Ohio Valley Conference

MARTIN, Tenn. - The Tennessee State women's basketball team fought back from a 10-point deficit at 39-29 with 8:21 left in the third quarter to knock off the UT Martin Skyhawks 67-60 on the road Saturday

The Lady Tigers (5-24, 4-16) had three players score in double figures, led by Aaniya Webb, who had 18 points, seven rebounds and five steals. Erin Martin added a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds and Somah Kamara chipped in as well with 13 points, four assists and three steals from the bench.

Led by Martin's five offensive rebounds, Tennessee State did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 13 boards that resulted in 14 second chance points.

The Tennessee State defense was a problem in Saturday's game, forcing 25 UT Martin turnovers while committing 12. Those takeaways turned into 30 points on the offensive end of the floor. Martin's five steals led the way individually for the Lady Tigers.

After falling behind 18-5, Tennessee State went on a 5-0 run with 2:03 left in the first quarter, culminating in a bucket from Martin, to narrow its deficit to 18-10. UT Martin answered back and added to its lead, leaving the Lady Tigers down 19-10 entering the second quarter.

UT Martin kept adding to that lead, building a 30-18 advantage before Tennessee State went on a 5-0 run, highlighted by a bucket from Amiyah Ferguson, to narrow its deficit to 30-23. The Lady Tigers continued to chip away, reducing the UT Martin lead to 34-29 heading into the break.

UT Martin continued to increase its lead after halftime, building a 39-29 advantage before Tennessee State went on a 21-0 run to grab a 50-39 lead with 1:11 to go in the third. Before the conclusion of the third period, the Skyhawks had cut into that lead somewhat, but the Lady Tigers still entered the fourth quarter with a 50-42 edge. Tennessee State took advantage of eight UT Martin turnovers in the quarter, scoring 15 points off of takeaways.

Tennessee State kept its lead intact before going on a 7-0 run, finished off by Webb's three, to grow the lead to 61-51 with 5:14 to go in the contest. The Skyhawks narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but the Lady Tigers still cruised the rest of the way for the 67-60 win. Tennessee State took advantage of four UT Martin turnovers in the quarter, scoring five points off of those takeaways.

SOUTHERN INDIANA 68, LITTLE ROCK 63
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball secured the No. 3 seed in next week's Ohio Valley Conference Championship Tournament and its third straight 20-win season on Saturday after battling past the University of Arkansas at Little Rock on the road, 68-63, in the regular-season finale.
 
USI Women's Basketball (20-9, 14-6 OVC) needed a win on Saturday to lock up the third seed in the OVC Tournament over Morehead State University and got the job done on the road at Little Rock (15-15, 11-9 OVC). USI will be making its third consecutive appearance in the OVC's postseason tournament and is a top-three seed for the second time out of the three tournament berths.
 
Saturday's road victory also gave USI its sixth OVC regular-season series sweep of the year, taking both games of the OVC campaign against Little Rock.
 
On Saturday, senior guard Ali Saunders led all scorers with 25 points, her 12th 20-point performance of the season, and hauled in six rebounds. Junior forward Chloe Gannon posted her fourth double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Junior guard Shannon Blacher was the third Screaming Eagle in double figures with 12 points.
 
Overall, USI shot for 38 percent (24-63) from the floor, 37 percent from three (7-19), and 68 percent (13-19) at the free-throw line. The Screaming Eagles also had 23 points off 15 Little Rock turnovers.
 
The Trojans also had three players score in double digits. Collectively, Little Rock went for 37 percent (22-60) shooting overall, 22 percent (6-27) from beyond the arc, and 72 percent (13-18) at the foul line.
 
USI got off to a fast start in the contest, scoring on its first three possessions to take a quick 7-3 lead. Blacher scored five of USI's first seven points. It took four minutes for the next made basket in the game, but the Screaming Eagles built an 11-3 advantage by the four-minute mark of the opening quarter. Following a strong defensive first quarter, the Eagles led 14-6 through the first 10 minutes of action.
 
Early in the second period, junior guard Sophia Loden scored a layup and drained a triple to help USI push its lead to 11, 19-8. The Screaming Eagles maintained their double-digit margin through the midway point of the second quarter, but the Trojans then scored seven straight points to pull within three, 26-23, with a minute to go in the first half. USI answered with four consecutive points to head into halftime in front by seven, 30-23.
 
Two and a half minutes into the second half, USI pushed its lead to a dozen, 39-27, after back-to-back jumpers by Blacher and junior forward Amiyah Buchanan. After a small run by Little Rock to cut the deficit back down to single digits, the combination of Saunders and Gannon helped the Eagles increase their lead to 15 with just over two minutes remaining in the third quarter. USI ended taking a 55-43 lead into the fourth quarter following a last-second steal and layup by Blacher to end the third frame.
 
The Trojans battled back with a 7-0 run to start the fourth quarter and cut the difference down to five nearly two minutes into the fourth. Once again, Gannon and Saunders stepped up with made shots to help extend the USI lead back up to 10, 62-52, with six minutes to go. Little Rock then went on an 11-1 run over the next five minutes to tie the game at 63 with one minute left in the fourth quarter. Inside the final minute, Saunders took control with a go-ahead layup and three made free throws for added insurance to seal the game for the Screaming Eagles.

SIUE 70, EASTERN ILLINOIS 43
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Women's basketball celebrated senior day with a 70-43 win over Eastern Illinois. 
 
The 27-point victory marks the third-largest margin of victory against an Ohio Valley Conference opponent in program history. With the win, the Cougars finish the regular season 15-15 overall and 8-12 in OVC play and advance to the OVC Tournament. The Panthers rounded off their season at 4-27 overall and 2-17 in conference play. 
 
Ava Gugliuzza started the scoring with a three-pointer before Kiyoko Proctor added a jumper and a fast break layup off a Macy Silvey steal. Lauren Miller and Silvey each contributed buckets as the Cougars surged ahead.
 
Eastern Illinois responded in the second, shooting 7-13 in the quarter and using a 14-2 run to erase a 15-point deficit. The Panthers tied the game at 27-27 late in the half before Silvey answered with a three-pointer. SIUE carried a 30-29 lead into the break.
 
The turning point came in the third quarter. After Eastern Illinois briefly took a 31-30 lead, SIUE responded with a decisive 21-2 run. Syanne Mohamed controlled the paint with second-chance points, Proctor added transition finished, and Gugliuzza connected from three as the Cougars stretched the margin to 51-33. SIUE held the Panthers to just 2-of-15 shooting in the quarter.
 
The Cougars continued to build the lead in the fourth, pushing it to as many as 30 before the 27-point victory.
 
For the game, SIUE shot 46.9 percent (30-of-64) and out rebounded Eastern Illinois 48-23, including 17 offensive boards. The Cougars turned 14 Panther turnovers into 21 points and added 14 fast break points.
 
Proctor led all scorers with 19 points and four assists. Miller added 13 points, Silvey scored 10, and Gugliuzza finished with nine points. Mohamed recorded eight points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
 
Saturday marked Senior Night for Mohamed, Adebukola Akomolafe, Silvey and Jaiden Bryant, who were honored prior to tip off.

LINDENWOOD 50, WESTERN ILLINOIS 49
MACOMB, Ill. - The Lindenwood women's basketball team (24-7, 16-4 OVC) claimed a share of the OVC regular season title with a thrilling 50-49 win over Western Illinois (24-5, 16-4 OVC) on Saturday afternoon in Macomb, Ill. This is Lindenwood's first women's basketball regular season crown in the programs NCAA era.

Lindenwood got off to a fast 7-0 start less than two minutes into the game. The Leathernecks responded with the next seven points to tie the game with 6:44 to go in the first. Following an Ellie Brueggemann jumper, Brooke Coffey finished off an and-one giving the Lions a 12-7 lead. The Black and Gold remained in front throughout the quarter and continued to lead by five just past the halfway point of the period. Lindenwood finished the first on a 7-2 run and led 21-13 after 10 minutes.

Both teams struggled from the field in the middle frame shooting under 30 percent. Aleshia Jones had six of Lindenwood's eight points in the quarter and the Lions led by as much as 10. They took a 29-22 advantage into the locker room after limiting the Leathernecks to 31 percent shooting in the opening half.

The Lions kept up the defensive pressure in the third, holding WIU to just two made field goals in the quarter. Up by six less than a minute into the frame, The Lions went on an 11-1 run over the next 5:52, capped off by a Brueggemann three pointer, which put Lindenwood up 42-25. Lindenwood led by a score of 43-27 heading into the fourth.

In the fourth, Lindenwood led 45-33 with just over seven minutes to go. However, the Leathernecks would not go away and scored seven unanswered points to get with five at 45-40 at the 5:15 mark. The Lions held WIU scoreless for the next two and a half minutes and took a 49-40 lead following a jumper from Brueggemann. Once again, Western Illinois responded and cut the deficit to 50-49 with less than a minute to go. The Lions made a couple big defensive stands in that final minute as Nicastro missed a midrange jumper with five seconds to go securing a 50-49 win for Lindenwood.

SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 83, TENNESSEE TECH 61
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri State (12-17, 8-12 OVC) defeated Tennessee Tech (15-14, 8-12 OVC), 83-61, leading by as many as 26 points the Redhawks capitalized on 24 points off turnovers and dominated the paint with 44 points. With this victory, SEMO clinched the No. 8 seed in the OVC tournament.

Carmen Taylor opened scoring for Southeast with a layup and a jumper, contributing to an early lead. The Redhawks capitalized on defense with Raissa Nsabua and Zoey Rixter each grabbing defensive rebounds. Taylor hit a 3-pointer and followed it with a pair of free throws to extend the home team's advantage. At the end of the first, SEMO led 19-8.

Lexi McCully's defensive rebound set up Taylor's three-pointer at 8:23. Nsabua assisted on Kearra Jones' layup, extending the lead midway through the quarter. McCully completed a three-point play with a layup and free throw at 5:05, capitalizing on a turnover. At halftime, SEMO held a 43–22 advantage.  

The Redhawks opened with a strong defensive presence, recording three steals in the quarter. Nsabua and Ainaya Williams contributed key layups, extending the home team's advantage. Taylor sank a 3-pointer at the 4:42 mark to bolster their lead. At the end of the third quarter, Southeast led the Golden Eagles 61–35.

Jones contributed early with a layup and two free throws, pushing the Redhawk's lead. Tennessee Tech's Reagan Hurst and Cam Mathews hit back-to-back scores, but Da'Kariya Jackson responded with a 3-pointer. Rixter added a pair of layups, maintaining the momentum for Southeast. At the final buzzer, SEMO secured an 83–61 victory.