Late Rally Falls Just Short as Kentucky Loses to Virginia Tech
The Kentucky women’s basketball team rallied in the fourth quarter but came up short, falling to No. 14 Virginia Tech 82-74 on Monday at the Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship. Kentucky (4-1) trailed by 18 entering the final period but outscored the Hokies 25-15 in the stanza. However, it was not enough. The Cats got 17 points from Jada Walker and 12 points from Ajae Petty. Robyn Benton had 13 points, while Maddie Scherr had six points, seven rebounds and four assists before fouling out.
Cardinals Can’t Keep Pace with Arkansas in Maui-Opening Loss
The Louisville men’s basketball team hung with No. 9/10 Arkansas in the early going Monday, but a massive 17-0 run by the Razorbacks in the second half sent the Cardinals to an 80-54 loss in the first round of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational. A 3-pointer and layup by junior forward JJ Traynor cut the Cardinals’ deficit to 43-38 with 14:26 to play. However, Arkansas (4-0) countered with a 26-4 run, including the 17-0 outburst that made it 69-42 with 4:27 remaining.
Louisville Meets Second Straight Top-25 Foe in Texas Tech
The Louisville men’s basketball team continues play in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational Tuesday against No. 21/20 Texas Tech at 2:30 p.m. ET in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii. The game will air on ESPN2. Texas Tech also lost to a top-25 opponent on Monday with a 76-65 defeat against No. 10/8 Creighton. Louisville is 0-1 all-time against Texas Tech with a 70-57 loss to the Red Raiders in the 2019 Jimmy V Classic.
#10/4 Cardinals Fall in Final Game at Atlantis
Myah Selland scored 14 of her 25 points in a dominating fourth quarter to help South Dakota State upset No. 10 Louisville 65-55 in Monday’s fifth-place game at the Battle 4 Atlantis. It marked the highest-ranked opponent the program has beaten since moving to Division I for the 2004-05 season.
Tops Fall to Zips in First Round of Cayman Islands Classic
WKU Hilltopper Basketball took its first loss of the season to Akron in the first round of the Cayman Islands Classic on Monday afternoon, falling 72-53 to the Zips from John Gray Gymnasium.
WKU Meets Illinois State in Second Game of Classic
WKU Hilltopper Basketball will take on Illinois State in its second game of the Cayman Islands Classic on Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. CT. The game will stream live on FloHoops. WKU fell to Akron 72-53 in the opening round of the Classic on Monday afternoon. Illinois State was defeated by LSU 77-61 in its first-round match-up. The last time these two teams met was in another regular season tournament: the 2019 Virgin Islands Paradise Jam. Illinois State leads the all-time series 3-2 while head coach Rick Stansbury is 1-0 against the Redbirds.
Lady Toppers Back in Win Column with 91-55 Victory against Miami (Ohio)
A hot second and third quarter led WKU women’s basketball (1-2) to a 91-55 win against Miami (Ohio) (1-3) on Monday night in Bowling Green. Midway through the second quarter WKU came alive, scoring 24 points in the final 5:28 of the frame to swing the game from a 21-18 Miami lead to a 42-26 WKU lead at halftime. Then the Lady Toppers outscored the Redhawks 33-13 in the third quarter to inflate their lead even more. The Lady Toppers notched 23 steals in the game, the sixth most by a WKU team ever. In all, WKU forced Miami into 35 turnovers and cashed in for 41 points off those miscues. It also led to 20 points on fast breaks for WKU.
MSU’s Wood Named MVC Newcomer of the Week
As the Murray State Racers won two-of-three games and placed third at the Myrtle Beach Invitational, sophomore guard JaCobi Wood was honored as the Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week for men’s basketball. Wood, a sophomore from Cleveland, Tenn., was also named to the MBI All-Tournament Team. In Sunday’s third place win over Tulsa, Wood nearly pulled off a triple-double 12 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists. In the Racers win over Texas A&M, their first over a ranked team in 10 years, Wood scored 23 points with four assists and added 24 points in the middle game against UMass. He ended up setting his career high scoring game twice. Wood played 111 minutes where he averaged 19.7 points per game on 42 percent (13-of-31) shooting from the field, 38 percent (8-of-21) from the 3-point line and 96 percent (25-of-26) from the free throw line. He added five rebounds per game with 19 assists and only seven turnovers. His 11 assists were an MBI single game record in the game against Tulsa. After Thanksgiving, the Racers (3-2) play at Chattanooga in a 6 p.m. Central Time tip at McKenzie Arena. MSU opens their first season in the Missouri Valley Conference (Dec. 1) at the CFSB Center against Illinois State. The game will feature a commemorative t-shirt giveaway sponsored by CFSB.
Robinson voted ASUN Newcomer of the Week
Austin Peay State University’s Shon Robinson was named the ASUN Conference Newcomer of the Week. He became the school’s first player to garner the honor with the Governors playing their first season in the league. Robinson, a sophomore forward from Chicago, averaged 18.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in a pair of wins over Milligan and South Florida. Against the Buffaloes, he tallied career-highs in points (27), field goals made (10), field goal attempts (16), free throws made (7), free throw attempts (13), and steals (6). Robinson posted 10 points and five rebounds in 18 minutes as the Governors defeated the Bulls and an AAC opponent for the first time in program history. Robinson ranks third in the ASUN in steals per game (2.25), free throws (15), and free throw attempts (23) and fourth in field goal percentage (.564).
On to the ‘ship
Austin Peay State University used a late 13-0 run to pull away from Albany for a 74-59 win, Monday, in the Ocean Center. The Governors advance to Tuesday’s Ocean Bracket Championship at 11 a.m. CT in the Greenlight Sunshine Slam, presented by Discount Tire. Austin Peay (3-2), which has won three-straight games, improved to 3-0 all-time against current members of the America East Conference. The Governors snapped a three-game skid in neutral site contests and have won their last two tilts inside the Ocean Center.
Govs unable to overcome offensive struggles in loss to Davidson
Austin Peay State University women’s basketball team dropped a 62-41 decision against Davidson in its first game of the Hostilo Hoops Community Classic, Monday, at Enmarket Arena. The Governors were outscored 16-6 in a first quarter in which they were held to 3-for-11 from the field, while the Wildcats connected on four of their seven shots from the field, including a pair of three-pointers.