Kentucky Rally Comes Up Short at Missouri
Robyn Benton scored 22 points and Jada Walker had 15 but a late rally came up just short as the Kentucky women’s basketball team lost at Missouri 74-71 on Thursday night. Blair Green had 13 points for the Cats and Maddie Scherr had 11 points, five rebounds and three assists. Kentucky (8-5, 0-1 SEC) used its pressure defense to force 25 Missouri turnovers and the Cats turned those into 36 points. However, Missouri was able to control the boards, grabbing 41 rebounds compared to just 27 for Kentucky. The Tigers had 19 second-chance points compared to just five for the Cats.
Van Lith Lifts Cardinals Past Orange, 86-77
The RV/RV University of Louisville women’s basketball team defeated Syracuse 86-77 Thursday evening at the KFC Yum! Center. The Cardinals (11-4, 2-0) move their winning streak to six while shooting over 50 percent from the field for the third-consecutive game. Hailey Van Lith led the Cardinals with 24 points, six assists, and five rebounds in the victory. Morgan Jones and Olivia Cochran added 15 points and seven rebounds apiece, while Chrislyn Carr registered 12 points, knocking down four three-pointers. Nyla Harris chipped in with eight points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Louisville shot 52 percent from the field and 41 percent from three-point range. Teisha Hyman led the Orange (10-3, 1-1) with 27 points, four assists, and two rebounds. Dyaisha Fair totaled 13 points and five assists, while Dariauna Lewis had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Syracuse shot 38 percent from the field and 33 percent from beyond the arc. Fair, who was the third-leading scorer in the ACC heading into the game, was held to a season-low field goal percentage, 17 percent, shooting 3 of 18 from the field.
Lady Toppers Complete Comeback to Win C-USA Opener
WKU women’s basketball had another comeback on the road, finding themselves down 12 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but the Lady Toppers fought back to earn a 79-74 win at Rice on Thursday night in Houston. Four Lady Toppers finished in double figures. Mya Meredith and Jaylin Foster led the team in scoring with 15 points each. Meredith also had six rebounds and Foster had four steals and three assists. Alexis Mead had 11 points, five assists and two steals. Macey Blevins also had 11 points along with two rebounds and two assists. WKU had season highs in 3-pointers made (12), assists (18), field goal percentage (46.7) and 3-point percentage (44.4). The Lady Toppers are now 8-1 in C-USA openers all-time. WKU also improves to 5-6 against Rice all-time and evens the series in Houston, 4-4.
Tops Drop Conference Opener to Rice
In a game of runs with seven lead changes and five ties, WKU Hilltopper Basketball ultimately dropped its conference opener, taking its first home loss of the season to the Rice Owls on Thursday night 81-78. They take on MTSU tomorrow, Pre-game at 2:30 on Newsradio 95.3 FM and 1230 AM WHOP.
Perry Scores 26 – But Racers Fall to Salukis
The Murray State Racers saw their 20-game home winning streak end in a 63-57 loss to the Southern Illinois Salukis Thursday at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky. Rob Perry led the Racers by scoring 26 points for his fifth game this season of 20 or more, while Kenny White, Jr., added 13 points, all in the second half. Jamari Smith led MSU with nine rebounds and DJ Burns grabbed eight. The Racers (7-6) and Salukis (10-4) are now each 2-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Trailing by 10 points with 5:25 remaining, the Racers rallied with a 7-0 run that cut the SIU lead to 54-51 at 3:23 on Perry’s third 3-pointer of the game. The Racers couldn’t get any closer.
Racers Make MVC Debut Friday at Home
The Murray State women’s basketball team will make its official Missouri Valley Conference debut Friday when it hosts fellow MVC newcomer UIC at the CFSB Center Friday at 6 p.m. T-shirts celebrating the Racers’ MVC debut will be available to the first 200 fans through the doors on game day.
Austin Peay drops ASUN opener at Queens, 81-77
Elijah Hutchins-Everett and Sean Durugordon combined for 44 points, but the Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team lost to Queens (N.C.), 81-77, on Thursday inside Curry Arena in the first ever ASUN Conference game for both programs.
>>College Basketball Roundup
(Undated) — Memphis beat South Florida 93-86 in college basketball action. The Tigers improved to 11-and-3 and will host Tulane on New Year’s Day. Number-17 Kentucky fell to Missouri in an upset. The Wildcats dropped to 8-and-4 and will host Louisville tomorrow. The Cardinals are 2-and-11. Pre-Game at 9:30 AM on Newsradio 95.3 FM and 1230 AM WHOP. Vanderbilt plays host to Southeastern Louisiana tonight. The Commodores are now 6-and-6 following a win over Alabama A&M.