Ohio Valley Conference

MURRAY, Ky. - University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball picked up its first road win of the season Tuesday afternoon, capturing an 82-75 win at Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky.
 
The win Tuesday gave USI a road split in its two-game swing through Kentucky in the last five days and improved Southern Indiana's record to 2-1 this season. Murray State moved to 1-1 with the loss.
 
Murray State grabbed a 4-0 lead before Southern Indiana answered with seven straight points. USI's post-play contributed early with sophomore forward Amiyah Buchanan scoring two of USI's first three baskets. The Racers tightened the contest in the middle of the opening quarter, but the Screaming Eagles hit a pair of three-pointers in the last two minutes to help push USI ahead 22-14 at the end of the first period.
 
A minute and a half into the second period, Murray State pulled back to within one possession, 24-22, thanks to two made threes. Southern Indiana took back a two-possession lead in the middle of the second off two triples from junior guard Ali Saunders and sophomore guard Sophia Loden. Once again, the Racers responded. However, sophomore guard Triniti Ralston connected on a couple of shots from the field and drained a trifecta of free throws within the last four minutes of the first half to help give USI a 41-37 advantage going into halftime.
 
Southern Indiana extended its lead to six, 45-39, by the seven-minute mark of the third quarter following some hard-fought defensive rebounds and steals. After some scrappy back-and-forth play, the Eagles went on an 11-0 run over four minutes in the middle of the third frame. Graduate forward Madi Webb returned to the court Tuesday for USI and scored five of the 11 points during the big run, including a three-point play. The Screaming Eagles led by 16, 56-40, by the end of the run. The Racers had a little spurt late in the third, but Webb reclaimed the momentum for Southern Indiana with a buzzer-beating, banked-in trey to conclude the period. USI was up 59-44 heading to the fourth quarter after outscoring the Racers 18-7 in the third.
 
The Screaming Eagles kept its double-digit advantage in the early portion of the fourth stanza. USI reached its largest lead of the contest, 67-48, at the 6:20 mark when Saunders cashed in a three-point play.  Southern Indiana's defensive energy and active hands creating deflections continued to create problems for Murray State. Buchanan scored on back-to-back possessions for USI near the halfway point of the fourth, including an open-court layup after a made basket by the Racers. With time winding down, Murray State had to hurry and take some chances. The Racers hit a couple of threes inside the last two minutes to help bring the deficit down to single digits, but the Eagles converted their free throws down the stretch to lock up the road win.
 
Southern Indiana shot for 41 percent (28-69) in the game and 39 percent (7-18) from beyond the arc. At the foul line, USI was 19-26 for 73 percent. USI's defense forced Murray State into 26 turnovers, 17 on steals, compared to only 11 for the Eagles. USI tallied 29 points off turnovers and 19 fast-break points.
 
Six Screaming Eagles scored in double figures on Tuesday, including all five starters. The last time USI had six players score 10-plus was against the University of Indianapolis in January 2022. On Tuesday, Ralston posted a team-high 17 points and six assists while corralling seven rebounds. Senior guard Vanessa Shafford dropped 14 points. Saunders and Buchanan each recorded 12 points. Webb and graduate forward Meredith Raley registered 11 points. Raley nearly had a double-double with nine boards.
 
Murray State was 27-69 for 39 percent shooting overall and 11-39 for 28 percent from downtown. The Racers were 10-17 for 59 percent at the free-throw line. Murray State won the battle on the glass 53-38 with 17 offensive rebounds leading to 23 second-chance points. The Racers had three players in double digits with sophomore guard Haven Ford notching a game-high 22 points.

#18 LOUISVILLE 86, UT MARTIN 64
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin women's basketball team fell to 18th-ranked Louisville, 86-64, Tuesday night at the Tom and Kathleen Elam Center in Martin.

Kenley McCarn led three Skyhawks in double-digits with a season-high 21 points, marking the first time this season that a UT Martin player has scored 20-plus points. Anaya Brown and Shae Littleford followed McCarn with 12 and 11, respectively.

As a team, UT Martin did not allow Louisville to run away with the rebound battle, despite being outworked on the boards, 46-33. The Skyhawks also had their best free throw performance of the young season at the charity stripe, going for 18-for-24, in addition to outscoring the Cardinals, 44-42, in the second half.

LINDENWOOD 64, BRADLEY 56
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Lindenwood women's basketball (1-1, 0-0 OVC) earned their first win of the season on Tuesday during their home opener against Bradley (1-1, 0-0 MVC) by a final score of 64-56. The Lions scored 19 fourth quarter points to secure the win against the Braves.

Three Lions scored in double-figures on Tuesday night including 15 from Lindenwood's leading scorer Ellie Brueggemann. After shooting 1-14 at Kansas from deep, Brueggemann responded by going 3-4 from downtown including making her first three attempts. She also added two rebounds and three assists.

Brooke Coffey returned home to St. Charles, Mo. and picked up her first career double-double after dropping 11 points and 12 rebounds. Coffey shot 3-4 from the floor in 31 minutes played while grabbing 12 defensive rebounds. She also had her hands all over the place on defense picking up a team-high three steals.

Justis Odom also finished with 10 points while grabbing five boards. Mykayla Cunningham chipped in eight points, three assists and two steals while Mya Skoff of the bench went a perfect 3-3 from the field ending the game with seven points.

As a team, Lindenwood shot 23-48 (47.9%) from the field and 4-12 from three-point distance. Lindenwood edged the Braves on the glass grabbing 31 rebounds compared to 30 by BU. The Lions scored 20 points off of Bradley's 17 turnovers and also scored 10 fast-break points. Thirty-two of the Lions' 64 points were in the paint including six from center Mariah Stewart who shot 3-4 from the field.

Lindenwood held the early advantage in the first quarter going up 18-14. The Lions shot 7-13 from the field including six from Skoff off the bench. Twelve of Lindenwood's first 18 points were in the paint. Bradley was held to 1-6 from deep in the first 10 minutes of the game.

After Bradley cut the lead to four points with 7:30 left in the first haf, the Lions went on a 10-0 run opening up the game to a 14-point lead. Odom and Coffey both scored four points during that stretch. The Braves were able to end the quarter on a 7-0 run to cut the Lions' lead to six heading into halftime.

Bradley's offense came out firing in the third quarter going on a 12-5 run to take the lead at 40-39. Lindenwood started the third shooting 2-9 from the field. The Lions would still trail by one heading into the fourth after Bradley shot 6-17 from the field scoring 18 in the third. LU was held to just five made field-goals in the period.

Eagan's squad never wavered as Lindenwood rallied scoring 11 points in the first four minutes of the fourth to re-gain the lead at 56-48. Lindenwood was efficient in the fourth shooting 4-6 from the floor and 8-8 at the foul line as they were able to close the game winning 64-56.

WESTERN ILLINOIS 62, KANSAS CITY 43
MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois defended their home court against Kansas City, winning decisively 62-43 and extending their unbeaten streak to 3-0. From start to finish, Western Illinois controlled the game, with an effective mix of sharp shooting, strong rebounding, and solid defense. The team was particularly impressive from beyond the arc, hitting 8 of 18 three-point attempts, which created early separation on the scoreboard and put Kansas City on their heels.

Leading the charge was Mia Nicastro, who put on a stellar performance. Nicastro scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, securing a double-double. Nicastro was especially effective in the paint, contributing on both ends by creating scoring opportunities close to the basket and pulling down rebounds. Raegan McCowan added 14 points while Mallory McDermott drained three three-pointers to keep the offense balanced.

Throughout the game, Western Illinois's defense was relentless. They forced Kansas City into 21 turnovers, capitalizing on those with fast-break points. The Leathernecks took advantage of these turnovers by scoring 17 points in transition, compared to just 6 for Kansas City.  WIU also held the Roos to low shooting percentages and dominated the boards, outrebounding Kansas City 47 to 33, with 14 of those rebounds coming on the offensive end. 

Bench contributions were another advantage for Western Illinois, whose reserves scored 10 points and provided valuable minutes to support the starters and recorded 10 assists as a team. Allie Meadows finished with a game-high four assists, with Addi Brownfield and Kaylen Reed each contributing three assists. Free throws were also in WIU's favor as they made 16 of 23 attempts, showing discipline and poise at the line.