Otahks' OVC title hopes take a hit

Eastern Kentucky wins second-place showdown 81-75.

By Marty Mishow ~ Southeast Missourian

Southeast Missouri State University women's coach B.J. Smith didn't have to look far to find one of the most glaring reasons for the Otahkians' 81-75 loss to Eastern Kentucky Saturday night.

While the Colonels sizzled from the free-throw line by making 26 of 29, the Otahkians struggled to a 16-for-27 performance.

There were other factors in the defeat at the Show Me Center that dropped Southeast (13-7, 7-3) into third place in the Ohio Valley Conference, one-half game behind second-place EKU (15-6, 7-2) -- but the charity stripe was a good place to start.

"Free throws really hurt us," Smith said. "First of all, we gave up too many by not being in position on defense, which caused us to foul. And we missed too many. We're a good shooting team, so I don't know...

"We also missed way too many layups. I think we missed 10 in the first half. We had all kinds of shots around the basket, we just couldn't finish."

Southeast was also hurt by a huge deficiency on the boards as EKU held a 45-30 edge in rebounding.

The bottom line is that the Otahkians fell to the Colonels for the second time this season and saw their shot at winning the OVC regular-season title greatly diminish. Austin Peay leads the league at 10-0.

"Unless something funny happens, this knocks us out of the conference race," Smith said. "It's disappointing. This was our biggest game of the season so far."

EKU's talented guard tandem of junior Katie Kelly and senior Teresa McNair burned Southeast for a combined 45 points, including 24 by Kelly. McNair had 15 of her 21 points in the first half and also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.

Sophomore forward Miranda Eckerle added 16 points for the Colonels.

"Katie and Teresa both had very good games," EKU coach Larry Joe Inman said. "Teresa came to play. She's been a great player for us the last few years."

Southeast was led by junior forward Yashika Sidbury with 15 points. She hit three of five 3-pointers but no other Otahkian made a 3-pointer as the team finished three of 12.

Also in double figures for the Otahkians were junior forward Carina Souza with 14 points, freshman guard Tiffanne Ryan with 13 and junior guard Kenja White with 10, although White made just five of 17 shots.

Ryan, who hit four of five from the field and five of six from the line, led the Otahkians in assists with five and steals with three.

The Otahkians fell into a sizable early hole as EKU jumped out to leads of 6-0 and 9-1. Less than six minutes into the contest, Southeast trailed 19-6 and fought an uphill battle the rest of the night.

EKU led 43-36 at halftime and built a 12-point advantage early in the final period.

Southeast, which never led, fought back and finally forged a 60-60 tie on Sidbury's basket and free throw with 9:19 remaining.

But the Colonels came right back to take the lead for good. They built a late 77-70 advantage and Southeast got no closer than four points the rest of the way.

"They made some big plays, then after they made their run we made some really big plays," Inman said.

The Otahkians will play the last of four straight OVC home games Monday night when Morehead State visits the Show Me Center.

It will be "Otahkian Poster Signing Night," with the first 500 fans receiving a custom design women's basketball poster. Fans are also urged to stay after the game for an autograph session with the players.

Also Monday, Andre Shepherd, a former member of the Temptations, will sing the national anthem and perform at halftime.