Feb. 2, 2008

Box Score

Senior center Missy Whitney (Charleston, Mo./Three Rivers CC) tallied a game-high 20 points and equaled a career high with 15 rebounds as Southeast Missouri State women's basketball claimed a 58-51 overtime win over visiting UT Martin in an Ohio Valley Conference contest this afternoon at the Show Me Center. The game was televised nationally on ESPNU. With the win, the Redhawks improve to 15-6 (10-2) while the Skyhawks dropped their season record to 4-19 (1-12).

The visitors jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the opening two minutes on layups from senior Crystal Fuller and junior Phyllisha Mitchell. Southeast then tallied a 12-2 run over a stretch of 3:30 to capture 12-6 lead at the 15:20 mark with five points coming from junior guard Sonya Daugherty (St. Louis, Mo./Hancock). After UTM pulled to within 12-11 on a Mitchell layup and a three-pointer by senior Jennifer Angler with 12:44 left in the half, a three by senior guard Ashley Lovelady (Elkhart, Ind./Moberly Area CC) sparked a 17-3 scoring drive which lasted nearly nine minutes that included the Redhawks connecting on four treys as they captured a 29-14 advantage at the 3:57 ledger. The Skyhawks closed the half with an 11-2 run as Mitchell posted four points to slice Southeast's leading margin at 31-25 entering halftime.

A three-pointer from junior guard Tarina Nixon (Gilbert, Ariz./Highland) at the 16:37 mark hiked the home team's advantage back to nine points at 36-27. UT Martin closed to within 36-32 on an Angler three and a layup from Mitchell at the 14:53 mark. Both teams would battle to split the next 24 points over the next 11-plus minutes to stay within four points at 48-44 with 3:22 remaining in regulation before Fuller hit a pair of free throws at the 2:21 mark to bring the visitors to within two at 48-46. The score stayed the same until Skyhawk senior Victoria Carlile hit a jumper with 31 seconds left to even the score at 48-48. Southeast had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation as junior forward Crysta Glenn (San Diego, Calif./Cowley County CC) was fouled on a shooting attempt, but missed both free throw attempts as the game went into an extra period of play.

The Redhawks opened the overtime session with a 10-0 run over three and a half minutes with Whitney scoring seven points during the stretch to post a 58-48 advantage with 1:16 remaining. Fuller scored the final three points for the Skyhawks with a three-point play at the 52-second mark, but Southeast held on to claim the victory.

Nixon tallied 10 points, four steals and three assists in a career-best 45 minutes played for Southeast, while Lovelady posted nine points and five assists. Glenn finished with nine points and eight caroms, including six on the offensive end. Daugherty added seven points and four boards for the Redhawks.

Angler paced UT Martin with 18 points that included hitting five shots from beyond the arc. Mitchell posted a double-double of 12 points and a game-high 18 boards, while Fuller finished with 15 points and nine boards.

Southeast opens a two-game road trip in Kentucky next week with an OVC contest at Morehead State on Feb. 7 with the tip-off set for 4:15 p.m.