Ohio Valley Conference

MOREHEAD, Ky. - Western Illinois Women's Basketball (9-7, 3-4 OVC) delivered a statement victory over Morehead State (7-10, 2-5 OVC), cruising to a 92-63 win at Johnson Arena in Morehead, KY. The Leathernecks showcased their depth, efficiency, and dominance in a game that saw them lead for most of the game, outscoring the Eagles in every quarter.

The Leathernecks established their dominance early, scoring 31 points in the first quarter while holding Morehead State to just 15. WIU's inside presence was unrelenting, tallying 48 points in the paint, and their rebounding prowess was evident with a 45-29 edge on the glass. Western Illinois also turned defense into offense, scoring 12 points off turnovers while limiting their own mistakes with just 15 turnovers compared to Morehead State's 11.

Raegan McCowan lead all scorers tying her season-high scoring 35 points on an efficient 15-of-21 shooting. She also pulled down 11 rebounds, recording her sixth double-double of the season. McCowan was a force both inside and on the perimeter, demonstrating her versatility by hitting a 3-pointer and going a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.

Mallory McDermott chipped in 14 points, including three 3-pointers, while contributing key plays in transition. Addi Brownfield also filled the stat sheet with 14 points, nine assists, and five rebounds, serving as the team's engine on offense. Mia Nicastro rounded out the balanced scoring with 15 points and nine rebounds, providing an additional interior presence that Morehead State struggled to contain.

Western Illinois' defense was equally impactful, limiting Morehead State to just 37% shooting from the field. The Eagles' offense was led by Harley Paynter, who scored 19 points, but the rest of the team struggled to find a rhythm against the Leathernecks' aggressive defense.

The Leathernecks' 24 team assists highlighted their unselfish play and offensive cohesion. With the win, the Leathernecks move closer to .500 in conference play.

EASTERN ILLINOIS 51, UT MARTIN 48
MARTIN, Tenn. - Eastern Illinois contested a last second 3-pointer by UT Martin that came up short as the Panthers remained unbeaten in the Ohio Valley Conference with a 51-48 win on Thursday night at the Elam Center.

EIU moved to 10-6 overall, 7-0 in the OVC while UTM fell to 6-12 overall, 3-4 in the OVC.

EIU jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the opening quarter only to see UT Martin use an 8-0 run to take control and hold the lead through the opening moments of the fourth quarter.

The Skyhawks led 30-25 at the half with EIU knotting the score at 36-36 after three quarters of play.

Lalani Ellis gave the Panthers the lead with a jumper in the lane with 8:19 to play sparking a key 7-0 run by EIU.

Macy McGlone scored the final four points of the run as she posted her 39th career double-double with 17 points and 16 rebounds. 

Shae Littleford snapped the Panthers run with a three-point play as she scored 11 points, one of two Skyhawks in double figures.  Anaya Brown led UTM with 13 points.

The Skyhawks cut the margin to three with 39 seconds left on a 3-pointer by Lexi Rubel.  EIU turned the ball over on its next possession and had its defense hold up and force a contested three that came up short at the buzzer.

Sydney-James Desroches had ten points in the opening half to keep the Panthers in the game in the first twenty minutes of action.  EIU finished with a 35-28 rebound advantage.

SOUTHERN INDIANA 70, LINDENWOOD 66
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball returned home to Liberty Arena on Thursday and delivered a strong, gutsy win in front of the home crowd with a 70-66 victory against Lindenwood University.
 
The hearty fight and late-game execution helped Southern Indiana improve to 13-5 on the season and 5-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference. USI ended the night in a three-way tie for third in the conference standings. Lindenwood dropped to 9-7 overall and 5-2 in OVC play.
 
Lindenwood jumped out to a 7-2 lead, as it took nearly four minutes before Southern Indiana tallied its first bucket from the floor, courtesy of graduate forward Madi Webb. Webb wound up scoring USI's first six points of the contest. Coming off her three-point record-setting day last Sunday, senior guard Vanessa Shafford canned her first three to tie the game at 13 with 2:37 left in the opening quarter. USI continued to attack the hoop to take a 19-17 lead to the second period.
 
A triple from sophomore guard Sophia Loden early in the second quarter pushed the Screaming Eagles ahead by five, 22-17. Lindenwood retook the lead with seven minutes remaining in the first half, 27-24, to force Southern Indiana into a timeout. Later in the frame, Webb continued her strong start to help propel USI back ahead, 30-29. Webb tallied 12 first-half points. However, the Lions finished the first half on an 11-3 run to take a 40-33 halftime lead.
 
After a couple of quick baskets from Southern Indiana to start the second half, Lindenwood pushed its advantage to its largest lead of nine, 46-37, two minutes into the third quarter. The combination of Webb and fellow graduate forward Meredith Raley got the Eagles going in the second half, helping cut into the deficit. Late in the third, Shafford converted a three-point play to bring USI back within one possession, 55-52, in the final 90 seconds of the quarter.
 
The back-and-forth battle continued in the first five minutes of the fourth stanza. Inside the five-minute mark, Shafford drew USI to within one before Webb put the Eagles in front, 62-61, seconds later. The game would even up three times over the next three minutes. Southern Indiana utilized a timeout in the final 40 seconds with the contest tied at 66. In the ensuing possession, Shafford splashed home the go-ahead triple with 18 seconds remaining to give the Screaming Eagles a three-point advantage. Shafford went on to hit a free throw and grab the final rebound to put the cherry on top of a big conference win for Southern Indiana.
 
USI shot for over 47 percent (26-55) in the game with four made threes. The Screaming Eagles were above 82 percent (14-17) at the free-throw stripe. The defense forced 20 turnovers, which led to 26 points for USI. Southern Indiana also had a 14-point advantage in the paint. Webb led all scorers with a season-high 18 points on 6-8 shooting and 6-6 at the foul line. Shafford posted 16 points with five boards and five assists. Raley recorded 15 points in the game.
 
Lindenwood shot 46 percent (23-50) from the floor and 44 percent (8-18) from beyond the arc. The Lions were over 85 percent (12-14) at the charity stripe. Lindenwood won the battle on the glass, 31-27. Four Lions finished in double figures, led by sophomore guard Gracy Wernli's 14 points.
 
The Screaming Eagles are back at Liberty Arena Saturday at 1 p.m. against Western Illinois University. The game can be seen with a subscription to ESPN+ and heard on The Spin 95.7 FM and WREF 97.7 FM.
 
Saturday is Military Appreciation Day, and tickets are free for veterans and their guests (limit to five per veteran) with proof of service. Plus, there will be free t-shirts for USI students while supplies last. Military Appreciation Day is sponsored by the USI Student Veteran Association.

TENNESSEE TECH 79, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 66
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - It was a milestone evening for the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team on Thursday night as the Golden Eagles claimed the program's 500th Ohio Valley Conference victory, topping Southeast Missouri 79-66 in the Hooper Eblen Center.
 
It's a milestone, especially in the era of conference realignment, that hasn't been reached by many teams and Tech is the first in the OVC to reach that level. The total only includes the regular-season OVC matchups as the postseason tournaments count only in overall record and not in conference records.
 
The Golden Eagles (11-5 overall, 5-2 OVC) were on fire early on, scoring 28 points on a scorching 12-for-18 (66.7 percent) from the field. The total was the most for Tech in a first quarter this season and the second-most in any quarter, trailing only the 29-point outburst in the third quarter against Western Illinois.
 
Tech then outscored SEMO 20-17 in the second quarter, continuing to shoot 50 percent in the stanza, for a 48-31 halftime lead. The Redhawks bumped things up in the second half, as they held the Golden Eagles to just seven field goals in the third and fourth quarters combined and 0-for-11 from 3-point range. Tech was 6-for-8 at the line in the third and 11-for-14 in the fourth out of its 15 total points in the final 10 minutes.
 
The Golden Eagles led by as many as 19 points midway through the third quarter, but SEMO was only able to cut the deficit down to eight with 2:01 remaining in the game before Tech scored the final five points of the contest to secure the final margin.
 
Tech ended the game with six players scoring in double figures. Anna Walker scored a season-high 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while Reghan Grimes, who was 5-for-6 from the field and 6-for-9 at the charity stripe, led the Golden Eagles with 16 points.
 
True freshman Chloe Larry scored 13 points on 3-for-6 shooting and 6-for-6 at the line, while also tying a season-high for assists with six and collecting a team-best seven rebounds. Taris Thornton also scored 13 points, while Keeley Carter picked up 11 points and Peyton Carter 10.
 
Tech finished the game shooting 50 percent from the field (25-for-50), while going 4-for-21 from long-range and 25-for-34 at the free-throw line, stemming from 28 fouls called against the Redhawks. The Golden Eagles were whistled for 18, sending SEMO to the line for 19 shots with 16 made.
 
After losing starter Da'Kariya Jackson to an injury in practice Thursday morning, the Redhawks (4-13, 2-6 OVC) got big performances from Ainaya Williams and Lexi McCully with the former collecting 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting and 8-for-10 at the line with nine rebounds. McCully had 21 points and five rebounds with a team-best five assists.

SIUE 76, TENNESSEE STATE 70 OT
NASHVILLE - SIUE claims their first conference win against Tennessee State in overtime. KK Rodriguez and Macy Silvey combined for 42 points to lead SIUE to a 76-70 win.
 
The Cougars improve to 3-13, and 1-6 in OVC. The Tigers fall to 4-13, 0-7 in OVC.
 
Rodriguez had her first double-double of the season putting up 21 points and 12 rebounds. This also marked her third 20-point game of the season. Silvey also put up 21, making 50 percent (5-10) of her shots from beyond the arc. This was Silvey's first 20-point game on the season. 
 
Ava Stoller also scored in the double digits having 12 points, Brianna Wooldridge followed with 10 points.
 
The Cougars took a 31-25 lead off a 14-0 run before halftime. TSU managed to tie the game after the break at 36-36 with 5:39 left in the third quarter. The Tigers managed to claim a one-point lead before Halle Smith knocked down a pair of free throws putting the Cougars back up with 4:59 left in the third.
 
SIUE kept their lead until the start of the Fourth when the Tigers managed to take a four-point lead. Molly Sheehan made a crucial three-pointer to tie the game at 50-50 with 5:51 left in the fourth.
 
TSU maintained a lead for the remainder of the fourth quarter before Jaiden Bryant banked a jumper tying the game at 66 pushing the Cougars into overtime.
 
Rodriguez was on her game making seven points in the overtime, along with a steal in the last 27 seconds that helped push the Cougars to their first Conference win of the season.