SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 52, Eastern Illinois 48
@SIUE 67, Tennessee Tech 62
@Lindenwood 91, Tennessee State 58
MOREHEAD STATE 52, EASTERN ILLINOIS 48
MOREHEAD, Ky. - On a frigid morning points were hard to come by as Morehead State battled a game Eastern Illinois team and came away with a 52-48 win Saturday in Johnson Arena.
Both teams struggled shooting the basketball. Morehead State finished hitting 16 of 53 from the floor (30%) and hit just two of their 19 three-point shots (11%). Eastern Illinois shot 16 of 57 from 28% and five of 27 (19%) from three-point range.
Morehead State (12-9, 7-3 OVC) was led by Laura Toffali with 22 points. She hit six of 11 from the floor and 10-12 from the free throw line. Kate Dike finished with 12 points. Marie Sepp finished with six points and posted a team highs 10 rebounds and a game-high five assists.
The Eagles took advantage of nine EIU turnovers to score 12 points in the first two quarters and led at the half 24-21. Toffali carried the offensive load for Morehead State with 10 first-half points.
EIU (3-18, 2-8 OVC) got their offense going in the fourth quarter, hitting six of 12 from the floor. MSU countered by hitting eight of 11 at the free throw line.
Eastern Illinois (3-18, 2-8 OVC) was led by Sydney-James Desroches and Ava Stoller with 16 points apiece. Descroches added 11 rebounds for her second double-double in the last three games.
SIUE 67, TENNESSEE TECH 62
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE women's basketball extended its winning streak Saturday with a 67-64 victory over Tennessee Tech, as four Cougars scored in double digits.
Syanne Mohamed turned in a standout performance, recording the first double-double of her career with 15 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Mohamed also contributed four assists, four blocks and two steals.
Lauren Miller led SIUE with 16 points shooting 6-12 from the field and 4-6 form the line while adding three rebounds and two assists. Kiyoko Proctor followed with 13 points shooting 5-12 form the field and adding four assists. Macy Silvey followed with 11 points, going 3-7, from beyond the arc.
The Cougars improved to 10-10 overall and 3-7 in conference play, while the Golden Eagles fell to 10-9 overall and 3-7 in OVC play.
The opening quarter featured a back-and-forth battle, with the teams tied twice and exchanging four lead changes. SIUE closed the quarter with momentum after Kendal George hit a three-point at the buzzer to give the Cougars a 15-9 advantage
SIUE maintained their lead through the remainder of the game. Silvey gave them a 12-point lead (53-41) with 8:37 remaining in the game after a three-pointer off a fastbreak. Mohamed knocked down a pair of free throws in the final seconds of the game to secure the win over TTU.
As a team SIUE made a season high 52 percent (25-48) of its shots from the field, they also made 73 percent (11-15) of their shots from the line.
TTU was led by Reagan Hurst with 17 points on 7-7 shooting from the line and 4-8 shooting from the field.
LINDENWOOD 91, TENNESSEE STATE 58
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Lindenwood women's basketball team (15-6, 7-3 OVC) used a big second half to defeat Tennessee State (3-16, 2-8 OVC), 91-58 on Saturday afternoon from Hyland Arena.
Tennessee State jumped out to an 8-2 lead, but a three pointer from Ellie Brueggemann a few minutes later tied the game at eight apiece. The Tigers grabbed a one-point advantage at 13-12 with just over three minutes to go in the opening frame, but Alyssa Nielsen drilled a three to put the Lions up 15-13. The Black and Gold extended their lead throughout the quarter and went up by six, 24-18 following a Brooke Coffey three just before the end of the frame. Coffey led the way eight points in the first.
Lindenwood grabbed a double-digit lead early in the second quarter at 28-18 following a layup by Aleshia Jones. Tennessee State got the deficit down to four, trailing 32-38 with just over three minutes to go. However, back-to-back threes from Coffey and Brueggemann pushed the advantage back to 10 and the Lions led 40-28 at the break. Coffey paced the Lions with 15 points across the first 20 minutes.
The Lions came out of the locker room hot, shooting 64 percent from the field in the third quarter. Lindenwood took its largest lead at the halfway point of the frame after a three by Mya Skoff put the Black and Gold ahead 56-35. It was one of four makes from beyond the arc in the quarter for Lindenwood. The Black and Gold led 65-42 after three behind 14 third quarter points from Aleshia Jones.
Lindenwood opened the fourth on a 14-2 run, capped off by a Brueggemann three that gave the Lions a 79-44 lead. The Black and Gold went on to win 91-58, holding the Tigers to 30 points in the second half and 34 percent shooting from the field.
For the game, Lindenwood knocked down 14 threes and shot 50 percent from the field and beyond the arc. The Lions also shot 85 percent from the line in the win.