OVC Women’s Basketball Report: UT Martin’s Butler named Player of the Week

December 20, 2012 |

AUSTIN PEAY LADY GOVS (0-0, 3-7): Austin Peay dropped a 75-44 contest at Arkansas State in its only game of the Week. Senior Meghan Bussabarger and freshman Alexis Hardaway paced the team with eight points each. The Lady Govs return to action on Friday when they host Lipscomb.

BELMONT BRUINS (0-0, 5-6): Belmont defeated Georgia State (85-62) at home before falling at Ole Miss (63-48) last week. Junior Molly Ernst scored 23 points, including seven three pointers in the win over Georgia State. Senior Jordan Coleman was one rebound shy of recording a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds against Georgia State. At Ole Miss, Coleman posted her third double-double of the year with a game-high 14 points and 11 rebounds. Coleman is the only OVC player that is averaging a double-double this season with 10.5 points and 10.1 rebounds each time out. Belmont will travel to Cincinnati on Friday.

EASTERN ILLINOIS PANTHERS (0-0, 5-5): Eastern Illinois dropped a pair of road games last week, falling at Wisconsin (76-47) and Western Illinois (70-68). Mariah King scored 18 points in the loss at WIU on 8-of-12 shooting to go with five rebounds. Ta’Kenya Nixon nearly missed her second career triple-double at WIU with nine points, 10 assists and eight rebounds. In the two games Kings averaged 11.5 points and 4.5 rebounds while connecting on 41.7 percent of her shot attempts. Nixon added 8.5 points and 6.0 rebounds each time out. Eastern Illinois have yet to win a game on the road this season. The Panthers will continue its seven-game road trip on Wednesday as it travels to Northern Illinois.

EASTERN KENTUCKY LADY COLONELS (0-0, 5-5): Eastern Kentucky had last week off. The Lady Colonels are coming off a two-game road losing streak. Eastern Kentucky returns home, where it is undefeated, on Tuesday as it hosts West Virginia State.

JACKSONVILLE STATE GAMECOCKS (0-0, 0-11): Jacksonville State fell to Chattanooga (72-59) and dropped both games in the Hampton Inn Oceanfront Holiday Classic hosted by North Florida. The Gamecocks fell to host UNF (52-45) and Campbell (66-53). Sophomore Briana Marrow was named to the all-tournament team after posting a pair of double figure games. She had 10 points versus UNF and a team-high 13 against Campbell. Junior Dashauna Truss scored 12 first-half points in the loss to Campbell. Freshman Peyton Hisel scored eight of JSU’s 14-0 scoring run against Campbell. Jacksonville State closes out its non-conference portion of the schedule on Thursday as it travels to Mississippi State.

MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES (0-0, 1-9): Morehead State fell at Georgia State (61-47) in its only game of the week. Junior Terrice Robinson led the team with 10 points, marking her eighth game scoring in double figures. Sophomore Casey Ryans registered a career-best 10 rebounds. She averaged 11 points and 8.5 rebounds in the last two games. Morehead State has attempted the fewest free throws in the league this year at 117, but the Eagles are hitting 70 percent. Morehead State was 5-for-5 from the line at GSU. Sophomore Almesha Jones ranks third in the league with 2.7 steals per game. Morehead State will close out its two-game road trip at UAB on Tuesday before hosting Kent State on Friday.

MURRAY STATE RACERS (0-0, 7-3): Murray State extended its winning streak to seven straight games as the Racers defeated Alabama A&M, 69-54. Senior Mariah Robinson led the Racers for the sixth time this season with 19 points. The game marked the third straight contest in which she shot 50 percent from the field. Freshman Kelsey Dirks had 11 points and six rebounds. The Racers will travel to Missouri on Thursday.

SOUTHEAST MISSOURI REDHAWKS (0-0, 5-6): Southeast Missouri fell at Western Kentucky, 60-46, in its only game of the week. Freshman Kayla Wright earned her first career start and scored a season-high 15 points versus WKU. She shot 66.7 percent from the floor. Wright also recorded eight rebounds, two assists and two steals. Patricia Mack brought down 10 rebounds despite playing just 20 minutes due to foul trouble. It was Mack’s fifth straight game with 10 or more boards. Since opening the season 28-of-62 from three point range, the Redhawks have made only 33-of-140 from beyond the arch in the eight games since. Southeast Missouri will host Missouri State on Friday.

SIUE COUGARS (0-0, 6-5): SIUE fell at Indiana, 73-56, in its only game of the week. Freshman CoCo Moore led the team with 14 points on 71.4 percent shooting. She came off the bench to help the Cougar bench outscore the Hoosiers, 32-19. Moore has 27 offensive rebounds and 24 defensive rebounds this season. Raven Berry is averaging 9.0 rebounds this year to be ranked in the top 100. The Cougars will travel to Southern Illinois on Friday.

TENNESSEE STATE LADY TIGERS (0-0, 3-6): Tennessee State fell to Cleveland State, 66-59, at home last week. Senior Kesi Hess led the team with 11 points and seven rebounds against Cleveland State. The Lady Tigers will look to snap a three-game losing streak as they travel across town to face Lipscomb on Tuesday.

TENNESSEE TECH GOLDEN EAGLES (0-0, 5-6): Tennessee Tech dropped both games in the St. John’s Chartwell’s Holiday Classic. The Golden Eagles fell to host St. John’s (58-46) and St. Mary’s (73-58). Tech held St. John’s to 30 percent shooting. Molly Head led the Golden Eagles with 12 points against the Red Storm. Senior Jala Harris averaged 16.0 points over the two games. She scored 22 points versus St. Mary’s and scored 10 points against St. John’s. Harris also dished out six assists over the two games. Tennessee Tech will travel to Marshall on Saturday.

UT MARTIN SKYHAWKS (0-0, 4-8): UT Martin fell to Indiana State, 73-71, in overtime. Junior Heather Butler scored 26 points, 24 of them coming in the second half. She also recorded seven assists and four steals. Butler has now scored in double-digit points in 75 straight games. Freshman Chelsey Hall scored a career-high seven points. Junior Rickiesha Bryant had four blocks against Indiana State to give her 17 for the season and 85 in her career which is fourth best in school history. UT Martin will host Southern Miss on Tuesday and travel to UAB on Saturday.

UPCOMING OVC SCHEDULE

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18
West Virginia State at Eastern Kentucky  – 6 p.m.
Tennessee State at Lipscomb – 6:30 p.m.
Morehead State at UAB – 7 p.m.
Southern Miss at UT Martin – 7 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19
Eastern Illinois at Northern Illinois – 7 p.m.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20
Jacksonville State at Mississippi State – 7 p.m.
Murray State at Missouri – 7 p.m.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21
Belmont at Cincinnati – 12 p.m.
Kent State at Morehead State – 6 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)
Missouri State at Southeast Missouri – 6:30 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)
Southern Illinois at SIUE  – 7 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)
Lipscomb at Austin Peay – 7:05 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 22
Tennessee Tech at Marshall – 1 p.m.
UT Martin at UAB – 2 p.m.

ALL TIMES CENTRAL

adidas® OVC Players of the Week – December 18

PLAYER

Heather Butler, G • Jr., 5’6 • Medina, Tenn. • UT Martin

Butler led all players with 26 points against Indiana State. She recorded a pair of free throws in the first half and came back to net 24 points in the second stanza. She tied the game at 60-all with a layup with six seconds left in regulation. Butler also gave the Skyhawks the 71-70 lead with 12 seconds left in the overtime period. She finished the game with seven assists and four steals.

Others Nominated: Molly Ernst, Belmont; Mariah Robinson, Murray State; Kara Wright, Southeast Missouri; CoCo Moore, SIUE; Kesi Hess, Tennessee State; Jala Harris, Tennessee Tech

NEWCOMER

Jordan Coleman, F • Sr., 5’11 • Orlando, Fla. • Belmont

Coleman helped Belmont split a pair of games last week. In the win over Georgia State, she scored 15 points and brought down nine boards. Against Ole Miss, Coleman racked up her third double-double of the season with a game-high 14 points on a season-best seven field goals and a game-high 11 rebounds. She finished the week with eight assists, three steals and one block. Coleman stands as the only OVC player averaging a double-double.

Others Nominated: Dashauna Truss, Jacksonville State;

FRESHMAN

Kara Wright, G • Fr., 5’11 • Louisvile, Ky. • Southeast Missouri

Wright earned her first career start at Western Kentucky. She scored a season-high 15 points while also bringing down a season-best eight rebounds in 37 minutes on the floor. She made 6-of-9 from the floor en route to recording her first career double-digit scoring game. Wright also added two assists, two steals and two blocks.

Others Nominated: Peyton Hisel, Jacksonville State; Kelsey Dirks, Murray State; CoCo Moore, SIUE; Chelsey Hall, UT Martin

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