MVP Daugherty plays biggerrole in this OVC championship

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Sonya Daugherty was a freshman member of last year's Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team that advanced to the NCAA Division I tournament for the first time.

But Daugherty was certainly not a key member of the senior-dominated squad as she averaged just 1.5 points and 4.1 minutes of playing time per game. She scored only 29 points all season.

One year later, however, Daugherty has certainly arrived as a prime-time performer for the Redhawks.

Daugherty, a sophomore guard from St. Louis, was voted the most valuable player of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament after the Redhawks captured their second straight title with Saturday's thrilling 62-60 win over Murray State.

Daugherty scored a team-high 18 points and also led the Redhawks in scoring during the tournament with a three-game total of 54 points. She added a game-high six assists Saturday and finished the tournament with 10 assists.

"It feels great," Daugherty said of winning the MVP award. "Toward the end of the game I was just so happy, it was the last thing on my mind, but everybody told me I had a good chance of getting it."

As far as Daugherty is concerned, that honor made up for her being snubbed on the all-conference teams that came out Thursday.

Daugherty was passed over despite being Southeast's leading scorer on the season at nearly 14 points per game. In conference play, Daugherty averaged almost 16 points to rank fourth in the league.

"They could have given me second team [all-OVC]," Daugherty said with a smile. "But this makes up for it."

Daugherty said the fact she is a key performer makes this year's OVC regular-season and tournament titles, along with the resulting NCAA Division I tournament berth, much sweeter for her personally than last season, when the Redhawks also achieved all three feats for the first time in school history.

"It's a lot more special, because I contributed," she said.

And Daugherty -- a graduate of Hancock High School who ranks as the all-time leading scorer in the history of St. Louis-area prep girls basketball -- said she is not surprised by her emergence on the collegiate level this season.

Daugherty said that former Southeast coach B.J. Smith, who resigned in December amid controversy, "always told me to be patient. I knew this time would come."

Lyles also honored

Southeast senior center Lachelle Lyles, the nation's leading rebounder, had a relatively mild performance on the boards -- by her standards -- Saturday but that didn't stop her from making the all-tournament team for the second year in a row.

Lyles, averaging more than 17 rebounds per game, was limited to 10 against Murray State. That is the fewest rebounds she has grabbed since the fifth game of the season, on Dec. 2 at Baylor, when she pulled down nine.

Lyles, an all-conference first-teamer, set an OVC tournament record with 50 rebounds in the three games. She is already the league's single-season (517) and single-game record-holder, having pulled down 32 at Tennessee State on Dec. 7.

"It's a great feeling to win the tournament again," said Lyles, who came off the bench for the Redhawks last season. "I think it's even better this year, because of all the things we've been through."

Other team leaders

In addition to Daugherty leading Southeast in scoring during the tournament and Lyles being the top rebounder, a host of other Redhawks also had strong showings.

Junior forward Missy Whitney, a second-team all-OVC selection and Southeast's No. 2 scorer on the season at more than 13 points per game, finished the tournament with 33 points, 21 rebounds and seven blocked shots.

Sophomore point guard Tarina Nixon had 26 points and 11 assists, while junior guard Ashley Lovelady scored 30 points.

Also coming up big was sophomore forward Rachel Blunt, who played by far the most among Southeast's reserves in the tournament. Blunt scored 16 points in the three games. She had six Saturday, including four in the late going.

Noteworthy

• A celebration to honor the Redhawks will begin at 7 p.m. Monday at the Show Me Center. The public is invited to attend.