FRIDAY'S SCORES
@Wright State 77,
Tennessee State 65
@Lindenwood 87, Harris-Stowe 61
@Southern Indiana 88, IU Southeast 41
MissourI 75,
@Western Illinois 55
WRIGHT STATE 77, TENNESSEE STATE 65
DAYTON, Ohio - The Tennessee State women's basketball team faced a tough battle on Friday morning, falling 77-65 to Wright State at the Nutter Center.
The Tigers (2-2) had three players score in double figures, led by Sanaa' St. Andre, who had 15 points, six rebounds, four assists and six steals. Lyric Cole added 13 points and six rebounds and Saniah Parker helped out with 13 points and six rebounds off of the bench.
Led by Cole's four offensive rebounds, Tennessee State did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 14 boards that resulted in 12 second chance points.
The Tennessee State defense was effective at taking away the basketball in Friday's game, forcing 22 Wright State turnovers while committing 11. Those takeaways turned into 20 points on the other end of the floor. St. Andre's six steals led the way individually for the Tigers.
Tennessee State kept it close in the first quarter, but entered the second frame down 21-18.
The Tigers continued to lose ground in the second quarter and faced a 39-30 halftime deficit.
Wright State continued to increase its lead after halftime, building a 54-39 advantage before Tennessee State went on a 6-0 run, punctuated by a basket from Parker, to trim its deficit to 54-45 with 54 seconds to go in the third. The Tigers were unable to cut further into the deficit, but did not cede ground to Wright State either and entered the fourth quarter trailing 56-47. Tennessee State played well near the basket, scoring 10 of its 17 points in the paint.
Tennessee State could not pull any closer in the fourth, losing by a final of 77-65. Tennessee State got a boost from its bench in the period, with non-starters scoring five of its 18 total points.
LINDENWOOD 87, HARRIS-STOWE 61
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Lindenwood women's basketball (2-1, 0-0 OVC) picked up their second win of the season after defeating Harris-Stowe State University (1-2, 0-0 AMC) by a final score of 87-61 on Education Day. It marked the most points scored since last Education Day against Harris-Stowe when the Lions put up 99.
Four Lindenwood Lions scored in double figures on Friday including 13 from Gracy Wernli and Ellie Brueggemann. Wernli scored in double-digits for the first time this season after shooting 3-7 from the floor while going 6-6 from the foul line. Brueggemann also went 6-11 from the floor while grabbing three rebounds and three assists.
Brooke Coffey also made her way into double-figures after scoring 12 points. Coffey, along with Brueggemann, have scored in double digits in all three games to start the season. She ended her morning shooting 5-9 from the floor while also pulling down five rebounds and a team-high five assists. In her first appearance of the season Aalayah Wilson scored a career-high 11 points going 4-4 from the field.
Post-players Justis Odom and Mariah Stewart scored eight and six points respectively. Odom led the team with six rebounds while Stewart added four boards and a steal. Mykayla Cunningham and Mya Skoff also scored seven points each.
As a team, the Lions shot 53.2% from the field going 33-64. Lindenwood's defense held Harris-Stowe to below 12 points in three quarters while holding them to 31.8% shooting for the entire game. The Lions created 17 turnovers and scored 14 points off of those. LU also out-rebounded the Hornets 40-37 and caused 11 steals.
After the first quarter, Lindenwood led 23-11 shooting 9-20 from the field including 4-4 from the foul line. Coffey scored an early eight points to get the Lions going. LU started out on a 8-2 start including six from Coffey. As a team, Lindenwood shot 7-12 from the field including three steals and 12 points in the paint at the first media timeout. The Hornets had six turnovers in the first.
Harris-Stowe clawed their way back into Friday's game during the second after out-scoring the Lions 29-21. It marked the most points LU has given up in a single quarter this season. The Hornets shot 5-10 from three-point land and 9-17 from the floor. Lindenwood was able to maintain a four-point lead heading into the break.
Lindenwood's defense was active in the third quarter holding the Hornets to 4-14 from the floor and just nine points in the entire quarter. Wernli and Coffey both scored four points in the quarter to give the Lions a comfortable 62-49 advantage.
The Lions' secured their second win of the season and move to 2-1 after closing out the game with a final score of 87-61. Wilson scored a quarter-high nine points as Lindenwood shot 10-13 from the field. Brueggemann also added six points as LU held Harris-Stowe to 23.5% shooting in the fourth.
SOUTHERN INDIANA 88, IU SOUTHEAST 41
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball started its three-game homestand Friday night at Liberty Arena with an 88-41 victory over Indiana University Southeast.
Southern Indiana (3-1) jumped out to a quick lead Friday, and sophomore guard Triniti Ralston picked up where she left off from Tuesday's road win at Murray State University. Ralston canned a three-pointer just over a minute into the game and shortly followed with a layup to give USI an early 10-0 advantage. The Screaming Eagles' forwards also had an active presence in the first period, helping push USI ahead 16-0 before IU Southeast (0-3) scored its first points at the 4:24 mark of the first. The Eagles went on to take a 21-6 lead into the second quarter.
At the start of the second quarter, sophomore forward Chloe Gannon saw her first minutes of the season returning from injury. Gannon quickly recorded a layup two minutes into the second stanza. In the middle of the second, graduate forward Meredith Raley scored eight consecutive points for Southern Indiana to increase the Eagles' lead to 40-11 with 2:28 until halftime. The Screaming Eagles went into the intermission in front, 47-15, as Raley had 10 first-half points and Ralston tallied nine in the first 20 minutes following a last-second layup to conclude the second frame.
Ralston continued to leave her mark in the contest by knocking down a pair of triples in the first three minutes of the second half, building Southern Indiana's lead to 58-17. The Grenadiers tallied 14 points in the final four minutes of the third quarter, but the Screaming Eagles answered with made baskets of their own to maintain its large lead, 72-31, heading to the final quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Southern Indiana's freshman guard Lexi Sepulveda made a charge with eight points in the quarter to reach double figures for the first time in a USI uniform, as the Screaming Eagles closed out the big win.
USI shot for over 57 percent (35-61) with six three-pointers and went 12-16 for 75 percent at the foul line. Southern Indiana outrebounded IU Southeast, 44-21, and had big advantages in points off turnovers, 34-5, and points in the paint, 50-14. Every player found the scoring column for USI Friday night. Ralston topped the squad for the second consecutive outing with 19 points. Raley totaled 13 points and Sepulveda recorded 12 points.
IU Southeast was 14-49 for just under 29 percent from the floor with five treys. The Grenadiers were 8-11 for nearly 73 percent at the free-throw line. Sophomore guard Grace Stapleton was the only Grenadier in double digits with 13 points.
MISSOURI 75, WESTERN ILLINOIS 55
MAC0MB, Ill. - Recap coming soon.