THURSDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 56, UT Martin 38
@Lindenwood 79, SIUE 73
@Southern Indiana 58, Little Rock 48
Tennessee Tech 86, @Tennessee State 81
MOREHEAD STATE 56, UT MARTIN 38
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Skylar Barnes and Veronica Charles combined to score 37 total points - 66.1 percent of Morehead State's points - in the Eagles 56-38 win over the UT Martin Skyhawks at home Thursday.
Barnes led the Eagles (10-7, 5-1 OVC) with 20 points and three steals. Charles added 17 points, six assists and two steals and Katie Novik helped out with eight points and two blocks off of the bench. At 5-1, the Eagles are off to their best start in the OVC since the 2009-10 season.
Morehead State collected 41 rebounds in Thursday's game compared to UT Martin's 25, led by 14 boards from Blessing King. The Eagles also cleaned up the offensive glass, turning 14 rebounds into seven second chance points.
The Morehead State defense held UT Martin shooters to only 31.7 percent from the field, including 20 percent from three-point range. The Skyhawks did not get many second opportunities on the offensive end, as they grabbed only five offensive rebounds and scored six second chance points while Morehead State pulled down 27 defensive rebounds.
After falling behind 8-2, Morehead State went on a 5-0 run with 3:12 left in the first quarter, culminating in a three from Novik, to narrow its deficit to 8-7. UT Martin answered back and added to its lead, leaving the Eagles down 10-7 entering the second quarter.
UT Martin kept adding to that lead, building a 16-12 advantage before Morehead State went on an 8-0 run, highlighted by a bucket from Barnes, to take a 20-16 lead. The Skyhawks cut into that lead, but the Eagles still enjoyed a 22-20 advantage heading into halftime. Morehead State forced six UT Martin turnovers in the period and turned them into seven points.
Morehead State wasted no time building on its lead, going on a 7-0 run, punctuated by a basket from Charles, to expand its lead further to 29-20 with 5:14 to go in the third. Before the conclusion of the third period, the Skyhawks had cut into that lead somewhat, but the Eagles still entered the fourth quarter with a 36-30 edge.
Morehead State kept its lead intact before going on an 11-0 run, finished off by Barnes' jumper, to grow the lead to 49-36 with 3:27 to go in the contest. The Eagles kept expanding the margin and coasted the rest of the way for the 56-38 win. Morehead State got up and down the court quickly in the quarter, scoring four fast break points.
LINDENWOOD 79, SIUE 73
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Lindenwood women's basketball team (3-12, 1-4 OVC) picked up its first conference win of the season after defeating SIUE (3-16, 0-6 OVC) by a score of 79-73 on Thursday night in Hyland Arena
The Lions came out firing on all cylinders and would never trail in the opening frame. Lindenwood forced eight Cougar turnovers, which resulted in 16 points on the offensive end. Mya Skoff led all scorers with seven points in the first quarter on 3-of-4 shooting from the field. With this hot start, Lindenwood led 25-14 after one quarter.
Lindenwood continued to build on its lead throughout the second quarter. After an Ellie Brueggemann three at the 8:21 mark, the black and gold had their largest lead at 33-19. The Lions continued to pile on and expand its lead throughout the quarter. The home team finished the half on a 6-0 run and took a 44-25 advantage into the locker room. The Lions shot 66 percent from the field in the middle frame and 58 percent overall in the half. Brueggemann finished with 12 points, while Skoff added nine.
SIUE opened the third quarter on an 12-3 run to make the score 47-37. The Cougars would continue to chip away, but still trail 57-52 after 30 minutes.
The visitors cut the lead to 59-57 early in the fourth, but Lindenwood went on a mini 6-0 run to restore a 65-57 advantage. SIUE once again responded, cutting the deficit to 65-63 just before the halfway point of the quarter. Now it was Lindenwood's turn to respond, and they did. A jumper by Mykayla Cunningham and a layup from Alyssa Nielsen forced a cougar timeout with the score 71-63. The Lions were able to close it out at the line and earn a hard fought 79-73 victory.
SOUTHERN INDIANA 58, LITTLE ROCK 48
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Behind a career night from senior forward Madi Webb (Bedford, Indiana), University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball defeated the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Thursday night, 58-48, at Screaming Eagles Arena to push the team's winning streak to seven games and six straight to start Ohio Valley Conference action.
With Thursday's victory, Southern Indiana improved to 11-5 overall and 6-0 in OVC play to maintain its first-place position in the conference standings. The Screaming Eagles also matched their OVC wins total from last season in 2022-23, USI's first season in Division I and as an OVC member, with Thursday's win.
As Southern Indiana tried to instill its style of play, Little Rock countered with its systematic approach. In a defensive contest early, USI scored the game's first four points in the first three minutes of play. Junior guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) scored four quick points for the Screaming Eagles, helping USI to a six-point lead, 9-3, by the four-minute mark of the first quarter. Little Rock answered back, and after each side drilled a three-pointer in the final minute of the opening frame, the Eagles carried a 13-12 advantage into the second quarter.
At the start of the second stanza, Webb drained a hook shot and Shafford canned a triple to put USI up, 18-14, a minute into the quarter. Even though defenses remained solid, a couple of timely made threes by Little Rock kept the Trojans close. Down the stretch of the first half, the contest crawled to within one possession. Aggressive drives from freshman guard Triniti Ralston (Louisville, Kentucky) led to points for the Screaming Eagles, but the Trojans eventually grabbed their first lead of the game. Little Rock led by one, 28-27, to conclude the first half.
Webb was an offensive catalyst for the Screaming Eagles coming out of halftime. After four first-half points, Webb went to work in the post and at the foul line. USI regained the lead, 36-32, three minutes into the second half following a pair of makes by Webb and a trey from Shafford. Getting crafty on the block, Webb cashed in another pair of shots to extend Southern Indiana's lead to eight, 40-32, midway into the third. The Eagles maintained an eight-point advantage, 44-36, through three quarters, as Webb finished with 14 third-quarter points.
At the beginning of the fourth, Webb continued to put the ball through the bottom of the net, setting a new career high in the first minute of the fourth quarter. By the halfway point of the fourth, and with USI leading 49-43, neither team was willing to budge. Southern Indiana received a big make at the three-minute mark when Webb passed over a double-team to a wide-open senior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana). The Eagles' lead reached double-digits, 56-45, with 90 seconds left when sophomore guard Ali Saunders (Depauw, Indiana) made a strong drive to the hoop for a three-point play, as USI closed out its seventh straight victory from there.
On Thursday, Southern Indiana shot 42.6 percent (20-47) with three triples against a stingy Little Rock team. USI went 15-19 at the free-throw line for 78.9 percent. The Screaming Eagles won the rebounding battle, 38-33, and outscored the Trojans in the paint, 30-14. Webb ended the night with a game-high and new career-best 22 points. The senior also corralled a new career-high 11 boards toward a second consecutive double-double and third of her career. Shafford posted 10 points, increasing her double-digit scoring streak to 14 games.
Little Rock was held to 30 percent (18-60) from the floor with six three-pointers. The Trojans were 6-8 at the charity stripe and had two players score double figures. With the loss, Little Rock dropped to 5-12 this season and third place in the Ohio Valley Conference with a 4-2 mark.
TENNESSEE TECH 86, TENNESSEE STATE 81
NASHVILLE - Tennessee Tech wasn’t going to make it three straight losses at the Gentry Center. With inspired efforts from Reghan Grimes and Maaliya Owens, the Golden Eagles were able to claim an 86-81 victory over Tennessee State on Thursday night.
While the final deficit was five points, the game was in the Golden Eagles’ control for the entire second half as Tech (8-9, 3-3 Ohio Valley Conference) led by as many as 19 points nearly midway through the third quarter ay 63-44. That’s not to say the host Lady Tigers (5-11, 2-4 OVC) didn’t make it interesting – TSU cut the deficit down to three points on a 3-pointer from Sanaa’ St. Andre at 1:15 remaining in the contest, Tech leading 81-78.
Grimes extended the lead back out to five with a pair of free throws at 17 seconds left, then to seven on two more at four seconds remaining. After St. Andre drained a 3-pointer with two seconds left, she fouled out, wrangling up Grimes and putting her Tech counterpart back on the line, where she hit one of the two free tosses.
Grimes’ night was incredible as she joined the Tech 30-point club, collecting a career-high 31 points on 10-of-15 shooting and 10-for-11 at the free-throw line. The Nashville native also tied her career-high in rebounds with 10 to collect her first career double-double.
Owens, who saw her night come to a close early on a called fifth foul, was 8-for-13 from the field as she went 5-for-7 from beyond the arc, hitting a couple of key treys to pace the Golden Eagles’ 19-6 start to the third quarter. Owens had eight points in the run, while Harley Paynter had five and Anna Walker and Reagan Hurst each had three.
Owens ended the contest with 21 total points.
Yaubryon Chambers also scored in double-digits for the Golden Eagles, picking up 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting and a 4-for-5 appearance at the stripe.
Tech ended the game shooting 23-for-29 at the free-throw line, a crisp 79.3-percent effort. The Golden Eagles were also shooting 50.9 percent from the field and 45.0 from long-range.
St. Andre also showed how much of a scoring threat she is, collecting 37 total points in the contest as the Kansas City transfer was 16-for-27 from the floor, including 4-for-6 from 3-point range. She ended the game with five rebounds and four assists. Caitlin Anderson had a game-best seven assists.
Saniah Parker also collected double-digit points for the Lady Tigers, scoring 12 with a 7-for-10 effort at the stripe.
The game was an even affair for most of the first half as the two teams ended up square at 16 to end the first quarter, then Tech outscored State 28-22 to take a 44-38 lead into the locker room. With both teams having their scoring runs in the third quarter, the Golden Eagles outscored the Lady Tigers 29-26 in the stanza before TSU won the fourth quarter 17-13.