded to tie things up at 65-65 before Tennessee State went on an 8-0 run, finished off by Haynes-Overton's jumper, to seize a 73-65 lead with 7:33 to go in the contest. The Cougars narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but the Lady Tigers still held on for the 87-83 win. Tennessee State took advantage of its opportunities in the post, scoring 12 of its 22 points in the paint.
Mikayla Kinnard came off the bench to lead the Cougars with 20 points and nine rebounds. Sofie Lowis had 18 points, five assists and two steals while Ajulu Thatha added 16 points.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 63, SOUTHERN INDIANA 59
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Jaliyah Green scored 20 points and Southeast Missouri (13-14, 8-8) forced a season-high 26 turnovers in a 63-59 win over Southern Indiana (11-16, 5-11) Saturday afternoon at the Show Me Center.
SEMO's defense locked down to force 25 or more turnovers for the second-straight game after turning Eastern Illinois over 25 times at home Thursday. The Redhawks also pushed their winning streak to four-straight with just two games left in Ohio Valley Conference play.
Down, 11-7, SEMO went on a 13-0 run to grab a nine-point advantage toward the end of the first quarter. The Redhawks forced eight turnovers in a span of 3:22 and kept USI scoreless for the final 3:22 of the quarter.
Following two free throws by Rahmena Henderson, Kennedi Watkins scored back-to-back baskets. Sophie Bussard scored a layup off a steal by Kiyley Flowers before Henderson made another free throw to give the Redhawks a 20-11 lead after 10 minutes of play.
The shooting and turnover woes for the Screaming Eagles carried over to the second quarter. USI missed four shots and turned the ball over twice before a basket by Hannah Haithcock broke USI's lengthy scoreless stretch. Haithcock's bucket put an end to a streak of 15-straight points by SEMO.
After Haithcock's jumper, Jaliyah Green responded with a layup to give the Redhawks a double-digit lead at 24-13 with 6:48 left to play in the second quarter. Diona Reed's second-chance basket tacked on two more points before Green's layup increased SEMO's lead to 15 (28-13) with 3:34 to play.
SEMO later led 33-15 at the half after USI scored only four points in the second quarter. The Redhawks smothered USI into committing 15 first-half turnovers, including 11 in the first quarter alone.
USI outscored SEMO, 23-13, in the third quarter and was within eight points after Meredith Raley made two free throws with 19 seconds.
The Screaming Eagles kept chipping away and found themselves in a two-possession game when Haithcock's two free throws dropped SEMO's lead to 46-40 early in the fourth period.
A second-chance layup by Raley made it a six-point game again, 50-44, at the 7:28 mark.
USI later got within two points on a jumper by Haithcok and then made it a 53-52 contest on a pair of Haithcock free throws with 3:36 left to play.
SEMO answered with a layup by Green and forced two turnovers on USI's next two possessions. Green scored again, this time on a reverse layup, to give the Redhawks a 57-52 cushion at the 2:08 mark.
Green gave the Redhawks another five-point advantage on her layup and Halle Smith made two free throws to keep SEMO ahead, 61-57, with 54 seconds on the clock.
Clinging to a 62-59 lead, Green was fouled on the inbounds pass and split two free throws with 14.5 seconds. After Green's miss on her second attempt, Flowers stole the ball on the last possession to bury the Screaming Eagles for good.
SEMO led for over 32 minutes of the game.
The Redhawks collected 18 steals, a season-high in OVC play. Addiitonally, SEMO scored 31 points off USI's mishaps.
Green shot 9-of-19 from the field, while Henderson followed with 14 points, eight of which came at the free throw line. Flowers added a career-high nine steals, as well.
USI was led by Raley's game-high 27 points.