Ohio Valley Conference

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - A strong fourth quarter propelled the Little Rock women's basketball team to a 69-59 win against Morehead State Thursday afternoon in a game that was pushed up to late morning because of heavy snow in the forecast. The win is the third-straight Ohio Valley Conference triumph for the Trojans. 
 
Senior forward Jordan Holman played all 40 minutes for Little Rock (6-8, 4-1) scoring a season-high 20 points with seven rebounds.

Faith Lee pumped in 17 points and dished out 2 assists. Sug Williams chipped in 15 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds. 
 
The Trojans led for much of the game taking a 32-26 lead at halftime. They began the final quarter up 54-47 when Lee scored off a turnover with four seconds left.  Little Rock opened the game up more early in the fourth quarter when it scored four unanswered points to go up 58-47 on a turnaround jumper by Emerald Parker with 9:06 left in the game. The 11-point margin was the biggest of the contest at that point and equaled again a few minutes later when Holman drilled a three-pointer. 
 
Reserve guard Brenna Burk gave Little Rock its biggest lead of the game, 13, when she canned a three-pointer with 4:22 left as she briefly took the floor while Lee recovered from a hard fall.
 
Morehead State couldn't cut the lead to less than double digits, and the Trojans cruised to the easy win.
 
The Eagles drop to 6-9, overall, and 1-4 in the OVC.

EASTERN ILLINOIS 71, TENNESSEE TECH 40
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois opened a ten point lead in the first quarter and the Panthers never looked back as they dominated in a 71-40 win over Tennessee Tech on Thursday night at Groniger Arena.
 
EIU remained unbeaten in OVC play improving to 6-0 and 9-6 overall.  TTU fell to 9-5 overall, 3-2 in the OVC.
 
Macy McGlone added another double-double to her season total with 16 points and 11 rebounds as one of two Panthers in double figures.  The senior added five blocks and five assists to an impressive stat line.
 
After shooting 47 percent in the opening quarter, EIU shot 53 percent or better the remainder of the game to finish at 56.4 percent including 5-of-10 from 3-point range.
 
EIU held the Golden Eagles to just 28.6 percent shooting for the night and 1-of-10 from 3-point range.   The game saw two ties between the teams with TTU never taking the lead in the contest.
 
Kiyley Flowers pushed the lead to double figures with 1:31 to play in the opening quarter.  Flowers finished as the other EIU player in double figures with ten points adding five steals and four assists.
 
Tennessee Tech cut the lead back down to single digits one time early in the second quarter on free throws by Chloe Larry but never threatened after that.  EIU's biggest lead came late in the fourth quarter on a 3-pointer by Adriana Arroyo with 2:33 to play.
 
Former Panther Taris Thornton led TTU with 13 points, the only Golden Eagles player in double figures.

UT MARTIN 73, WESTERN ILLINIOS 60
DEKALB, Ill. - Anaya Brown had season-highs of 26 points and 12 rebounds for the 12th double-double of her career, as the University of Tennessee at Martin women's basketball team picked up a key Ohio Valley Conference road win over Western Illinois Thursday night, 73-60, at Western Hall in Macomb.

The Skyhawks, who led by as many as 19 in the game, saw four players reach double figures in the game, accounting for 60 of the team's 73 points. Daejah Richmond came off the bench to follow Brown with 13 points, while Norah Clark added a season-high 11 and Shae Littleford chipped in with 10.

On the glass, UT Martin outrebounded its opponent for the fifth time this season and improved to 4-1 on the year when they do so. Kenley McCarn tied her career-high by following Brown with eight boards and Lexi Rubel added six to the tally, giving the Skyhawks 41 on the night compared to 35 by the Leathernecks.

The Skyhawks appeared sloppy out of the gate committing six turnovers in the first quarter, but they were able to tidy up their control of ball and averaged just three turnovers over the next three quarters. Meanwhile, Western Illinois committed 18 turnovers on the night, 11 of which were forced by UT Martin including a game high four from Richmond.

Brown finished out her stat line with a season-high three blocks, two steals and an assist. Littleford also had a well-rounded night with a season-high six assists and five rebounds and a steal.

LINDENWOOD 68, TENNESSEE STATE 54
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Lindenwood women's basketball (8-6, 4-1 OVC) picked up their fourth Ohio Valley Conference win of the season against Tennessee State (4-11, 0-5 OVC) on Thursday night inside Hyland Arena by a final score of 68-54. The Lions are currently in a tie for second place in the OVC after tonight's results.

Ellie Brueggemann was the leading scorer for Lindenwood after scoring 14-points on 5-9 shooting including four triples. As a team, Lindenwood shot 7-16 (43.8%) from three-point range and 22-46 (47.8%) from the floor. Their field-goal percentage was their highest since shooting 49.1% against Oral Roberts (11/25).

Brooke Coffey picked up her second double-double of the season on Thursday after scoring 10-points and pulling down 11-rebounds in the win. Coffey went 3-5 from the floor, including two three-pointers, and went 2-2 at the line. Justis Odom also had 10 points in the win and dished out a team-high four assists.

Lindenwood's bench gave the Lions a spark against the Lady Tigers as they provided 22 points. Alyssa Nielsen led the group with nine points while going 5-6 at the foul line. She also added three rebounds. Mykayla Cunningham also added six points, three rebounds and four assists in the win.

The Lions turned Tennessee State over 20 times on Thursday resulting in 19 points. Tennessee State's defense also forced Lindenwood into a season-high 24 turnovers. LU managed to assist on 14 of their 22 made field-goals as well. The Lions also went 17-23 at the foul line in the win, including going 7-10 during the third quarter.

Starting the game off, Lindenwood shot a perfect 4-4 from the field as they led 10-5 with 6:54 remaining in the first quarter. The Lions would end the half on a 13-7 run leading 23-12 after one quarter of play. Brueggemann had a team-high eight points after 10 minutes while LU shot 61.5% from the field.

The second quarter saw both teams struggle from the floor as the Lions' out-scored the Lady Tigers 14-6 in the period. Tennessee State was held to 2-18 (11.1%) shooting in the second quarter while LU shot 4-12 (33.3%). Lindenwood went into the locker room leading 37-18 after shooting 12-25 from the field and 9-11 from the foul line. TSU shot only 4-17 from three in the first half.

Tennessee State jumped out on a 9-6 run to begin the second half with 4:20 left in the third. With 3:16 left, XaiOnna Whitfield made a three-pointer to cut the lead to 11, the closest it had been since early in the first quarter. The Lions ended the quarter on a 8-3 run to push their lead back to 16 points at 53-47. 

Early on in the fourth quarter, Lindenwood had stretched their lead out to 24 points twice including after a layup by Nielsen with 3:31 remaining, but TSU still put the pressure on the Lions with their full court press. The Lady Tigers forced four turnovers under two minutes to play to cut the lead to 14, but it was not enough as the Lions improved to 8-6 on the season and 4-1 in OVC competition.

SOUTHERN INDIANA 93, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 69
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball got back on track Thursday night behind a career-high 29 points from graduate forward Meredith Raley to earn a 93-69 road victory against Southeast Missouri State University.
 
The road win did not come easy for the Screaming Eagles. Southern Indiana registered its largest comeback win of the season after trailing by 12 points late in the opening quarter. USI put together three strong quarters to finish the game to improve to 12-4 on the campaign and 4-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference, grouping the Eagles in a three-way tie for second in the league. Southeast Missouri dropped to 4-10 overall and 2-3 in the OVC.
 
Southern Indiana tallied the game's first four points out of the opening tip. However, Southeast Missouri answered with the next six. Neither side allowed easy looks in the early going, leading to a slow start offensively. With three minutes left in the first, SEMO pulled ahead by six, 13-7. USI closed the gap before the Redhawks caught fire from three-point range. An 8-2 run for SEMO in the last two minutes of the first led to a 24-14 lead for the Redhawks after the opening frame.
 
Junior guard Ali Saunders gave the Screaming Eagles an early second-quarter spark, knocking down a couple of jumpers in the first two minutes to help draw USI back within six, 27-21. Raley drilled a three later in the period to make it a four-point game, 33-29, in favor of Southeast Missouri. Trailing by nine halfway in the second quarter, USI turned the tides. The Screaming Eagles went on a 15-0 run in the first half's final minutes and held SEMO without a field goal in the final five minutes. Saunders and Raley reached double figures before the intermission, as USI carried a 44-40 lead into halftime.
 
The Screaming Eagles picked up where they left off from the first half with a strong start to the second half. Southern Indiana stretched its lead in the third quarter up to 13, 59-46, with 6:32 on the clock when senior guard Vanessa Shafford cashed in her fourth trey of the contest to tie Stephanie Carpenter's (2010-14) program record of 194 career three-pointers made. Down the stretch of the third period, USI leaned on its post play. Raley remained effective inside and reached the 20-point mark for the third time this season. Sophomore forward Amiyah Buchanan made her return to SEMO where she spent her freshman season last year. Buchanan converted a pair of inside buckets to help increase Southern Indiana's lead to 19, 73-54, going to the fourth quarter.
 
Buchanan continued to make her presence felt at her old stomping grounds with a basket to push USI's lead to 20 and blocking a shot on the perimeter early in the fourth quarter. With six minutes left in the game, Raley added to her big outing with a layup to extend Southern Indiana's margin to 25, 85-60. A little over a minute later, Raley set her new career high on a layup, as USI led 89-60. Southern Indiana closed out the win from there.
 
Southern Indiana finished the game shooting over 60 percent overall for the first time since USI shot above 65 percent at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock last February. On Thursday, USI shot for 63 percent (35-56) against the Redhawks with a 45 percent clip from three (9-20). The Eagles were 14-19 for 74 percent at the foul line. USI outrebounded SEMO, 25-22, and the Screaming Eagles' defense turned 22 SEMO turnovers into 31 points. USI also had 48 points in the paint.
 
Raley's career-best 29 points, which surpassed her previous mark of 27 that she set at Southeast Missouri two seasons ago, led all scorers in Thursday's game. Raley was 12-16 shooting in 32 minutes of action. Shafford was next in scoring for USI with 18 points while adding six rebounds and five assists in the contest. Shafford was 7-9 from the floor and 4-6 from three, as Shafford's next made three will set a new program career record for three-pointers made. Saunders dropped 14 points with six assists and sophomore guard Triniti Ralston added 11 points.
 
After a hot start for Southeast Missouri, the Redhawks were limited to 41 percent shooting (24-58) and 41 percent from three (9-22). SEMO went for 86 percent (12-14) at the charity stripe. The Redhawks had three double-digit scorers including with 20-plus points. Senior guard Skylar Barnes had a team-high 21 points with freshman guard Zoe Best right behind at 20 points for the game.