TENNESSEE TECH 61, LITTLE ROCK 57
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Reghan Grimes stood behind the arc. She was cool, collected.
Just 45 seconds earlier, Little Rock had retaken the lead in a game that was tilting back and forth. The home Trojans then had just missed a jump shot in the paint that could have extended their lead, but Chloe Larry came up with the rebound.
As the seconds ticked away down to 27, Grimes took the pass. She set up and it seemed like she had all the time in the world. As she fired, the ball's arc went perfectly into the net. Tennessee Tech was back on top by two points.
However, Little Rock wasn't going down without a fight. Jordan Holman went in for a layup to knot the game once more at 57-all. With 11 seconds left, overtime was looking very much a possibility.
The Golden Eagles had the ball and the opportunity to set up a last-ditch shot. Grimes, once more in possession, leaned into the lane for a driving layup, but was met by Holman with 1.7 seconds left on the clock. The referees called the foul – a call that also led to a technical against the Little Rock bench.
Grimes missed the first, but she only needed the second to put the Golden Eagles on top. Laughing off the first miss, the junior didn't miss the second and Tech was back on top.
Peyton Carter was the designated shooter for the technical free throws and she sank both of them, extending Tech's lead to three. With possession of the ball after the technical, Tech quickly saw Taris Thornton put at the line with Little Rock trying to get the ball back for one last try.
Instead, Thornton hit the front end of the pair, sealing what became a 61-57 final margin.
With that, Tech improved to 19-5 on the season, 13-2 in the Ohio Valley, and collected its 10th win in a row – one win shy of tying the longest streak in the Kim Rosamond era with 11 straight in 2019-20 and the fifth longest in program history. The win also gives the Golden Eagles its first-ever victory at Little Rock in its third visit to Jack Stephens Arena.
The Golden Eagles also remain in the tie at the top of the OVC standings after Lindenwood defeated Morehead State 68-61 on Thursday.
So how tight was the game in Little Rock? There were nine ties in the game and seven lead changes. Both teams led the game for significant amount of time and nearly equaled, but the Trojans held an 18:21 to 15:16 advantage in that stat.
Fouls were definitely a factor as the two teams combined for 43 fouls – 24 for the Trojans and 19 for the Golden Eagles. Tech was able to avoid any disqualifications, but the Trojans lost leading scorers Sug Williams and Holman with their fifth fouls. Tech was 17-for-24 at the line and Little Rock 16-for-19.
The Golden Eagles saw an eight-point lead disappear into the second quarter as the Trojans went on a 10-0 run and outscore Tech 20-12 in the period for a 32-28 halftime lead. The Golden Eagles inched closer in the third but still trailed 44-41 after three. Tech did outscore the Trojans 20-13 in a finale that saw five ties and five lead changes.
Peyton Carter scored eight points in the final 10 minutes, including 4-for-5 at the free-throw line. Tech was 7-for-11 at the stripe in the quarter, while Little Rock was 4-for-5. The Trojans turned the ball over six times in the fourth, leading to eight points.
Tech was 6-for-12 shooting in the fourth, while Little Rock was 4-for-10.
Grimes led Tech in scoring with 17 points, knocking down six of her eight shot attempts, including 2-for-3 from long-range. She was also 3-for-4 at the stripe, while also collecting seven rebounds, a steal and a block.
Larry scored 13 points with six boards, an assist and a steal, while Peyton Carter had 12 points with three rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Williams led Little Rock (13-12, 11-5 OVC) with 15 points and 12 boards for the double-double, while Holman had 14 points and Emerald Parker 12.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 69, TENNESSEE STATE 49
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois used a key third quarter run to extend a three-point halftime advantage to a more comfortable lead late in the game as the Panthers picked up a 69-49 win over Tennessee State on Thursday night at Groniger Arena.
EIU led 30-27 at the half as Saniah Parker kept the Lady Tigers close with three three-pointers in the second half as she led TSU with 13 points. TSU was 5-of-14 from 3-point range in the opening half but closed just 1-of-6 from outside.
EIU seemed to heat up from outside the arc in the second half knocking down three triples in the third quarter and two more in the fourth. Tiny Lewis led EIU with 21 points going 4-of-7 from 3-point range.
TSU tied the game at 33-33 with 5:52 to play in the third quarter as Aaniya Webb knocked down a close-range jumper.
Lewis answered with a four-point play on the next possession sparking a 14-0 run that Lewis closed with a jumper with 2:49 to play in the quarter. Ella Lune, Grace Cox and Lyric Johnson all scored for EIU during the extended run.
EIU had 42 points scored off the bench on a night when the Panthers lost starting point guard Kiyley Flowers for the night just one minute into the contest and Macy McGlone was saddled by foul trouble finishing with just six points.
Lalani Ellis scored ten off the bench with Alex Rouse scoring 14 in the starting line-up. EIU improved to 15-9 overall, 12-3 in the OVC.
Webb closed out the TSU double figure scorers with 12 points. The Lady Tigers fell to 7-18 overall, 3-12 in the OVC.
LINDENWOOD 68, MOREHEAD STATE 61
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Lindenwood women's basketball (17-7, 13-2 OVC) pushes their win streak to eight games after defeating Morehead State (8-17, 3-12 OVC) by a final score of 68-61 at home inside Hyland Arena. The Lions now have their longest win streak in program history at eight games, and the longest since the 2018-19 season when they had seven in a row.
Mya Skoff tied her career-high with 20 points after shooting 7-13 from the field, making three threes along the way. She was one of three Lindenwood Lions to draw six fouls against Morehead State. Skoff also led the team in minutes played with just over 34.
Justis Odom and
Brooke Coffey both had 11 points for the Lions. Odom only shot 3-5 from the floor but went to the line seven times making five. She was a rebound shy of a double-double after grabbing a team-high nine rebounds. Coffey shot 4-7 from the floor grabbing four boards as well while dishing out four assists. She has had at least four assists in three straight games.
As a team, Lindenwood shot 45.8% from the floor and 6-17 from three. They also went to the foul line 24 times making 18 of them. Morehead State was held to 40.9% from the floor while going 3-15 from three. The Lions assisted on 17 of their 27 made field-goals while MSU had 12.
The Eagles just edged the Lions on the glass 35-34 while adding 11 rebounds to Lindenwood's five. Morehead State's defense caused LU to turn the ball over 21 times, scoring 14 points off of those. Lindenwood's defense created 16 turnovers coring 18 points.
It was a back-and-forth first six minutes of the ball game as they two teams were tied with 4:24 left in the first quarter. Lindenwood's offense got a spark late in the quarter to go on a 13-2 run as they led 24-12 after the first 10 minutes. LU shot 7-10 from the field in the first, led by
Gracy Wernli with seven points.
Morehead State responded with a 8-0 run to start the second quarter as the cut Lindenwood's lead to three points. Again Lindenwood's offense was able to respond with a 14-2 run as they entered halftime with a38-23 lead. Wernli led the way with eight points while Coffey added seven. LU shot 47.8% from the field in the first half while MSU was held to 30.3%.
Lindenwood started the third quarter just 1-4 from the field as Morehead State capitalized on five LU turnovers to go on a 10-2 run, cutting the lead to 40-33 with 4:58 left in the quarter. LU was held to just seven third quarter points as they went into the fourth leading 45-41.
Skoff took control in the fourth quarter scoring 11 of her 20 points in the final 10 minutes of the game. She shot a perfect 4-4 from the field to end the game as LU out-scored the Eagles 23-20 in the final frame. MSU got it to as close as four points with 6:54 remaining, but the Lions out-lasted the Eagles after shooting 9-12 in the final quarter.
This marks their 8th straight win of the season which is the 24th longest active win streak in the country. They are still tied with Tennessee Tech a-top the OVC with a 13-2 OVC record. Their 17 wins are also the most since the 2019-20 season.
UT MARTIN 77, SIUE 66
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - The University of Tennessee at Martin women's basketball team topped SIUE, 77-66, Thursday night at First Community Arena in Edwardsville. The win clinches the Skyhawks a spot in the 2025 Ohio Valley Conference Women's Basketball Championship. UT Martin has now qualified for the conference in each of head coach Kevin McMillan's 16 seasons at the helm.
The Skyhawks completed the season sweep of SIUE by leading for nearly 33 minutes Thursday night and led the Cougars by as many as 12. UT Martin finished the game shooting 43.3-percent from the floor and 41.7-percent from 3-point range where it was 10-for-24. The Skyhawks dished out 15 assists and tallied nine steals in the game, compared to just eight turnovers, and tied the Cougars on the glass with 36 rebounds each.
Kenley McCarn led four UT Martin players in double digits Thursday with 21, while Anaya Brown followed with 18 and a game-high six rebounds. McCarn has now eclipsed the 20-point mark five times this season with three of those performances coming in the last five games. Shae Littleford added 13 points for the Skyhawk, while Daejah Richmond finished the night with 10 points and game-highs of six rebounds and six assists.
SOUTHERN INDIANA 76, WESTERN ILLINOIS 70
MACOMB, Ill. - University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball secured its berth in the 2024-25 Ohio Valley Conference Women's Basketball Championship Tournament Thursday evening after earning a hard-fought 76-70 win on the road at Western Illinois University.
Southern Indiana clinched its second consecutive berth into the OVC tournament and will continue to work toward defending its OVC championship from last season come early March. USI also locked up its second win in a row and moved back to 10 games over .500 on Thursday behind a career-high 24 points from graduate forward Madi Webb. The Screaming Eagles improved to 18-8 overall and 10-5 in the OVC, remaining in fifth place in the conference. Western Illinois dropped to 12-12 on the season with a 6-9 conference record.
In a tight contest out of the gates, Southern Indiana found early success inside through the play of graduate forward Meredith Raley and sophomore forward Chloe Gannon. Each scored a pair of field goals in the early minutes of the opening quarter. USI's trap defense also had an early presence, forcing Western Illinois into five first-quarter turnovers. Despite some outside shooting woes with an 0-6 start from three, the Screaming Eagles continued to find offense in the paint. Webb matched Raley and Gannon with two conversions under the basket. Southern Indiana led 18-14 after the first 10 minutes.
USI continued attacking the post with Webb and Raley combining to score the Eagles' first three buckets in the second period. At the 7:20 mark of the second, Southern Indiana increased its lead to eight, 27-19, after getting its first three-point make from junior guard Ali Saunders. Webb continued to have a strong first half, reaching double digits for the game and giving USI a 12-point, 33-21 advantage with four minutes left in the first half. Webb totaled 14 first-half points. Western Illinois ended the first half with a small run, cutting USI's lead in half down to six, 38-32, at the break.
Western Illinois scored seven straight points out of halftime to take the lead before Southern Indiana scored its first second-half points on a basket from Gannon at the 6:32 mark of the third quarter. The Leathernecks tallied eight consecutive points after the Gannon basket to go ahead by seven, 47-40. Later in the period, Raley earned a three-point play and scored once more to hit double figures in the game and bring USI back within one possession with under three minutes left in the third. Webb resumed her solid performance with a pair of buckets late in the frame to help knot the game at 54 going into the fourth quarter.
The two sides went back and forth into the middle of the fourth quarter. Even when Western Illinois grabbed a four-point lead on a triple near the seven-minute mark of the fourth, Southern Indiana answered with a three-point of its own. Later, Webb tied the game at 66 and surpassed 20 points for the game at the midway point of the fourth quarter. After the Leathernecks went up by four, USI responded and went ahead 71-70 on a go-ahead trey from sophomore guard Triniti Ralston with two minutes remaining, as the Screaming Eagles sealed the win at the free-throw line.
Southern Indiana shot over 42 percent (29-68) from the floor and just above 23 percent (4-17) from three-point range. USI went for 70 percent (14-20) at the free-throw stripe. The Eagles had a strong game on the glass, outrebounding Western Illinois 47-40. USI also outscored the Leathernecks 46-20 in the paint. The Screaming Eagles did a good job taking care of the basketball, recording a season-low eight turnovers.
Webb led USI and tied a game-high 24 points on 10-19 shooting in setting her new career mark. Raley posted her seventh career double-double and first of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Senior guard Vanessa Shafford tallied 14 points and pulled down nine boards.
Western Illinois was held to 39.4 percent (26-66) shooting overall but did connect for 37 percent (10-27) from three. The Leathernecks were 8-14 for 57 percent at the foul line. Sophomore guard Raegan McCowan led four Leathernecks in double figures, tying a game-high 24 points.