SATURDAY'S SCORES
*@Tennessee Tech 76, Southeast Missouri 65
*@Eastern Illinois 72, Western Illinois 63
*@Tennessee State 83, Lindenwood 80
*Little Rock 57, @UT Martin 48
*Morehead State 77, @SIUE 64
TENNESSEE TECH 76, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 65
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - As the adage says, it's not how you start, it's how you finish. The Tennessee Tech women's basketball team proved that as the literal truth on Saturday afternoon as the Golden Eagles rallied from a 13-point deficit late in the second quarter and surged on a 13-2 run of their own in the fourth quarter to take a 76-65 victory over Southeast Missouri in the Hooper Eblen Center.
Harley Paynter led the Golden Eagles (7-9, 2-3 Ohio Valley Conference) as she not only broke her career-high in scoring, she tripled it as she scored 21 points, shooting an efficient 6-for-8 from the field, 3-for-5 from 3-point range and 6-for-6 at the free-throw line as the Grayson, Ky., native was a spark plug in the second half.
Joining Paynter on the second-half assault was Maaliya Owens with 19 points as she went 7-for-17 on the floor and 5-for-11 from 3-point land, Kiera Hill with another solid performance with 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting and Reghan Grimes with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
Alecia Doyle led Southeast Missouri (5-11, 2-3 OVC) with 23 points, going 8-for-19 from the field and 7-for-7 at the charity stripe. Indiya Brown scored 12 points and Julia Sion added 10.
The Redhawks took a small lead in the first quarter, taking advantage of a spell where the Golden Eagles went 1-for-10 toward the end of the period until Grimes nailed a second-chance layup to cut the deficit back down to four points to end a scoring drought that neared four-and-a-half minutes. Tech trailed 18-14 at the close of the first stanza.
The Golden Eagles endured another scoring drought in the second as SEMO scored 13 unanswered points, going 6-for-7 from the field on the stretch. The Redhawks led by 13 with 2:57 remaining in the intermission but could only get one point closer as the half ended – trailing 36-28.
The team that came back out in the second half played with fire and intensity as the Golden Eagles surged, outscoring SEMO 48-29 in the final 20 minutes as Paynter came out on fire. In the second half alone, she scored 17 of her points as she was 4-for-4 from the field, 3-for-3 from 3-point range and 6-for-6 from the line. Hill had 11 and Owens 10 in the final two quarters.
Tech was 16-for-29 from the field in the second half, shooting 55.2 percent, which included a 5-for-9 clip from beyond the arc. The Golden Eagles were also perfect from the line, knocking down all 11 second-half shots.
The Golden Eagles outscored the Redhawks 23-14 in the third quarter, using an 11-0 run as Paynter tied the game and gave Tech a 39-38 lead on a pair of free throws. SEMO was able to return to a three-point lead, but the quarter ended as Peyton Carter stole the ball away and Hill was able to knock down a jumper to retake a 51-50 lead with 28 seconds left in the third.
Tech never looked back as it took a double-digit lead with a 13-2 run and outscored the Redhawks 25-15 in the final period.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 72, WESTERN ILLINOIS 63
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois hit 15 of 16 shots during a key run late in the third quarter and early in the fourth quarter as the Panthers rallied late to pick up a 72-63 win over Western Illinois on Saturday afternoon at Groniger Arena.
Lalani Ellis helped spark the run scoring 17 points of the bench to lead the Panthers as they improved to 6-12 overall, 3-2 in the OVC.
Taris Thornton scored 13 points in the first half before suffering an injury as her offense kept the Panthers in the game early. Raegan McCowan scored 10 of her game-high 22 points in the second quarter for the Leathernecks as they led 34-26 at the half.
EIU trailed by ten with 4:33 left in the third quarter after Anna Deets sank a 3-pointer to put WIU up 42-32. It was one of nine 3-pointers on the day for Western Illinois as they finished 9-of-23 from long range.
The Panthers had their methodical run start with 4:55 left in the third quarter on a jumper in the paint by Sydney-James Desroches. Ellis was big in the run as she scored 16 of her 17 points in the second half.
EIU took the lead for good with 8:56 left in the game on back-to-back baskets by Charita "Tiny" Lewis. Lewis had 13 points, one of four Panthers in double figures.
EIU shot 50 percent from the field in the third quarter and 75 percent from the field in the fourth quarter to pull away for the win.
Macy McGlone had her 13th double-double with 11 points, 12 rebounds.
Allie Meadows and Addi Brownfield both chipped in ten points for WIU which fell to 11-5 overall, 2-3 in the OVC.
TENNESSEE STATE 83, LINDENWOOD 80
NASHVILLE - Sanaa' St. Andre totaled a career-high 29 points to help lead the Tennessee State women's basketball team past the Lindenwood Lions 83-80 at home Saturday.
The Tigers (5-10, 2-3) had three players score in double figures, led by St. Andre, who had 29 points, five assists and two steals. Eboni Williams tacked on 11 points and two steals, and Zyion Shannon chipped in with 10 points off the bench.
Diamond Cannon pulled down two offensive rebounds to lead an offense that racked up second-chance opportunities for Tennessee State, grabbing 12 boards and turning them into 13 second-chance points.
The Tennessee State defense effectively took away the basketball in Saturday's game, forcing 25 Lindenwood (MO) turnovers while committing 22. Those takeaways turned into 27 points on the offensive end of the floor. St. Andre's two steals led the way individually for the Tigers.
Tennessee State started off strong, putting together a 20-19 lead heading into the second quarter. Tennessee State did most of its first quarter damage in the paint, scoring 10 of its 20 points close to the basket.
Lindenwood (MO) rallied to take a 30-28 lead before Tennessee State went on a 7-0 run starting at the 4:56 mark in the second period to take a 35-30 lead. The Lions cut into that lead, but the Tigers still enjoyed a 40-36 advantage heading into halftime. Tennessee State dominated in the paint, scoring 10 of its 20 points close to the basket.
Tennessee State continued to preserve its halftime lead before going on a 7-0 run, punctuated by a basket from Williams, to expand its lead further to 60-50 with 1:32 to go in the third. Before the third period was over, the Tigers added two points to that lead and entered the fourth quarter with a 67-55 edge. Tennessee State played well near the basket, scoring 14 of its 27 points in the paint.
The Tigers then held on for the victory in the fourth quarter. Tennessee State took advantage of four Lindenwood (MO) turnovers in the quarter, scoring four points from those takeaways.
LITTLE ROCK 57, UT MARTIN 48
MARTIN, Tenn. - The Little Rock women's basketball team locked down defensively Saturday to wear down host UT Martin and notch a 57-48 conference victory at the Elam Center. The Trojans (5-11, 4-1 OVC) held the Skyhawks (6-10, 3-2) to just six points on 2-of-10 shooting in the final period, 6-of-18 shooting in the entire second half and forced the home team into 26 turnovers while posting a differential of plus-18 to get their third consecutive win of the season.
UT Martin's Kenley McCarn – who had entered the game averaging 15.5 points per game – reached her average but was held scoreless in the fourth quarter. After opening the game hitting 7-of-8 shots in the first frame, the Skyhawks were able to make just 9-of-27 the rest of the way. McCarn finished with 17 points and Anaya Brown had 15, but all five starters for the Skyhawks committed four turnovers.
Little Rock spread the scoring around with Faith Lee leading the way (16 points), Leilani Wimbish-Gay following with 13 points and four steals and Jayla Brooks adding 10 points, four rebounds, three blocks and three steals. Sug Williams came off the bench to add eight points, grab a team-high eight rebounds, and swipe three steals.
UT Martin led by as many as seven midway into the opening period and the game started fast with the two teams combining for 38 points over the first 10 minutes. However, defense took over and the game turned into a slugfest in the second as the teams combined for just 19 points and Little Rock maintained a 29-28 halftime lead.
The Skyhawks were able to one-up Little Rock in the third quarter and the game went into the fourth tied at 42-apiece. The game featured 11 lead changes and six ties, but the Trojans never trailed in the fourth, breaking a 48-48 tie at the 2:47 mark and ending the contest on a 9-0 run that included a clutch triple and pair of free throws from Brooks while Wimbish-Gay added a fast break bucket and jumper. During Little Rock's late run, the Skyhawks went 0-for-2 from the field and turned it over three times.
MOREHEAD STATE 77, SIUE 64
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - The Morehead State women's basketball team put together a complete team performance on Saturday, taking down SIUE 77-64 in Edwardsville for a third straight victory.
The Eagles (9-7, 4-1 OVC) had three players score in double figures, led by Veronica Charles, who had 18 points, eight assists and five steals. Katie Novik tacked on 16 points, four steals and two blocks off of the bench and Hallie Rhodes helped out with 14 points, three steals and two blocks.
Led by Blessing King's six offensive rebounds, Morehead State dominated the offensive glass, pulling down 16 boards that resulted in 12 second chance points.
Morehead State did a great job disrupting SIU-Edwardsville shots in the contest, coming away with seven blocks. Novik's two rejections led the way individually for the Eagles.
Morehead State started off strong, putting together a 16-12 lead heading into the second quarter. Morehead State capitalized on eight SIU-Edwardsville turnovers in the period, turning them into nine points on the other end of the floor.
The Eagles used the second period to increase their lead and entered halftime with a 36-31 edge. Morehead State was strong from deep in the period, knocking down three three-point shots to account for nine of its 20 points.
Morehead State continued to preserve its halftime lead before going on a 9-0 run, punctuated by a basket from King, to expand its lead further to 45-34 with 6:53 to go in the third. Before the third period was over, the Eagles added four points to that lead and entered the fourth quarter with a 62-47 edge. Morehead State played well near the basket, scoring 16 of its 26 points in the paint.
Morehead State kept its lead intact before going on a 6-0 run to grow the lead to 77-60 with 1:08 to go in the contest. The Cougars narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but the Eagles still cruised the rest of the way for the 77-64 win. Morehead State took advantage of four SIU-Edwardsville turnovers in the quarter, scoring four points off of those takeaways.