CBB Friday News and Notes

>>College Basketball Roundup

(Undated)  — Memphis edged Wichita State 83-78 in college basketball action.  The Tigers are now 21-and-7 and will host Cincinnati on Sunday.  Several other schools return to the hardwood tomorrow.  Kentucky welcomes Auburn to Lexington.  The Wildcats improved to 19-and-9 following a win over Florida.  Vanderbilt fell to LSU in its last game.  The Commodores dropped to 15-and-13 and will host the Gators.  Number-13 Tennessee is coming off a loss to 25th-ranked Texas A-and-M.  The Vols fell to 20-and-8 and will play host to South Carolina.  Louisville recently lost to Duke.  The Cardinals are 4-and-24 and will head to Georgia Tech.

Kentucky Falls at Texas A&M on Thursday

Robyn Benton scored 21 points but the Kentucky women’s basketball team lost to Texas A&M 74-67 on Thursday night at Reed Arena. Kentucky (10-17, 2-13 SEC) got 18 points, six rebounds and two assists from Maddie Scherr and 10 points and seven rebounds from Ajae Petty.

Blair Green Selected to 2022-23 SEC Community Service Team

University of Kentucky women’s basketball graduate guard Blair Green has been selected to the 2022-23 Southeastern Conference Community Service Team, it was announced by the league Wednesday. Green, a Harlan County, Kentucky, native, has donated more than 80 hours of community service during her four-and-a-half years with the Blue and White. She leads Kentucky in most-game played in Blue and White with 116, while she has recorded 724 points, including 85 3-pointers, and 240 rebounds in her collegiate career. In 2022-23, she is recording 8.2 points per game and 2.5 rebounds per game.

Cardinals Contain Hurricanes, 71-57

With ACC Tournament seeding on the line in the final week of the regular season, the Louisville women’s basketball team (21-9, 12-5) battled out a 71-57 win over Miami (17-11, 10-7) Thursday night at the KFC Yum! Center. Facing their largest deficit of five points with 6:53 left in the second quarter, the Cardinals took the game over with a 21-3 run that spanned into the second half. Louisville’s lead grew to 15 points and the Cards never looked back as they won their 12th conference game of the season. Hailey Van Lith led all scorers with 25 points on 9-of-17 shooting with four rebounds and two assists. It is the sixth-straight game she has scored 17 points or more and the eighth time this season she has scored 20 points or more against an ACC opponent. Fresh off her seventh career double-double, Liz Dixon tallied 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. It is the first time since her freshman season at Georgia Tech that she had back-to-back double doubles. Mykasa Robinson stuffed the stat sheet once again with a career-high 12 points, tied a career high with nine rebounds and led the team with seven assists to go with a block and a steal. Over the past seven games, Robinson is averaging 7.7 points, 7.3 assists, 7.0 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game. She has led the Cardinals in assists in each of the last seven games.

Slow Start Too Much to Overcome for WKU at LA Tech

WKU women’s basketball fell behind early at Louisiana Tech on Thursday night in Ruston and was unable to complete a comeback, falling 70-65. Teresa Faustino led WKU in scoring with 16 points, going 3-of-4 from 3-point range. It was the fourth time this season Faustino has led WKU. Alexis Mead filled the stat sheet with 10 points, four rebounds, four steals and three assists. Acacia Hayes and Hope Sivori both added 10 points as well. Karris Allen led the team on the boards, pulling down a career high eight rebounds. WKU had a cold shooting night, going 31.3 percent from the floor making 21-of-67 shots. The Lady Toppers notched 14 steals on 23 Louisiana Tech turnovers. The WKU bench contributed 33 points, bring the season average for the reserves to 28.9 points per game.

Hilltoppers Ride Wire-To-Wire Lead in 76-66 Victory Over Bulldogs

WKU Hilltopper Basketball never trailed in its wire-to-wire, 76-66 victory over the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs on Thursday night in E.A. Diddle Arena. Dayvion McKnight led all scorers with 19 points on 7 of 10 shooting. He added four boards, three assists and three steals in 34 minutes. Lander and Allen were crucial from the arc, combining for a 62% (8-of-13) at the 3-point line. Lander nailed three in the final five minutes of the game, hitting four in total and scoring 12 points in 18 minutes. Allen shot 50% from the floor and nailed four shots on seven 3-point attempts. Playing the most minutes of any Hilltopper, Jamarion Sharp pulled down 11 boards, with eight in the first half, and scored eight points. He also stole two balls in his 34 minutes and 11 seconds.

Season finale on deck for Governors, Friday, at FGCU

Looking to pick up its first ASUN Conference season sweep, the Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team travels to Florida Gulf Coast for a 6 p.m. (CT), Friday rematch in its 2023 season finale at Alico Arena in Fort Myers, Florida. The Governors beat the Eagles, 61-59, on Jan. 5 to pick up their first-ever ASUN win and now have a chance to make FGCU the first team they have beaten twice in ASUN play.

Govs clinch home tournament game in comeback win at Lipscomb

Austin Peay State University women’s basketball team clinched a home quarterfinals game in the upcoming 2023 ASUN Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament in its 76-71 victory against Lipscomb, Thursday, at Allen Arena. Austin Peay (16-10, 12-5 ASUN) broke the program record with just four turnovers in Thursday’s win after tying the record with five turnovers earlier this month against Bellarmine. Over 60 percent of the Govs’ points came between the lanes, as the team tied for a season-best 46 points in the paint in the win against the Bisons. Mariah Adams led four Govs in double-figures, as the Little Rock, Arkansas native tallied a season-high and team-best 23 points which is one off her career-high set last season at Old Dominion. All 13 of her second-half points came in APSU’s 27-point fourth quarter. Anala Nelson had another career outing, as the freshman had a season-high 15 points and six rebounds on 6-of-13 shooting from the field.

Turley Hits 2K Points In Loss To Drake

The Murray State women’s basketball team had no answer for hot shooting Drake Thursday, as the Racers fell, 97-71, to the Bulldogs at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky. Drake hit a season-high 16 3-pointers in the game and finished the night shooting 58.7 shooting overall and 57.1-percent from beyond the arc. In the third quarter, Macey Turley hit a 3-pointer that put her career point total at 2,001 making her the fourth member of Murray State’s 2,000-point club. Turley now joins Sheila Smith, Ke’Shunan James and Ashley N. Hayes as the only other members of the exclusive club. Katleyn Young led Murray State with 19 points in the game, while Turley followed with 18 and Hannah McKay added 10 off the bench. Murray State was a perfect 9-for-9 at the free throw line on the night including a 6-for-6 clip from Katelyn Young.