THURSDAY'S SCORES
*@Morehead State 69, SIUE 66
*@Southern Indiana 70, Eastern Illinois 60
*@Lindenwood 81, Tennessee State 73 2OT
*Little Rock 50, @Western Illinois 41
*Tennessee Tech 76, @Southeast Missouri 66
MOREHEAD STATE 69, SIUE 66
MOREHEAD, Ky. - After battling to the final horn, the Morehead State women's basketball team took down SIUE 69-66 in a close contest at Johnson Arena Thursday night.
Veronica Charles chipped in with 16 points and five assists. Blessing King tacked on seven points to her 11-rebound game for the Eagles (12-10, 7-4 OVC), while Katie Novik helped out with eight points and eight rebounds. Matilda Soderlund hit some big shots off the bench, tallying 14 points in her first double figure scoring game since December.
King pulled down three offensive rebounds to pace an offense that racked up second chance opportunities for Morehead State, grabbing 13 boards and turning them into 10 second chance points.
The Morehead State defense held SIU-Edwardsville shooters to just 34.9 percent from the field.
After playing to an 8-8 tie early in the game, Morehead State went on a 7-0 run with 5:09 left in the first quarter, culminating in a bucket from Matilda Soderlund, to take a 15-8 lead. The Eagles then maintained that lead and entered the quarter break with a 25-18 advantage. Morehead State relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down four shots to account for 12 of its 25 points.
The Eagles maintained their lead in the game's second frame and entered halftime with a 41-35 edge. Morehead State was strong from deep in the period, knocking down three three-point shots to account for nine of its 16 points.
After intermission, Morehead State added to its advantage and owned a 55-45 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Morehead State played well near the basket, scoring eight of its 14 points in the paint.
The Eagles then held on for the victory in the fourth quarter. Morehead State got a boost from its bench in the period, with non-starters scoring four of its 14 total points.
SOUTHERN INDIANA 70, EASTERN ILLINOIS 60
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball bounced back into the win column Thursday night with a 70-60 victory against Eastern Illinois University in the annual Play4Kay pink game at Screaming Eagles Arena.
The Screaming Eagles picked up their 15th win of the season against the Panthers, improving to 15-6 overall and 10-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference. USI maintained its first-place lead at 2.5 games going into Saturday's slate of contests. The win was also Southern Indiana's first all time against Eastern Illinois, who had won the four previous meetings. Eastern Illinois, who sought to keep pace with the top half of the conference, dropped to 9-15 this season with a 6-5 mark in the OVC.
Southern Indiana found quick success in the paint after a competitive start with both teams looking for opportunities early in the shot clock. The Screaming Eagles scored 10 of their first 13 points down inside, as USI led 13-9 at the 4:30 mark of the opening quarter. Freshman forward Chloe Gannon (Manchester, Tennessee) led the Eagles' early presence in the post with six first-quarter points, connecting on her first three shot attempts. Southern Indiana led 19-16 through the first 10 minutes of action.
The tempo settled to start the second period, as each side exchanged baskets in the first four minutes. With just under six minutes left in the first half, Eastern Illinois tied the game at 23, starting an 8-0 run for the Panthers over the next three minutes. Senior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana) snapped the drought for USI with a hoop inside at the four-minute mark. Raley reached six points in the game with the made layup, joining Gannon and fellow senior forward Madi Webb (Bedford, Indiana) with six points each. After Southern Indiana brought the game to within one possession in the last 90 seconds of the second quarter, Eastern Illinois converted a pair of trips to the free-throw line late to take a 36-30 advantage into halftime.
Coming out of the break, Raley knocked down a layup and a three-pointer within the first two minutes of the second half to cross into double figures scoring and to bring Southern Indiana within one possession once again, 40-37. The Panthers responded by holding onto a 45-37 lead at the halfway point of the third quarter. After USI was held scoreless for over four minutes, freshman guard Triniti Ralston (Louisville, Kentucky) canned a right-wing triple to end the scoreless drought. The Eagles organized an 8-0 run to knot the game up at 45 going to the last minute of the third frame. The contest was a two-point difference, 49-47 EIU, heading to the final stanza.
The Screaming Eagles jumped out quickly to begin the fourth quarter. Junior guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) stuck back-to-back shots through the bottom of the net in addition to consecutive makes by Ralston and Raley to push USI ahead, 55-50. The two conversions by Shafford put the junior in double figures with Raley in the scoring column. With seven minutes on the clock, Raley capitalized on a three-point play to add to Southern Indiana's run, which eventually stretched to a 13-0 span. Webb, who also reached double figures in the fourth quarter, joined Raley in leading USI to a double-digit lead in the middle of the period. The game was an eight-point contest, 66-58 USI, going into the final minute before Southern Indiana sealed the win with four made free throws.
The Screaming Eagles were 28-58 for 48 percent from the field in the game, hitting three treys in addition to going 11-13 for nearly 85 percent at the charity stripe. USI outrebounded EIU by five, 43-38, and Southern Indiana outscored Eastern Illinois 15-6 on the fast break and 40-22 in the paint. Individually, Raley tied a season-high 22 points with 12 rebounds toward her fourth double-double of the season. Shafford also finished with a double-double, tallying 13 points and 10 boards for her sixth double-double this season. Webb posted 15 points on Thursday.
The Panthers were held to 31 percent shooting (21-67) by USI. Eastern Illinois made six threes and went 12-17 for nearly 71 percent at the foul line. EIU had three players in double figures with junior forward Macy McGlone pacing the squad with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
LINDENWOOD 81, TENNESSEE STATE 73 2OT
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Lindenwood women's basketball team (6-15, 4-7 OVC) outlasted Tennessee State (7-14, 4-8 OVC) 81- 73 in double overtime,
It was a slow start offensively for the Lions as they trailed 8-0 with 4:07 remaining in the opening quarter. Lindenwood closed the frame on an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 10-8 after one.
The black and gold scored the first four points of the second quarter, which capped off a 12-0 run to give Lindenwood its first lead at 12-10. During the stretch, the Lions went 6-6 from the field, while Mykayla Cunningham and Alyssa Nielsen had four points apiece. Tennessee State responded with an 8-0 run of its own to go up 18-12 with just under six minutes to go in the half. The Tigers continued to maintain a slight advantage throughout the half and would hold a 25-20 advantage at the break.
An early and-one from Justis Odom made the score 29-25 early in the third quarter. The frame continued with the Tigers holding a two-possession lead. With the score 34-28, Lindenwood went on a 9-2 run capped off by a Mya Skoff tough finish to give the Lions a 37-36 advantage with 2:03 remaining in the period. Lindenwood used its defense to get back in the game, forcing eight turnovers and would hold a slim 39-38 lead heading to the fourth
Lindenwood scored the first three points of the final frame to go up 42-38. The Tigers responded with a 5-0 run to regain a 43-42 advantage with 7:34 remaining. The two teams went back and forth throughout the fourth trading leads. The game was tied 51-51 with 11 seconds left. Out of a timeout, Makayla Wallace had a good look, but it fell off the rim and we needed overtime.
The two teams traded buckets to begin the extra session. On the next offensive trip for the Lions, Wallace drilled a big three to put Lindenwood ahead 56-53 with just over two minutes remaining. The Lions maintained a slight advantage in overtime until the Tigers drilled the tying three with 11 seconds left to tie the game, 62-62. Lindenwood once again had a look to end it, but it fell short.
The Lions started double overtime with a 7-0 run, capped off by a Mya Skoff three to take a 69-62 lead with 3:24 remaining. The Lions held onto its lead throughout the second extra session. Skoff finished with nine points in the second overtime and Lindenwood was able to close the game out after going 10-13 from the line and earn a 81-73 victory.
LITTLE ROCK 50, WESTERN ILLINOIS 41
MACOMB, Ill. - The Little Rock women's basketball team resorted to a tried-and-true tactic to secure a road conference win Thursday night – defense. The Trojans held Western Illinois to just four points in the fourth period and 24 percent shooting for the night on the way to a 50-41 victory at Western Hall.
Little Rock (9-14 overall, 8-4) regained sole possession of second place in the OVC while the host Leathernecks (15-7, 6-5) lost for just the second time on their home floor. Western Illinois managed to make just 12-of-50 shots, including a second quarter where they were 0-for-14, getting all six of their points in the period at the free throw line. In the fourth, the Leathernecks were just 2-of-15 from the floor.
Faith Lee and Jordan Holman each had 10 points to lead the Trojans, while Leilani Wimbish-Gay and Jaiyah Harris-Smith added eight apiece. Harris-Smith also finished with six rebounds and six assists. Jayla Brooks and Sha'Nequa Henry each had five rebounds while Henry came up with five steals to help Little Rock force 19 turnovers.
Little Rock opened with just six points in the first period as both teams struggled to put points on the board, slugging their way to a 21-19 lead for the Leathernecks at halftime. Both teams turned it up a notch in the third – combining for 33 points – while Western Illinois managed to take a 37-36 lead into the final frame. The Leathernecks had more turnovers (4) than shots made (2) in the final 10 minutes.
TENNESSEE TECH 76, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 66
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Peyton Carter surpassed her previous career high in scoring before the first half had ended. She didn't even miss a shot in the first half as she paced the Tennessee Tech women's team against Southeast Missouri on Thursday night.
Her output in the first 20 minutes, along with double-digit nights for Maaliya Owens and Anna Walker, allowed the Golden Eagles to take a 76-66 victory over the Redhawks.
Leading by as many as 23 points midway through the third quarter, Tech (10-12, 5-6 Ohio Valley Conference) had to hold off a furious comeback from SEMO as the Redhawks cut the game back to within four points with 5:03 remaining in the contest. However, the Golden Eagles were able to stave off SEMO in the remainder, holding them to just three points the rest of the way.
Carter's career night started off with a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter, then drained three more in the second. In the first 20 minutes of the game, she was 6-for-6 from the field and 5-for-5 from 3-point range to score 17 points in the half. She ended the game with 19 points and seven rebounds, while also dishing out six assists. Reagan Hurst also had seven dimes as the duo combined for 13 of Tech's 19 assists.
Owens picked up her first career double-double as she scored 18 points and pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds. Walker scored 14 points on an efficient 6-for-8 shooting with three boards.
As a team, Tech knocked down nine 3-pointers and shot 44.1 percent from the field for the game.
The Golden Eagles outscored SEMO 17-12 in the first quarter with both teams hovering around 33-percent shooting. Tech took advantage of 10 SEMO first-half turnovers, converting into 10 points, then used the offensive glass to create 14 points.
As the Golden Eagles extended their lead by outscoring the Redhawks 28-21 in the second quarter, both teams shot over 60-percent from the field, but the difference came as Tech was able to create seven more shots and making four of those. Carter's 11 points in the quarter paced the Golden Eagles.
Walker led Tech in the third quarter with a 10-spot on 4-for-5 shooting, but Alecia Doyle started to get the Redhawks back into the game as she dropped 12 points on 5-for-10 shooting in the period. Her effort continued into the fourth quarter as she scored 12 more points of SEMO's 16 in the last 10 minutes on 4-for-5 shooting and 3-for-4 at the line.
The Redhawks cooled off, allowing Tech to score the final nine points of the game and preserve the win.
Doyle ended the game as SEMO's only double-digit scorer, collecting 31 points on 12-of-23 shooting, while Jaliyah Green scored nine points.