NASHVILLE, Tenn. – With a packed week of big performances across the state in men’s and women’s basketball, Middle Tennessee’s Jestin Porter and Fisk’s Maya Buckhanon stood above the crowd this week, earning the Tennessee Sports Writers Association’s Player of the Week honors in men’s and women’s basketball respectively.
On the men’s side, Porter, a junior out of Houston, averaged 33.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists in two victories over UTEP and New Mexico State. Against the Miners, Porter set a Conference USA record, knocking down eight 3-pointers in eight tries and scoring 41 points in the double-overtime victory. Porter finished the game shooting 11-for-16 from the field and 11-for-12 at the free-throw line.
The 41-point total is the third-highest single-game total in Blue Raider history and the most by a Middle Tennessee player since 1965.
He also recorded 26 points, five rebounds and four assists against New Mexico State.
On the women’s side, Buckhanon has been a dominant player all season long, but her effort last week was phenomenal. After recording 37 points on the road at Dillard, the Talladega, Ala., native shattered the Fisk single-game scoring record, was two points shy of the NAIA record and scored the most points by any NAIA women’s player in the 21st century as she scored 60 points against Southern-New Orleans.
In that contest, Buckhanon was 24-for-38 from the field, a 63.2 completion rate, while also hitting 75.0 percent at the line as she knocked down 12-of-16 charity tosses. In her second season at Fisk, she also reached the 1,000-point mark in her career in the contest.
BASEBALL: As the season started on the diamond, Austin Peay redshirt junior outfielder John Bay (Shattuck, Okla.) finished the series against Western Illinois with eight hits – seven for extra bases. The Oklahoma State transfer had five doubles and two home runs as he drove in six. In the second game of the series, Bay had two doubles, two home runs and five RBI as he went 4-for-4 and reached in all five plate appearances. In the third game of the series, he added two more doubles. Bay ended the weekend set reaching in 10 of his 15 plate appearances to record a .667 on-base percentage.
On the mound, Tennessee Tech senior righty Peyton Calitri (Collierville, Tenn.) posted a 0.00 earned run average in the opening weekend as he threw seven innings without an earned run in the Golden Eagles’ 5-1 victory over Bellarmine. Calitri allowed four hits and a walk with an unearned run in the seventh inning. He struck out four as he earned the victory. He used just five pitches to retire the side in the opening frame, then yielded just a single base runner in four of the next five innings, then two in the seventh.
SOFTBALL: Chattanooga junior utility player Olivia Lipari had a great week at home in the Chattanooga Challenge event, leading the Mocs to a 5-0 weekend. The Oviedo, Fla., native batted .636 for the weekend as she went 7-for-11 at the plate with a double, two home runs, six RBI and also drew four walks.
She scored six runs in the five games, including the game-winner in extras against Ball State. She went 2-for-2 in the opener against the Cardinals with a three-run home run, while also collecting a walk, a sacrifice bunt and a stolen base. Against Murray State, Lipari was 1-for-2 with two RBI on a home run.
In the circle, Trevecca junior hurler Ashlan Sensing led the Trojans to a 3-1 performance at the Music City Invitational. In 14 innings of work, Sensing sat her opponents down, striking out 24. Across those frames, she allowed nine hits and just one earned run for a 0.50 ERA, while not walking a single batter.
In a 3-0 victory over Purdue Northwest, she went the distance, allowing five hits and striking out 13. In a tough-luck 1-0 loss to Drury, she pitched all seven, allowing one run on four hits and retired 11 on strikeouts.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
11/14 | Jack Browder (Carson-Newman)
11/21 | Mikhail Pocknett (King)
11/28 | Jordan Sears (UT Martin)
12/5 | Reed Kemp (Maryville)
12/12 | Jalen Page (Trevecca)
12/19 | John Zhao (Carson-Newman)
1/3 | Nick Brenegan (Carson-Newman)
1/9 | Nick Brenegan (Carson-Newman)
1/16 | Jacob Crews (UT Martin)
1/23 | Mikhail Pocknett (King)
1/30 | John Zhao (Carson-Newman)
2/6 | Jordan Sears (UT Martin)
2/13 | John Zhao (Carson-Newman)
2/20 | Jestin Porter (Middle Tennessee)
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
11/14 | Kendal Cheesman (Belmont)
11/21 | Maya Buckhanon (Fisk)
11/28 | Jordyn Cambridge (Vanderbilt)
12/5 | Sacha Washington (Vanderbilt)
12/12 | Maya Buckhanon (Fisk)
12/19 | Jada Guinn (Chattanooga)
1/3 | Faith Wilken (Trevecca)
1/9 | Rickea Jackson (Tennessee)
1/16 | Anastasiia Boldyreva (Middle Tennessee)
1/23 | Reghan Grimes (Tennessee Tech)
1/30 | Anaya Brown (UT Martin)
2/6 | Olivia Falvey (Sewanee)
2/13 | Claira McGowan (Lipscomb)
2/20 | Maya Buckhanon (Fisk)
BASEBALL
2/20 | Player: John Bay (Austin Peay); Pitcher: Peyton Calitri (Tennessee Tech)
SOFTBALL
2/20 | Player: Olivia Lipari (Chattanooga); Pitcher: Ashlan Sensing (Trevecca)