2023 OVC Women's Basketball Championship - First Round

3/1/2023 7:47:53 AM

#8 MOREHEAD STATE 70, #5 UT MARTIN 68
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Women's hoops fought back from a 10-point deficit with 8:00 remaining in the fourth quarter to take down the UT Martin 70-68 at the Ford Center Wednesday to advance in the OVC Tournament.

The Eagles had four players score in double figures, led by Sophie Benharouga, who had 18 points, six rebounds and two steals. Veronica Charles tacked on 15 points and two steals and Hallie Rhodes helped out with 13 points.

Jayden Rhodes pulled down four offensive rebounds to pace an offense that racked up second chance opportunities for Morehead State, grabbing 12 boards and turning them into 12 second chance points.

Morehead State forced 15 UT Martin turnovers. The Eagles turned those takeaways into 18 points on the offensive end of the floor. Sandra Lin's four steals led the way for Morehead State.

The Eagles will take on fourth seeded Southeast Missouri in the quarterfinals Thursday. Tip-off is slated for 1:00 PM and can be found on ESPN.

After falling behind 7-2, Morehead State went on a 6-0 run with 7:51 left in the first quarter, culminating in a bucket from Hallie Rhodes, to take an 8-7 lead. The Eagles then added three points to that lead by the end of the period and entered the quarter break with a 20-16 advantage. Morehead State did most of its first quarter damage in the paint, scoring 12 of its 20 points close to the basket.

The Eagles could not maintain their lead in the second quarter and entered halftime trailing 35-30.

Morehead State started to cut into the deficit after halftime, bringing it to 54-50 by the end of the third quarter. Morehead State turned three offensive rebounds into three second chance points on the way to scoring 20 total points in the quarter.

UT Martin kept widening its lead in the fourth, constructing a 65-57 advantage before Morehead State went on a 10-0 run to seize a 67-65 lead with 1:28 to go in the contest. The Eagles held onto that lead for the rest of the game for the 70-68 win. Morehead State took advantage of its opportunities in the post, scoring 16 of its 20 points in the paint.

UT Martin was led by Sharnecca Currie-Jelks with 25 points while Shae Littleford added 24 points.

#6 SIUE 71, #7 TENNESSEE STATE 64
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - SIUE grabbed the first five points of the contest and held its lead for the remainder of the contest to down Tennessee State 71-64 on Wednesday afternoon in the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. SIUE shot 43 percent (28-65) in the game while outrebounding the Tigers 46-33.

With the win, SIUE moves onto quarterfinals to face #3 Tennessee Tech.

SIUE caught fire in the first quarter to outscore Tennessee State 26-17. The Cougars shot 61 percent in the opening period with Macy Silvey scoring 14 of SIUE's point total. She was 4-5 from three in the first.

SIUE entered halftime with a 14-point lead at 41-27. The Cougars distributed the basketball well, dishing 11 assists in the first half of play. SIUE finished the game with 20 assists, tying a season high set earlier this season against the Tigers.

Tennessee State cut their deficit to single digits midway through the third period on a 10-2 run. However, SIUE would finish the third on a 7-2 run to take a 10-point lead at 56-46 entering the final quarter.

Leading by 11 with 7:05 to play, the Tigers used a 7-2 run to cut the Cougars' lead to six. Less than five minutes later, Tennessee Tech cut its deficit to three to put pressure on SIUE. However, the Cougars took the next four points to lead by seven with just 35 seconds remaining.

The Tigers got to the line with 23 seconds remaining, but went 1-2 at the line, allowing SIUE to grab a defensive rebound. Tennessee State was forced to foul, sending Silvey to the line where she went 1-2 at the line to put the game out of reach. The Tigers attempted last second shots from three, but the Cougars applied pressure to secure the victory.

SIUE grabbed 21 offensive rebounds in the game and scored 21 points off second chance opportunities. The Cougars' 46 rebounds were the most in a game this season.

SIUE's scoring was led by freshman guard Macy Silvey. She finished the contest with a career-high 22 points. She shot 8-15 in the contest while draining five from deep, the most three pointers by an SIUE player in OVC tournament history. She also added three rebounds while securing four steals.

Ajulu Thatha added 16 points while leading SIUE with 11 rebounds. Four of her rebounds came on the offensive end. She finished the contest 7-13 from the field and 1-2 from behind the arc.
Mikayla Kinnard contributed 13 points off the bench. She was 4-7 from the field, 5-6 at the line, and collected nine boards. Her six assists led the Cougars.

Gia Adams led Tennessee State with 21 points while Saniah Parker added 17 points. Erica Haynes-Overton recorded 11 points. a

SIUE continues its postseason journey on Thursday, Mar. 2 against #3 Tennessee Tech. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.