SATURDAY'S GAMES
*@Tennessee Tech 75, Eastern Illinois 73
*Southern Indiana 96, @Western Illinois 89 (OT)
*@Lindenwood 61, Little Rock 54
@Tennessee State 75, SIUE 65
*UT Martin 64, @Southeast Missouri 61
TENNESSEE TECH 75, EASTERN ILLINOIS 73
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Eastern Illinois won a nailbiter over Tennessee Tech in Charleston. On Saturday, it was the Golden Eagles' turn.
After the visiting Panthers took a 68-67 lead with just over two minutes remaining in the contest, Peyton Carter pulled down an offensive board and put the ball back in to retake the advantage at 69-68 and 1:46 left.
At 1:04, Anna Walker drained a 3-pointer to make it a four-point lead, but EIU's Charita Lewis halved the lead with a jumper at 54 seconds remaining. Lewis and Ellie Buzzelle fouled the Golden Eagles, the latter putting Reghan Grimes at the line for a pair with 14 seconds left.
Grimes drained the first, but missed the second with Walker grabbing the loose board. She kicked the ball over and it ended up in the hands of Maaliya Owens, who was fouled by Lewis with six seconds remaining. Owens iced the game as she hit both free throws with six seconds remaining.
With a last-ditch effort, Ellie Buzzelle knocked down a 3-pointer as time expired, wrapping up the game as a 75-73 Golden Eagle victory.
Tech (15-12, 10-6 Ohio Valley Conference) moves into a tie for second-place with the Panthers and UT Martin. While neither team can catch Southern Indiana at the top, Morehead State and Little Rock – who lost to Lindenwood on Saturday – are breathing down those teams' necks, waiting for a slip-up in the final two games of the regular season.
At stake is a two-game bye in the OVC tournament. With Southern Indiana ineligible for the NCAA Tournament as a reclassifying team, the double-bye becomes crucial to earn a potential trip to the postseason, which makes next week's games at UT Martin on Thursday and Little Rock on Saturday important to the Golden Eagles.
Of course, with Saturday being Senior Day, it was only fitting that Tech's top four scorers were among the honorees following the game. Owens collected 21 points, including three 3-pointers. Yaubryon Chambers had 15 points as she went 6-for-8 from the floor and pulled down five rebounds. Walker added 14 points and five boards, while Peyton Carter collected her second double-double of the season as she scored 10 points and had 10 rebounds to go along with six assists.
Macy McGlone ended the game with a game-high 25 points as she shot 7-for-13 from the field and 11-for-12 from the charity stripe. EIU (13-14, 10-6 OVC) went 14-for-17 at the line for the game. McGlone completed the double-double as she also collected 11 caroms. Buzzelle had 10 points for EIU's other double-digit scorer of the game. Miah Monahan had nine assists.
The Golden Eagles came out in force early on, outscoring the Panthers 21-10 in the opening quarter. McGlone had six of those 10 points as EIU drained four of its 14 shots. The tide turned in favor of the Panthers in the second quarter – despite Tech collecting its largest lead of the game at 21-8 – as EIU outscored Tech 22-8 with nine of those points coming at the line. McGlone was 6-for-6 at the line with the Golden Eagles charged with seven fouls to EIU's two.
EIU led the game 32-29 at the half, but Tech surged back in the third quarter, outscoring the Panthers 27-17. McGlone once again had six points as she went 2-for-2 from the field and at the line, but Owens went 3-for-4 from the field for seven points and Walker 4-for-8 for nine. Tech reclaimed a nine-point lead before the quarter ended, but McGlone drained a second-chance jumper at 15 seconds left to make it a 56-49 Tech lead at the end of the third quarter.
EIU outscored Tech 24-19 in the fourth quarter with just the one lead change with 2:15 to go in the contest. Owens had seven points in the finale for the Golden Eagles, while Buzzelle had eight and McGlone seven during the Panthers' furious comeback.
In all, the game was tied three times with four lead changes. The Golden Eagles led the game for nearly 36 of the 40 minutes.
SOUTHERN INDIANA 96, WESTERN ILLINOIS 89 (OT)
MACOMB, Ill. - University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball earned its 750th win in program history on Saturday with a 96-89 overtime victory on the road at Western Illinois University.
The 750th program win came in USI's first overtime game of the season. Plus, the milestone mark came on the heels of a sweep of a four-game road swing for Southern Indiana and a regular season sweep of Western Illinois. USI Women's Basketball Head Coach Rick Stein, who is in his 25th season at the helm of the Screaming Eagles, has led USI to 602 of the 750 program victories. Saturday's win was USI's sixth consecutive victory going back to February 8, the second-longest winning streak this season.
With the win, Southern Indiana improved to 20-6 overall for USI's 14th 20-win season in program history as part of the Screaming Eagles 35th winning season in 2023-24. USI also improved to 15-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference, having already captured the regular season championship and No. 1 seed at the OVC Tournament March 6-9 at Ford Center in downtown Evansville, Indiana.
Out of the opening tip on Saturday, Southern Indiana had a few good looks from beyond the arc that would not fall. The Screaming Eagles grabbed an early lead, but in the middle of the first quarter, Western Illinois went on a run to take a 13-9 lead with four remaining in the opening period. Western Illinois led 23-16 through the first frame.
Southern Indiana made a charge to start the second quarter, scoring five straight points. Three-pointers from senior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana) and junior guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) helped spark a 10-0 run, pushing USI in front, 26-23, with six minutes left in the first half. Later in the quarter, a scoreless drought allowed Western Illinois to retake a 37-33 advantage. Just ahead of halftime, USI hit a pair of threes with one right before the buzzer by graduate guard Tori Handley (Jeffersonville, Indiana). The Eagles trailed by one, 40-39, at the intermission.
Early in the second half, Western Illinois built its lead up to six, 49-43. Southern Indiana fought back with a run in the middle of the third quarter, highlighted by a pair of baskets from freshman forward Chloe Gannon (Manchester, Tennessee) and a fast-break layup by freshman guard Triniti Ralston (Louisville, Kentucky). The effort by the freshmen gave the Screaming Eagles a 53-51 lead midway into the third. The two sides battled the rest of the quarter, as USI carried a 64-61 lead to the fourth stanza.
Out of the gates for the fourth period, Gannon dropped in two consecutive baskets to reach double figures for the game, as USI led 68-64 at the 8:30 mark of the fourth. After Western Illinois regained the lead, Shafford knocked down a corner trey, putting USI back up by one at the six-minute mark. A minute later, Raley muscled up a three-point play to energize the Screaming Eagles. A two-possession game late, the Leathernecks made another push to eventually even the game at 81. In the last 1:48, neither side could find a go-ahead basket, leading to the first overtime of the season for USI Women's Basketball.
Southern Indiana drew first blood in the extra session when sophomore guard Ali Saunders (Depauw, Indiana) cashed in a three. A minute later, Western Illinois took the lead, but Shafford and the Eagles answered with another three. Then senior forward Madi Webb (Bedford, Indiana) fired up the Screaming Eagles again with a three-point play. Webb then followed it up in the next possession with another make in the post, making the score 92-85 USI. Another late bucket from Webb and free throws iced the win for Southern Indiana.
The Screaming Eagles shot the ball for 47 percent (31-66) overall and for 38 percent (11-29) from long range. In a game with frequent trips to the foul line, USI was 23-29 for 79 percent at the stripe. Southern Indiana outrebounded Western Illinois by 15, 48-33. For the second consecutive game, USI had five players register double digits. Shafford posted her seventh double-double this season with 25 points and 10 rebounds. The 25 points were one off Shafford's career best. Shafford drained seven three-pointers in the game. Webb poured in 15 points with eight boards, Gannon registered 14 points, and Saunders finished with 12 points. Saunders also grabbed six rebounds and dished out six assists. Also noteworthy, redshirt senior guard Addy Blackwell (Bloomington, Indiana) had nine points with a career-high eight assists.
Western Illinois dropped to 16-11 and 7-9 in the OVC on Saturday. The Leathernecks exit Saturday in seventh place in the league standings. In Saturday's game, Western Illinois was 38 percent shooting (26-68) with eight triples. The Leathernecks were 29-32 for above 90 percent at the charity stripe. Western Illinois had three players in double figures and was led by freshman combo guard Raegan McCowan. McCowan scored over half of Western Illinois' scoring total, dropping 45 of the team's 89 points.
Southern Indiana will return home to Screaming Eagles Arena next week for a pair of home games against Lindenwood University and Southeast Missouri State University. Both games are 5 p.m. starts. Thursday's game is Ascension Heart Health Night, and fans are encouraged to red out Screaming Eagles Arena. Saturday's contest is Senior Night and the regular season finale.
LINDENWOOD 61, LITTLE ROCK 54
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Lindenwood women's basketball team (7-19, 5-11 OVC) picked up a win on Senior Day, defeating Little Rock (10-17, 9-7 OVC), 61-54.
It was a defensive battle to open the first as the score was 7-6 Lindenwood at the media. Mya Skoff drilled a three late in the opening frame to give the Lions a 10-7 lead, but Little Rock closed the quarter on a 5-0 run to take a 12-10 lead into the second. Lindenwood forced five turnovers on the defensive end.
Both teams opened the second quarter shooting above 50 percent clip, as Little Rock led 19-16 with 5:03 left in the half. From that point on, Lindenwood clamped down defensively, holding the Trojans to just two points for the remainder of the quarter. This allowed Lindenwood to close the half on a 9-2 run, including a buzzer beater by Mykayla Cunningham which gave the Lions a 25-21 advantage at the break. Makayla Wallace finished the quarter with eight points and had a team-high nine at halftime.
After being out most of the first half with foul trouble, Justis Odom went to work to begin the second half with six consecutive points to extend the Lindenwood lead to 31-21. The Lions extended the advantage to 37-25, but Little Rock responded with an 8-0 run to close the gap to four. Lindenwood took a 40-38 advantage to the fourth
Lindenwood opened the fourth period with six of the first eight points to grow the lead back to 46-40 early in the fourth. Little Rock battled back and was able to tie things up at 50 apiece with just over four minutes to go in the game. The two teams went back and forth from that point, but Odom took over down the stretch with 16 fourth quarter points including some big free throws late. The Lions went on to pick up the 61-54 win.
TENNESSEE STATE 75, SIUE 65
NASHVILLE - The Tennessee State women's basketball team had 10 fewer turnovers than SIU-Edwardsville in a 75-65 victory against the Cougars at home Saturday.
The Tigers (9-17, 6-10) had four players score in double figures, led by Sanaa' St. Andre, who had 24 points and six rebounds. Saniah Parker tacked on 16 points and three blocks and Eboni Williams helped out with a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Led by Williams' five offensive rebounds, Tennessee State did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 15 boards that resulted in 11 second-chance points.
Tennessee State's defense held SIU-Edwardsville to only 38.3 percent shooting from the field.
Tennessee State entered the second quarter tied at 19-19 after a tightly contested first period. Tennessee State capitalized on six SIU-Edwardsville turnovers in the period, turning them into seven points on the other end of the floor.
The Tigers proceeded to outscore the Cougars 18-16 in the second quarter to take a 37-35 halftime lead. Tennessee State dominated in the paint, scoring 10 of its 18 points close to the basket.
Tennessee State wasted no time building on its lead, going on a 6-0 run, punctuated by a basket from Williams, to expand its lead further to 43-35 with 8:23 to go in the third. Before the third period was over, the Tigers added two points to that lead and entered the fourth quarter with a 56-46 edge. Tennessee State played well near the basket, scoring 14 of its 19 points in the paint.
Tennessee State kept its lead intact before going on a 5-0 run, finished off by St. Andre's layup, to grow the lead to 68-55 with 2:35 to go in the contest. The Cougars narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but the Tigers still cruised the rest of the way for the 75-65 win. Tennessee State pulled down five offensive rebounds to score five second chance points out of 19 total in the period.
UT MARTIN 64, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 61
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Like many times this season, the University of Tennessee at Martin women's basketball team went on the road and came away with a victory, knocking off Ohio Valley Conference rival Southeast Missouri by a final margin of 64-61.
With the win and an Eastern Illinois loss, the Skyhawks (13-14, 10-6 OVC) moved into a tie for second place in the league standings with two games remaining in the regular season. UT Martin also put a bow on its road slate, finishing conference play with a 7-2 record in enemy territory, while sweeping the season series against Southeast Missouri.
The game featured a back-and-forth narrative with the lead changing hands 11 times while SEMO held the game's advantage for 23 minutes of action. UT Martin continued to fight however, closing the first half on a 15-3 run to take a five-point lead into halftime while also outscoring the Redhawks by eight in the fourth quarter.
Along with the lead changes, the contest was tied with 16 seconds to play following a bucket by Kiyley Flowers to keep the Redhawks in the game. The Skyhawks did not wilt however as Kenley McCarn and Lexi Rubel combined to knock down five free throws in the final seconds to lift the visitors to a three-point win.
On the shoulders of her clutch free throws down the stretch, McCarn led all scorers with 24 points while adding five rebounds, two assists and two steals in the win. Sophomore forward Anaya Brown also had yet another strong performance as she tallied her eighth double-double of the season with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Also contributing double figures in the scoring column was Josie Storey (12 points, four three-pointers) and Norah Clark (10 points).
Southeast Missouri (8-19, 5-11 OVC) saw its path to an OVC Basketball Championship take a hit with the loss on Senior Night as they cling to hopes for a top-eight seed. The Redhawks had three players reach double figures in the setback with Indiya Bowen pacing the squad with 13 points off the bench while Alecia Doyle (12 points) and Jaliyah Green (10 points) also eclipsed double-digits.