THURSDAY'S SCORES
SIUE 66, @Lindenwood 50
@Little Rock 61, Morehead State 46
@Eastern Illinois 73, UT Martin 50
@Tennessee Tech 79, Southern Indiana 59
Southeast Missouri 90, Tennessee State 86 (OT)
SIUE 66, LINDENWOOD 50
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Senior Ajulu Thatha set the SIUE women's basketball single-game rebounding record with 25 and the Cougars shot 44 percent (23-52) in the contest to run past Lindenwood on Thursday afternoon at Hyland Arena.
SIUE improves to 7-17 on the season and 6-7 in Ohio Valley Conference play. Lindenwood falls to 2-19 and 1-12.
The Cougars used a nine-point scoring run midway through the first quarter to lead 18-11. SIUE shot 54 percent (7-13) from the field and 2-3 from deep while holding the Lions to just 26 percent (5-19) in the opening quarter.
The Lions regrouped in the second to put pressure on the Cougars, beginning the quarter on 5-0 run. Silvey silenced the Lions' momentum by draining a three pointer at the 7:16 mark, jolting the SIUE offense to maintain its lead entering halftime.
Entering the break, the Cougars took a five-point lead, at 27-23. SIUE concluded the first half shooting 40 percent (10-25) and 4-7 from three.
SIUE would take the opening four points of the third quarter, pushing its lead eight before Lindenwood used a 6-0 run to bring the game to within two points at 31-29 with five minutes to go. SIUE's offense regrouped, knocking down 47 percent (7-15) of its shots in the quarter to take an eight-point lead at 44-36 to end the third.
Both teams remained scoreless through the first three minutes of the fourth until Olivia Clayton found the basket in the paint off an assist from Mikayla Kinnard. Lindenwood quickly answered back the following possession before Thatha was fouled, sending her to the line. She went 1-2 before KK Rodriguez forced a steal, allowing Thatha to score a layup in the paint on the offensive possession.
Leading 51-43 with 3:46 to go, Thatha went 2-2 on a pair of free throws pushing SIUE's lead to 10. Lindenwood would score a bucket before Thatha went 2-2 at the line again for a 55-45 advantage. The Lions grabbed the following three points before SIUE took the next six on layups from Thatha and Kinnard. Kinnard was fouled the following possession and went 2-2 at the line, bringing SIUE's lead to 61-48.
Thatha grabbed her 24th rebound of the contest on the defensive end with 52 seconds remaining, securing the most by a Cougar in program history. She picked up her 25th rebound on the offensive end 38 seconds later. Her 25 single-game rebounds mark the second most in Division I this season.
Thatha scored SIUE's final three points on a layup and pair of free throws, bringing her total to 29. She finished the contest 10-13 from the field and 9-12 at the free throw line. She added three assists and one steal.
SIUE outrebounded Lindenwood 44-30 in the game and scored 14 off second chance opportunities.
Silvey added 12 points for SIUE, scoring all her points from beyond the arc. She added two assists and one steal. Sofie Lowis contributed seven points, three rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
Lindenwood's scoring was led by Emily Benzschawel's 14 points.
LITTLE ROCK 61, MOREHEAD STATE 46
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Tia Harvey scored 16 points and Little Rock used 18 second half points off turnovers to overcome a halftime deficit in a 61-46 win over Morehead State in front of 3,777 fans at the Jack Stephens Center Thursday.
Little Rock (15-9, 12-1 Ohio Valley) a 13-2 run in the third quarter to pull away and kept that going into the fourth quarter, turning a one-point halftime deficit into a lead of as much as 15. It marked just the second time the Trojans have trailed at half in a conference game this season.
Morehead State (9-15, 5-8) led by as much as three points late in the first half as Veronica Charles – who led all scorers with 17 points – drained a 3-pointer with 42 seconds remaining. Harvey would use a pull-up jumper to cut the deficit to one just before halftime.
The Trojan defense, known for holding OVC opponents at a record rate, allowed an uncharacteristic 23 points in the second quarter as Morehead State was nearly 64% from the field. At intermission, the Eagles had five assists and just six turnovers.
But after the break, Little Rock’s defense came to play. The Trojans forced 14 turnovers out of the Eagles over the final 20 minutes and did not allow a single assist in the half.
While Morehead State coughed up the ball, the Trojans took advantage. Faith Lee scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half with seven of those 11 coming in the fourth quarter. Sali Kourouma scored half of her 12 points after the break.
Not just a scoring threat, Lee was credited with a career-high four assists and drew six fouls from the Eagles, converting those opportunities into a 7-for-8 performance at the free throw line.
That mark at the charity stripe was contagious. Little Rock was an effective 21 of 24 (87.5%) at the free throw line, its highest mark in a home game this season.
Morehead State was held to single digits in three of the four quarters and became the 10th victim in 13 conference games to fail to reach 50 points against a team that entered the game with the nation’s sixth-best scoring defense.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 73, UT MARTIN 50
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois women's basketball jumped ahead early and never looked back en route to a 73-50 home win over the UT Martin Skyhawks on Thursday evening at Lantz Arena. With the win, the Panthers have swept UT Martin for the first time since the 2008-09 season and hit the 20-win mark for the 10th time in program history and the first time since 2012-13. The Panthers also set a new program record with 13 consecutive in-season OVC wins and extended their overall OVC win streak to 16.
The Panthers started fast, hitting five of their first seven shots from the field en route to an early 11-2 lead. The Skyhawks responded with a 7-2 run, but would not hit another shot in the first quarter as EIU ended the 1st quarter with a 23-10 lead. The 10-1 run would be extended to begin the second quarter as the Panthers scored the first five of the period to take a 28-10 lead. The tide began to change in the second quarter as a six-point Skyhawks possession sparked a 12-1 UT Martin run to make it 29-22. After weathering the storm, the Panthers managed to trade blows en route to a 37-29 halftime lead.
As they have done so often this season, the Panthers would take over in the second half, as a Miah Monahan three-pointer sparked a 14-2 run to give the Panthers their biggest lead of the game at 51-31. After Monahan answered a three by UTM's Paige Pipkin with a converted and-one opportunity, the Panthers widened the gap once more, as back-to-back layups from Julia Bengtson were followed by a Lariah Washington steal-and-score to widen the gap to 60-34. After a pair of UTM free throws, a layup by Lyric Johnson made it 62-36 going into the fourth quarter. Playing mostly reserves in the final period, the Panther lead would balloon to as much as 30, at 73-43. UTM finished the game on a 7-0 run to make the final margin 23.
Monahan led all scorers with 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting and had seven assists. Washington had 13 points and six rebounds while Johnson scored a career-high 12 points and also collected six rebounds. Coming off the bench, Taris Thornton had 11 points and six rebounds while Bengtson had six points and four rebounds. Ellie Colson provided some solid minutes off the bench in the second and third quarter, scoring four points and setting a new career high with six rebounds. Emily Meidel also scored four off the bench on a perfect 2-of-2 shooting.
The Panthers doubled up the Skyhawks in the paint 40-20 and scored 22 points off of 21 UTM turnovers.
UT Martin's Paige Pipkin led the team with 13 points while Sharnecce Currie-Jelks notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
TENNESSEE TECH 79, SOUTHERN INDIANA 59
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball ran into a hot-shooting Tennessee Tech University squad on Thursday, as the host Golden Eagles picked up a 79-59 win against the Screaming Eagles.
With only a handful of regular season games remaining, Thursday's result moved Southern Indiana's record to 10-14 overall and 4-9 in Ohio Valley Conference play, landing USI into a tie for eighth in the conference standings. With Thursday's win, Tennessee Tech improved its record to 15-8 overall and 9-4 in the OVC, good for third place.
The Screaming Eagles got off to a blazing start, connecting on their first four attempts from the field. Sophomore guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) scored right from the opening tip-off, and senior forward Hannah Haithcock (Washington Courthouse, Ohio) recorded a pair of layups. USI led 8-3 within the first couple of minutes. After a called timeout by Tennessee Tech, the Golden Eagles clamped down defensively and went on a 16-0 scoring run to surge ahead, 19-8. USI was held scoreless for over seven minutes until junior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana) scored a second-chance layup. Tennessee Tech led 22-12 after the first quarter.
Trailing by 12 early in the second period, USI turned to Raley for two big baskets. Raley cashed in on a layup and a three-pointer to get USI back within seven, 24-17, just over two minutes into the second quarter. During the middle portion of the second, Tennessee Tech built its lead back up to double digits. Behind 33-19 near the halfway point of the second quarter, Southern Indiana's defense tightened up on Tennessee Tech. USI got back within 10, 35-25, with a minute remaining in the first half, but Tennessee Tech scored twice before halftime to take a 39-25 advantage into the intermission.
Both teams had a relatively cool start on the offensive end to begin the opening minutes of the second half. Near the six-minute mark, Shafford buried a pull-up three-pointer in transition for USI, as Tennessee Tech led 44-30. The Golden Eagles increased their lead to 19, 53-34, over the course of the next three minutes before USI's graduate forward Ashlynn Brown (Perrysburg, Ohio) canned a corner triple. With just under three minutes left in the third quarter, Raley capitalized on a three-point play to bring the deficit down to 15, 55-40. Tennessee Tech ended the third quarter on an 8-0 run to take a 63-40 lead into the fourth period.
The Golden Eagles' scoring run carried over into the start of the fourth, reaching a 13-0 stretch and leading to a 68-40 lead. Both defenses forced tough shots in the fourth quarter, as each side endured a scoring drought during the middle minutes of the fourth. Near the three-minute mark, sophomore guard Aubrey Burgess (Linton, Indiana) converted on a basket and a foul. Burgess continued her aggressive play down the stretch, finishing with a career-best nine points off the bench for USI.
Southern Indiana had three players tally double figures, as Haithcock had a team-high 14 points with Raley scoring 12 points and Brown posting 11 points. USI was 19-51 for 37 percent from the field, including three triples, and went a perfect 18-18 at the free-throw line.
Tennessee Tech was led by senior guard Maaliya Owens, who had a career night for the Golden Eagles. Owens dropped 29 points, draining nine three-pointers along the way. Tennessee Tech had two other players register double digits. The Golden Eagles shot 28-56 for 50 percent overall with 11 made threes and went 12-17 for 70.6 percent at the stripe. Tennessee Tech won the rebounding battle 34-31.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 90, TENNESSEE STATE 86
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Southeast Missouri (10-14, 5-8) made eight-straight free throws in the final 40 seconds of overtime to hang on for a thrilling 90-86 win over Tennessee State (8-15, 4-9) Thursday at the Gentry Center.
TSU missed three shots and had three offensive rebounds, but came up empty on a big possession in the final seconds of extra time. Lyric Cole turned the ball over with 42 seconds immediately following that sequence.
Kiyley Flowers intercepted Cole's errant pass and made two free throws to give SEMO an 84-80 edge two seconds later. Following two free throws by the Tigers, Jaliyah Green was fouled and calmly made both of her free throw attempts to push SEMO's lead to 86-82 with 22 seconds on the clock.
The Tigers again answered, this time with an Ashley Malone jumper. Sophie Bussard then headed to the free throw line with 8.4 seconds and made two shots. Bussard added two additional free throws to cap the clutch stretch.
TSU trailed, 66-49, with nine minutes to play in regulation before coming back to tie the game.
TSU cut SEMO's lead to six when Erica Haynes-Overton completed a 3-point play, Cole split two free throws and Haynes-Overton made a layup making it a 73-67 ballgame with 1:52 left.
Gia Adams drove to the basket, banked in a layup and was fouled after that. Adams missed her free throw bringing SEMO's lead to 73-69.
A corner 3-pointer by Sania Parker pulled TSU within a point with 44 seconds to go following a Redhawk turnover. Parker's trey ended a late 13-0 surge by the Tigers.
SEMO, with the ball after a timeout, used two big free throws by Green to pull ahead, 75-72, with eight seconds remaining.
On the last possession of regulation, Haynes-Overton threw in a 3-pointer from the top of the arc with two seconds to send the game to overtime.
TSU made four of its first five 3-pointers of the game to help build an 18-8 lead less than five minutes into the contest. Adams and Haynes-Overton each made two apiece before Adams split two free throws to cap the run with 5:05 remaining in the first quarter.
SEMO, after trailing by eight (22-14) through one quarter of play, began the second period with a 19-8 run to take the lead. Flowers scored 11 points in a row to key the stretch.
After burying a 3-pointer to get the Redhawk within three, Flowers followed with a layup and then converted back-to-back conventional 3-point plays to put the Redhawks ahead, 33-30, with 4:52 left.
Green pulled down an offensive rebound and scored to widen SEMO's lead to 35-31 before TSU tied the game on Kianni Westbrook's layup at the 1:51 mark.
Green sunk two free throws to give the Redhawks a 39-36 edge at halftime.
Flowers scored 11 of her 15 first-half points in the second quarter. Green added 10 points in the opening 20 minutes of action.
SEMO carried its momentum into the second half. The Redhawks started the third quarter on a 14-3 run and increased their lead to double figures for the first time.
Rahmena Henderson kickstarted the surge when she drained a 3-pointer. The Redhawks scored on four layups after that and Bussard made two free throws. Henderson connected from long range again to give SEMO a 53-39 advantage with 5:46 to go.
Kennedi Watkins and Henderson each made a free throw to twice get SEMO a 16-point lead before the Redhawks were up, 64-49, after three quarters. The Redhawks shot 60 percent (6-of-10) from the field and made 11 free throws in the third quarter alone.
Flowers finished with a career-high 21 points on 7-of-14 field goals and 6-of-8 free throws. She added seven assists and three rebounds, as well.
All five of SEMO's starters scored double figures. Green followed close behind Flowers with 19 points and nine rebounds, Bussard, too, scored 19, Watkins added 13 and Henderson chipped in 11.
As a team, SEMO made 28-of-34 free throws. Nine of those came on 10 attempts in overtime. The 28 free throws made are a new season-high.
The Redhawks shot 47.5 percent (29-of-61) from the field, assisting 15 of their 29 made field goals.
Haynes-Overton and Parker paced TSU with 24 and 20 points, respectively.
The Tigers were outscored at the free throw line, 28-10, and that held up big in the end.
SEMO ended a three-game losing streak and claimed its 10th win of the season.
Haynes-Overton led Tennessee State with 24 points while Saniah Parker added 20 points. Lyric Cole had 12 points and a team-best 11 board while Gia Adams scored 10 points.