Ohio Valley Conference

MOREHEAD, Ky. - On Kids Day in Johnson Arena, the Morehead State women's basketball team kicked off a five-game home stand by rolling over Alice Lloyd College 89-51 Wednesday afternoon.

Morehead State (4-4) placed three players in double figures, led by 13 points from Kate Novik and Chrishawn Coleman. Michelle Ugwah chipped in 10.  

Novik was perfect on the day, shooting 6-6 from the floor, hitting her lone three-point attempt, and made all six free throw attempts. She added eight rebounds and led the team with five assists.  

Coleman went 3-7 from the floor and 7-12 from the free throw line. Ugwah went 5-8 from the floor.  

Overall, the Eagles shot 25-67 (37%) from the floor for the game, but struggled from three-point range, hitting only 3-22 (14%). MSU went 36-51 (71%) from the free throw line.  

The Eagles never trailed in the game and forced 34 Alice Lloyd turnovers resulting in 34 points. MSU out-rebounded ALC 47-38, led by Veronika Korchagina with nine boards in her first extended action of the season.  

Morehead State came out of the gates quickly shooting 47% from the floor and forced 11 Alice Lloyd turnovers and led 27-11 after the first quarter.  The Eagles kept the momentum in the second frame, shooting 41% and forced another 15 turnovers. They outscored the visitors 26-2 in the stanza to go to the intermission up 53-13. 

MSU outscored ALC 18-13 in the third quarter. Alice Lloyd outscored Morehead State 25-18 in the final frame.  

Alice Lloyd (3-8) was led in scoring by Ashtyn Barrett with 13 points. Bailey Stewart added 11 and Emily Estes finished with 10.

MIDDLE TENNESSEE 85, SIUE 41
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - KK Rodriguez made her return to play after missing 21 games in the 2023-24 season, but it came in a losing effort as Middle Tennessee dominated SIUE 85-41 Wednesday morning at the Murphy Center.
 
Rodriguez opened the score off a turnaround jumper in the first quarter and knocked down two free throws in at the 2:20 marker.
 
SIUE went to 1-6 with the loss. MTSU improved to 7-2.
 
MTSU went on a 35-point run that was broke in the second quarter after Meegan Fahey made two free throws, followed by a jumper from Macey Silvey and a layup from Halle Smith pulling the Cougars back 39-10.
 
MTSU advanced their lead off a three-point jumper from Jalynn Gregory to put the Blue Raiders up 43-13 with 2:19 left in the second.
 
Before the break Brianna Wooldridge made a turnaround jumper and one free throw, while Rodriguez made two free throws bringing the Cougars to 46-18.
 
MTSU's Savannah Davis hit a three-point shot off a fast break making the score 49-17 before the end of the first half.
 
The second half started off with a layup from MTSU putting them at 51-17 before Jaiden Bryant made a three-pointer keeping the Cougars in the game.
 
MTSU maintained a steady lead through the rest of the of the game before the Cougars made a final push in the last two minutes with Fahey making back-to-back driving layups and Emiyah Cobb contributing a layup to end the game.
 
Wooldridge led the Cougars with nine points. Fahy chipped in six points. The Cougars had 25 points off the bench compared to the Blue Raiders 23 points off the bench.

NORTH TEXAS 83, TENNESSEE STATE 65
DENTON, Texas - Saniah Parker and Angel Hill combined to score 40 total points - 61.5 percent of Tennessee State's points - but the Tennessee State women's basketball team fell to North Texas 83-65 on Wednesday afternoon.

The Tigers (4-5) had three players score in double figures, led by Parker, who had 22 points. Hill added 18 points from the bench and Sanaa' St. Andre helped out with 10 points, four assists and two steals.

Tennessee State forced 23 North Texas turnovers while committing 17 themselves in Wednesday's game. The Tigers turned those takeaways into 20 points on the offensive end of the floor. Lyric Cole led the way individually with two steals.

INDIANA 67, SOUTHERN INDIANA 63
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball battled and scrapped every possession Wednesday night against Indiana University at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, falling in a narrow defeat, 67-63.

The Screaming Eagles moved to 7-2 on the season, snapping their six-game win streak. Indiana improved to 6-3 as they begin conference play on December 7.  

USI fell behind out of the gate, struggling to convert at the rim. The Hoosiers took the first ten of 12 points, forcing the Eagles into calling an early timeout. Coming out of the timeout, USI settled in and went on a 15-7 run to close out the quarter tied at 17. Graduate forward Madi Webb helped the Eagles bounce back, scoring a team-high six points in the quarter.  

The Eagles carried their momentum from the end of the quarter into the second period, outscoring Indiana 25-12 in the frame to extend the lead to 13 heading into halftime. The Eagles' defense stood up to the challenge by holding the Hoosiers to 31.3 percent from the field and 27 percent from beyond the arc. USI found the open shot consistently down the floor, as eight Eagles scored while totaling eight assists.

Senior leaders Vanessa Shafford, Meredith Raley, and Webb each contributed eight points. Shafford led the Eagles in rebounding at four, one ahead of sophomore guard Triniti Ralston who hounded the Hoosiers with relentless defense.  

USI struggled on both ends to start the second half, as Indiana went on a 12-2 run to cause the Eagles to call an early timeout with the Hoosiers pulling within three. Junior guard Ali Saunders, Ralston, and Raley helped stop the bleeding with six points on strong drives to the basket. However, Indiana closed within three points again to end the third quarter. 

Indiana continued to seize momentum, taking a 60-55 lead after converting their offensive sets from multiple levels with five minutes remaining in the game. USI refused to quit as sophomore forward Amiyah Buchanan and Saunders drilled jumpers in the paint to cut the lead to one with a minute to play. The Hoosiers responded with a pivotal three to make it a two-possession game and then converting at the charity stripe down the stretch put the game away.  

For the game, USI shot 45.5 percent (25-55) with an impressive 61.5 percent (8-13) from three. The largest discrepancy in the game came at the free-throw line as USI made it to the line eight times, sinking five. Indiana shot 26 free throws at a 61.5 percent clip. The Screaming Eagles were outrebounded 38-33, but the Eagles gained four more boards on the defensive end than Indiana. The Hoosiers grabbed 13 offensive rebounds compared to the Eagles' four. Saunders finished atop the scoring sheet with 14 points for Southern Indiana.