SATURDAY'S SCORES
*Southern Indiana 88. @Little Rock 51
*@Eastern Illinois 68, Lindenwood 62
*@Tennessee State 84, Western Illinois 71
*Southeast Missouri 67, @SIUE 57
*@UT Martin 70, Morehead State 54
SOUTHERN INDIANA 81, LITTLE ROCK 51
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball connected on 13-of-18 three-point attempts as the Screaming Eagles rolled past the University of Arkansas Little Rock, 88-51, Saturday afternoon.
The win gives the Eagles at least a share of the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season title and clinches the No. 1 seed in the OVC Tournament next month at the Ford Center.
USI (18-6, 13-1 OVC) stormed out of the gates as six different players scored to give the Eagles a commanding 15-0 lead five minutes into the contest. The Eagles connected on their first eight three-point attempts as their lead ballooned to 26 points (31-5) early in the second period.
The Eagles' defense was just as impressive as USI held the Trojans to just one field goal throughout the first 12 minutes of the contest.
Led by senior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana), the Eagles had nine different players score in the first 20 minutes of the game as they took a commanding 46-22 lead into the intermission.
After going 16-of-24 (.667) from the field and 10-of-11 (.909) from three-point range in the first half, the Eagles continued to pour on the offense in the second half, where they saw their lead surge to as much as 42 points (88-46) with just under four minutes to play in the contest.
Sophomore guard Ali Saunders (Depauw, Indiana) had 18 points and a season-high eight assists to lead the Eagles, while freshman forward Chloe Gannon (Manchester, Tennessee) added 16 points. Raley finished with 12 points, three assists and eight rebounds, while senior forward/center Madi Webb (Bedford, Indiana) contributed 10 points and eight rebounds.
USI also got eight points apiece from senior guard Lexie Green (Indianapolis, Indiana) and freshman guard Triniti Ralston (Louisville, Kentucky). Ralston added four assists, while Green dished out three of USI's 23 assists on the day.
Little Rock (9-16, 8-6 OVC), which was tied for second in the OVC standings entering the day, was led by sophomore forward Faith Lee and senior guard Jayla Brooks. Lee finished with 16 points and two assists, while Brooks added 15 points and five rebounds.
The Trojans shot just 21-of-58 (.362) from the field, 1-of-8 (.125) from three-point range and were out-rebounded, 32-23. USI finished the game 34-of-52 (.654) from the field.
USI entered the day with a four-game lead over Little Rock, Morehead State University and Eastern Illinois University for first place in the OVC standings. With the win and Morehead State's loss to the University of Tennessee Martin, the Eagles now have a four-game lead with the head-to-head tie-breaker over second-place EIU with four games remaining in the regular-season.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 68, LINDENWOOD 62
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois built a 14 point halftime lead and held off a second half surge by Lindenwood to pick up a 68-62 win on Saturday afternoon at Groniger Arena.
EIU moved into sole possession of second place in the OVC standings at 12-15 overall, 9-5 in the OVC. Lindenwood dropped to 6-18 overall, 4-10 in the OVC.
EIU built a 38-24 lead at the break behind a strong first half scoring effort by Taris Thornton who finished with a team-high 16 points for EIU.
Lindenwood had a big run in the third quarter and cut the lead down to four points at 61-57 with 2:14 left in the game on a three point play by Justis Odom. Odom had 21 points to lead the Lions.
Ellie Buzzelle had the answer for EIU with a 3-pointer with 1:29 remaining as EIU held on the for the win.
EIU had four total players in double figures led by Thornton. Macy McGlone posted her 21st double-double this year with 10 points, 14 rebounds. Miah Monahan had 12 points and Charita "Tiny" Lewis added 11.
Ellie Brueggemann had 15 points on 3-of-8 shooting from 3-point range while Alyssa Nielsen rounded out Lindenwood's double figure scorers with 12 points.
TENNESSEE STATE 84, WESTERN ILLINOIS 71
NASHVILLE - The Tennessee State women's basketball team shot 55.6 percent from three-point range on the way to an 84-71 win over the Western Illinois Leathernecks at home Saturday.
The Tigers (8-16, 5-9) had five players score in double figures, led by Zyion Shannon, who had 26 points, five assists and two steals. Lyric Cole tacked on a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds and Eboni Williams chipped in as well with 14 points and three steals.
The Tennessee State offense was impressive from downtown, pouring in 10 threes on 18 attempts. Shannon hit four treys for the Tigers in the contest.
Tennessee State forced 16 Western Illinois turnovers while committing 14 themselves in Saturday's game. The Tigers turned those takeaways into 23 points on the other end of the floor. Saniah Parker led the way individually with three steals.
After falling behind 7-6, Tennessee State went on a 5-0 run with 6:31 left in the first quarter, culminating in a bucket from Shannon, to take an 11-7 lead. The Tigers then surrendered that lead and entered the second quarter down 21-20.
Western Illinois kept adding to that lead, building a 29-26 advantage before Tennessee State went on a 10-0 run, highlighted by a bucket from Shannon, to take a 36-29 lead. The Tigers proceeded to tack on two points to that lead and enjoyed a 39-30 advantage heading into halftime. Tennessee State was strong from deep in the period, knocking down three three-point shots to account for nine of its 19 points.
Tennessee State continued to preserve its halftime lead before going on a 5-0 run, punctuated by a basket from Cole, to expand its lead further to 49-39 with 5:39 to go in the third. Before the conclusion of the third period, the Leathernecks had cut into that lead somewhat, but the Tigers still entered the fourth quarter with a 57-53 edge. Tennessee State turned four offensive rebounds into six second-chance points on the way to scoring 18 total points in the quarter.
Tennessee State started tacking on points in the fourth almost immediately, going on a 5-0 run, finished off by Parker's three, to grow the lead to 62-53 with 9:20 to go in the contest. The Tigers kept expanding the margin and coasted the rest of the way for the 84-71 win. Tennessee State took advantage of four Western Illinois turnovers in the quarter, scoring seven points off of those takeaways.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 67, SIUE 57
EDWARDSVILLE, Mo. - Southeast Missouri Women's Basketball (8-17, 5-9 OVC) picked up its second road victory of the season by a final score of 67-57 over SIUE (5-22, 2-12 OVC) on Saturday afternoon.
Sophomore Alecia Doyle found her way back to double-digits as she finished with a game-high 20 points on 5-16 shooting and was 8-12 from the free-throw line. Backcourt mate Jaliyah Green also found double digits finishing with 16 points.
The Redhawks dominated the paint outrebounding SIUE by a 46-32 advantage led by Amiyah Buchanan, Jaliyah Green, and Megan Barton who all finished with eight rebounds.
SEMO collected 17 offensive rebounds and converted them into 18 second-chance points to SIUE's four.
As a team, SEMO shot 36-percent from the field (24-66), 31-percent from three (7-22), and 63-percent from the foul line (12-19).
Indiya Bowen picked up where she left off from Thursday night, draining her first three-pointer of the contest on the Redhawks' first possession of the game.
The Cougars would take their first lead of the contest with back-to-back baskets before Alecia Doyle hit a jumper to regain the lead for SEMO.
A nice defensive play by the Redhawks resulted in a steal from Bowen, leading to a Jaliyah Green fastbreak layup.
A pair of Kiyley Flowers free throws would give SEMO a 9-4 lead with 6:17 left in the opening quarter. Flowers drove past the Cougars' defense and drew the foul for her first points of the contest.
The Redhawks led by as many as seven, two different times in the opening quarter, but the Cougars would close the quarter with a free throw.
SEMO led 16-10 at the end of the first quarter.
The Redhawks turned up their intensity in the second quarter opening on a 9-0 run beginning with a Jaliyah Green three-pointer. Green took the pass from Doyle and splashed the three off an SIUE turnover.
With 6:43 left in the half, SEMO led 25-10 following a Megan Barton layup off another SIUE turnover to give SEMO a 15-point lead, their biggest of the day.
SIUE's Sofie Lewis broke the near four-minute scoring draught for the Cougars with a three-ball of her own, but Alecia Doyle answered the call with a three of her own and the Redhawks were back up 15.
Two-straight SEMO baskets following a SIUE layup would put the Redhawks up 17. An offensive rebound and putback by forward Julia Sion, followed by a Michaela Mayfield elbow-jumper gave SEMO a 32-15 lead with just 3:44 to go before half.
Green would close the quarter for the Redhawks with a jump shot just outside of the left elbow, and the Redhawks led 35-22 at the half.
SEMO's defense was the story in the first half, forcing SIUE into 10 turnovers and converting them into 12 points. Kiyley Flowers, the steals leader in the OVC, stole the ball four times in the opening half.
As a team, the Redhawks shot 14-for-34 from the field (41-percent) led by Jaliyah Green and Alecia Doyle who each had nine points. Eight different Redhawks scored in the opening half.
The Redhawks opened the second half on a 7-0 run beginning with an Alecia Doyle jump shot, followed by a Kiyley Flowers three-pointer. A second-chance basket by Amiyah Buchanan grew SEMO's halftime lead to 42-22 with 7:12 left.
SIUE would cut into the lead and would do so at the charity stripe. The Cougars' Brianna Wooldridge would score four straight points, a pair of free throws and a layup.
SIUE's Sofie Lowis scored three-straight free throws and the Redhawks lead was suddenly down to 10 with 2:54 left before the end of the third.
SEMO would respond, closing the quarter on an 8-0 run via back-to-back threes by Green and Doyle, and another Green two-point jump shot. The Redhawks led by 18 at the end of the third (52-34).
The Redhawks led by as many as 16 in the fourth quarter and held on for the road victory on Saturday afternoon.
UT MARTIN 70, MOREHEAD STATE 54
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin women's basketball team picked up a statement win on Saturday afternoon, knocking off the Ohio Valley Conference's second-place team Morehead State by a 70-54 margin.
The Skyhawks (11-14, 8-6 OVC) controlled the tempo for much of the game while holding a scoring advantage for over 36 of the game's 40 minutes. The home team did most of their damage in the paint where they scored 38 points while turning the Eagles 16 turnovers into 20 points.
The third quarter proved to be the big difference maker for UT Martin as it outscored Morehead State by 10 points. The Skyhawks shot a blistering 69.2 percent from the floor during the period while limiting the Eagles to just a 33 percent clip.
UT Martin used a balanced scoring attack to power past Morehead State and even up the season series. Sophomore Anaya Brown led the team with 18 points and eight rebounds in the win while classmate Lexi Rubel was close behind with 17 points, five assists and four rebounds. Freshman Norah Clark chipped in 15 points and six rebounds while Kenley McCarn reached double figures for the 10th consecutive game and 22nd time this season.
Morehead State (13-12, 8-6 OVC) played without its head coach following a league suspension for an accumulation of technical fouls but still found balance throughout its scoring rotation with three Eagles reaching double figures. Katie Novik scored a game-high 19 points after knocking down five three-pointers while dishing out four assists. Veronica Charles also reached double figures, adding 12 points and four steals while Hallie Rhodes chipped in 10 points and four assists.