EKU RIPS OTAHKIANS 97-58

RICHMOND, Ky. -- Eastern Kentucky's Lady Colonels were an angry basketball team Monday night.

Southeast Missouri State University's Otahkians wound up having to pay the price for EKU's wrath.

The Lady Colonels, still smarting from Saturday's surprising home loss to Eastern Illinois, took it out on Southeast by posting a 97-58 Ohio Valley Conference romp at McBrayer Arena.

EKU, the defending OVC champion and heavy league favorite this year, improved to 7-4 overall and 3-1 in league play.

The Otahkians fell to 4-7 overall and 2-2 in the OVC as they dropped out of a first-place conference tie.

"Eastern Kentucky is a very good basketball team and I'm sure they were still pretty upset about losing Saturday," said Southeast coach Ed Arnzen. "Their backs were to the wall and they played well."

Rusty Sowers scored 17 points to lead the Otahkians while Jamie Koester had 12 and Moneik Campbell added 10.

Laphelia Doss paced EKU with 17 points. Also in double figures were Chrissy Roberts (16), Lisa Pace (14), Shannon Browning (12) and Marla Gearhart (11).

Doss pulled down 15 rebounds as the Lady Colonels controlled the boards by a 43 to 31 count.

"Doss and Roberts are probably two of the three best players in the league. When they're on, you won't stop them," Arnzen said. "But I was disappointed in our effort against their other players."

EKU never trailed in the contest, although for much of the first half Southeast was at least able to make things semi-interesting.

After the Lady Colonels bolted to an early 10-4 lead, Koester scored five quick points to pull the Otahkians within 10-9.

The Lady Colonels then hit Southeast with one of several big runs in the opening 20 minutes. This one was an 11-0 spurt that put EKU ahead 21-9.

Sowers' 3-point basket got Southeast back to within 21-12 at the midway point of the half, but another five quick EKU points made it 26-12.

Campbell scored five straight Southeast points as the Otahkians again sliced EKU's lead to single digits at 26-17.

Then came another EKU burst as back-to-back 3-pointers by Roberts and Pace put the Lady Colonels ahead 32-17.

But back came the Otahkians once again as Sowers and Dana Hawkins both had four points during an 8-0 spurt that pulled Southeast to within 32-25 with 5:33 remaining before halftime.

That, however, was the end of the good news for the Otahkians. Southeast went scoreless for more than five minutes as EKU scored 15 straight points to build a 47-25 bulge.

A late 3-pointer by Koester made it 47-28 at the break.

EKU sizzled in the first half by shooting 61 percent (20 of 33). Southeast shot just 41 percent (nine of 22).

The halftime score could have been even worse but EKU made just two of 10 free throws. Southeast was eight of 13 at the line in the opening 20 minutes.

Things got little better for the Otahkians in the second half as they never pulled closer than 17 points and that was in the opening moments.

EKU led by more than 30 points much of the second half and the Lady Colonels' biggest advantage was 41 points in the final minute.

The Lady Colonels wound up shooting 55 percent for the game (36 of 66) while the Otahkians finished at 39 percent (18 of 46).

Southeast will return to action Saturday, hosting Middle Tennessee in a 5:30 p.m. contest.