NORFOLK, Va. - Freshman LaKiara Alexander delivered a career-high 22 points and 14 rebounds for her second double-double of the season as Tennessee State women's basketball battled Old Dominion throughout the afternoon before falling 88-78 Sunday at Chartway Arena.

The Tigers (1-2) turned in their highest-scoring performance against a Division I opponent this season, placing four players in double figures while shooting 46.9 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from beyond the arc. Tennessee State erupted for 31 points in the third quarter, shooting 70.6 percent from the floor during the period to remain within striking distance of the unbeaten Monarchs (3-0).

Alexander led Tennessee State with 22 points on 10-of-14 shooting, adding a game-high 14 rebounds, including six offensive boards. The freshman has now recorded double-doubles in two of her first three collegiate contests and has reached double figures in rebounding in all three games.

Sophomore Nandinkhusel Nyamjav added a career-high 18 points, shooting 5-of-7 from the field and a perfect 2-of-2 from 3-point range while collecting six rebounds. Junior Raegan Starks delivered her best performance in a Tennessee State uniform, finishing with 14 points and eight rebounds, connecting on two 3-pointers.

Junior Somah Kamara rounded out the Tigers' double-figure scorers with 12 points, four rebounds and two assists. Freshman Sherry Zheng orchestrated the offense with a career-high nine assists while contributing eight points.

Old Dominion opened the contest with a 12-3 advantage before Tennessee State settled into its offensive rhythm.

Alexander sparked the Tigers with a pair of baskets, while Starks contributed six first-quarter points to help close the gap. A 3-pointer from Melton with 1:16 remaining pulled Tennessee State within three at 17-14.

Nyamjav followed with two free throws before Alexander scored on a putback with four seconds remaining, completing the Tigers' comeback and sending the teams into the second quarter tied at 18.

Tennessee State carried its momentum into the second quarter as Alexander opened the period with a jumper to give the Tigers their first lead of the afternoon.

Starks followed with another basket, extending the advantage to 22-18 with 8:36 remaining.

After Old Dominion regained the lead, Alexander continued to produce inside, scoring four consecutive Tennessee State points to tie the contest at 26.

Kamara later connected on a 3-pointer off an assist from Zheng, evening the score at 29 with 2:58 remaining.

The Monarchs closed the half with four unanswered points to take a 33-29 advantage into the locker room.

Tennessee State delivered its most productive offensive quarter of the young season after halftime, scoring 31 points on 12-of-17 shooting.

Alexander opened the second half with another basket before Kamara and Starks contributed consecutive field goals to pull the Tigers within three.

A jumper from Alexander cut the deficit to 38-37 with 7:51 remaining, and Zheng followed with a layup to keep Tennessee State within one at 40-39.

Old Dominion responded with a perimeter shooting surge, but the Tigers refused to let the game slip away.

Nyamjav connected on a 3-pointer and added a pair of baskets, while Kamara contributed five points during a late-quarter push.

With less than two minutes remaining, Nyamjav converted a three-point play to bring Tennessee State within two at 59-57.

Starks then buried a 3-pointer with 24 seconds remaining, trimming the Monarchs' advantage to 61-60.

Old Dominion added a free throw in the closing seconds to carry a narrow 62-60 lead into the fourth quarter.

Old Dominion opened the final period with seven of the first eight points, but Tennessee State continued to answer.

Zheng knocked down a jumper, and Nyamjav connected on another 3-pointer to keep the Tigers within six.

Alexander scored off an offensive rebound with 5:04 remaining before Nyamjav added a layup and a free throw, cutting the deficit to 76-74 with 4:04 left.

The Tigers continued to battle, with Alexander converting two free throws to make it a three-point game at 79-76 with 2:50 remaining.

Old Dominion answered with three consecutive points before Kamara scored inside with 57 seconds left. The Monarchs converted late free throws to secure the 88-78 decision.
 

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SIUE 63, MILWAUKEE 57
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE women's basketball used a strong fourth-quarter performance to defeat the Milwaukee Panthers 63-57 Sunday afternoon at First Community Arena. The win improves the Cougars to 2-1 on the season.
 
SIUE started the game riding the hot hand of Kiyoko Proctor, who scored 12 points in the first quarter off two three-pointers, a jumper, a layup, and two free throws. The Cougars closed the opening quarter with a 22-16 lead.
 
Milwaukee pulled back in front by halftime, scoring 16 points in the second quarter and limiting SIUE to just nine points and 18.8 percent shooting in the frame
 
The game remained within four points throughout the entirety of the third quarter, and Milwaukee entered the fourth quarter with a two-point lead.
 
Freshman Jayla McClinton opened the scoring in the fourth, hitting a jumper to tie the game at 44. The teams then traded baskets throughout the quarter before Tyra Robinson completely took over in the closing minutes.
 
With SIUE trailing by two, Robinson scored the next nine straight points for the Cougars herself, turning a two-point deficit with five minutes left into a five-point lead with two minutes remaining.
 
Adriana Blazquez helped seal the victory, hitting two big free throws and converting a wide-open layup off a perfectly executed sideline out-of-bounds play to give the Cougars the 63-57 advantage.
 
Tyra Robinson and Kiyoko Proctor led the Cougars with 17 points apiece. Proctor, Blazquez, and Robinson also each recorded a career-high seven rebounds in the win.
 
Milwaukee's Izzy Pugh led the Panthers with a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double.
 

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IOWA STATE 77, EASTERN ILLINOIS 61
AMES, Iowa - Eastern Illinois women's basketball hung tough with Big 12 member Iowa State on Sunday afternoon leading after the first quarter and trailing by just two points at the half.  The Cyclones separated themselves in the third quarter to pick up the 77-61 win.
 
EIU ends its season opening road trip to the state of Iowa at 0-3 and plays at Saint Louis on Wednesday before its home opener next Saturday against Evansville.   Iowa State improved to 3-0.
 
Four players provided the first quarter scoring with Clara Glad scoring five of her eleven points in the opening quarter as EIU held a 17-16 lead shooting 54.5 percent from the floor.  Abbie Boutilier, Janyah Bohanon and Meioshe Mason each added four first quarter points.
 
Nevaeh Dickman provided most of the Panthers offense in the second quarter with EIU trailing 33-31 at the break.  Iowa State shot 50 percent in the quarter to take the lead as the Cyclones scored the final four points of the quarter following Nyah Hardy's 3-pointer with 1:39 that put the Panthers up 31-29.   Sienna Harvey scored to tie the game before Xiao Zhang scored with two seconds left to put ISU in front. 
 
Zhang scored six points in an 8-2 third quarter opening run which pushed the ISU lead to 41-33  just two and half minutes into the second half.  She was one of four Cyclones in double figures with 14 points. 
 
Alex-Anne Bessette scored with 5:40 to play in the quarter giving ISU its first double figure lead of the game.  ISU led 55-44 at the end of three.
 
Dickman's jumper to open the fourth quarter cut the margin back to single digits followed by a three point play by Bohanon that trimmed ISU's lead to 55-49 with 8:23 to play in the game. 
 
ISU countered with a quick 5-0 run and held EIU at a double digit deficit most of the remainder of the game.  Tjasa Turnsek led ISU with 20 points.
 
EIU finished the game shooting 48.9 percent from the field with Dickman leading EIU with 13 points.  Hardy provided ten points off the bench.   Boutilier had three blocks to go with six points and eight rebounds.
 

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MISSISSIPPI STATE 114, UT MARTIN 68
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin women's basketball team never gave up as they faced down SEC member Mississippi State Sunday, but ultimately fell to the Bulldogs, 114-68, at the Kathleen & Tom Elam Center in Martin.

Despite facing a bigger opponent, UT Martin took away several positives from the contest. As in the first two games of the season, the Skyhawks performed well in the paint and got a big lift from their bench, netting 34 and 29 points, respectively. UT Martin also continued to force turnovers, causing 19 Bulldog miscues and averaging 21.3 forced turnovers per game.

Raven Sims led the Skyhawks for the second time in three games in scoring and rebounding with 16 and six, respectively. Olivia Smith continued her streak of scoring 10-plus points to start her career with 13, while Tyler Jones registered her second double-digit game with 10 points. Smith also tallied four assists and two steals and is averaging 5.0 assists and 2.7 steals per game this season.
 

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#7 LOUISVILLE 80, SOUTHERN INDIANA 57
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball faced a tough challenge Sunday afternoon at Liberty Arena in its third game of the opening week against No. 7 University of Louisville, but the Screaming Eagles showed more growth despite an 80-57 loss to the ranked Cardinals.
 
The Screaming Eagles (0-3) held the Cardinals (3-0) to their lowest scoring output through the first three games of the season, and USI held a first-quarter lead that marked the first time Louisville trailed in a game so far this season.
 
USI Women's Basketball had an efficient game shooting overall, going nearly 47 percent (23-49) from the floor, but the Screaming Eagles could not contain the extra possessions and shots by Louisville, which went nearly 41 percent (29-71) from the field. Similar to USI's last game on Thursday at Kansas State University, Louisville was able to create separation after halftime with a 26-12 third quarter.
 
11 Screaming Eagles found the scoring column on Sunday, with sophomore forward Channah Gannon and senior guard Sophia Loden leading the team with nine points apiece. Senior guard Tamara Ortiz tallied eight points. In addition to the 47 percent overall shooting, USI shot 29 percent (4-14) from three and 70 percent (7-10) at the free-throw line.
 
Louisville had four players finish in double figures. Tajianna Roberts dropped a game-high 20 points. Next to the 41 percent shooting from the floor, the Cardinals shot 34 percent (11-32) from beyond the arc and a perfect 11-11 at the foul line.
 
The opening minutes of Sunday's game saw the Screaming Eagles take a 7-5 lead behind a 3-pointer from Loden and a layup by Gannon, giving Louisville its first deficit of the season. However, the Cardinals answered with a 10-0 run. USI responded to climb back within four, 15-11, on back-to-back layups from senior forward Chloe Gannon and junior guard Lexi Sepulveda. Louisville ended up taking a 22-15 lead after the first 10 minutes.
 
The Cardinals used another 10-0 run in the second quarter to increase their lead to 34-17. Then Ortiz tried to rally the Screaming Eagles back with six straight points, making the score 34-23 by the midway point of the second period. Both teams endured a dry spell shooting late in the second, but a last-second triple sent the Cardinals ahead 42-27 going into halftime.
 
USI kept within striking distance, 48-34, after a trey from sophomore guard Lily Graves at the 6:26 mark of the third quarter. However, Louisville answered with an 8-0 run to extend its advantage to 22 with under five minutes left in the third. The Cardinals kept clicking, pushing the lead to 68-39 at the end of the third quarter.
 
The Screaming Eagles had a solid fourth quarter, outscoring the Cardinals 18-12 in the final period. Loden converted on a couple of trips to the free-throw line, and Graves connected on her second 3-pointer of the game. USI held Louisville scoreless for the final two minutes, then finished the game on a 7-0 run that included a pair of layups by sophomore forward Alli Robertson.
 
Sunday marked the third time a Power-4 team has visited Liberty Arena, as USI hosted the University of Cincinnati and the University of Wisconsin during the 2023-24 campaign. However, Sunday was the first time USI Women's Basketball has hosted a ranked team, and it was the first time a top-10 program has ever played inside Liberty Arena across all sports. Louisville was also the second of four Power-4 opponents on USI's non-conference schedule.