Otahks recover from Kansas St. loss, beat Alcorn

SAN ANTONIO -- Southeast Missouri State University's women's basketball team bounced back from a 36-point loss to nationally ranked Kansas State with a 73-63 victory over Alcorn State in the Texas-San Antonio New Year's Classic on Wednesday.

Southeast (5-6) led from wire-to-wire as it grabbed a 7-0 lead and built a 15-point lead in the first half before setting for a 36-25 advantage at intermission. Alcorn State (1-7) closed to within six points in the second half but never got closer.

Junior guard Sami Jo Cotton scored a game-high 19 points for Southeast, which included four-of-six shooting from behind the 3-point arc and seven-of-eight shooting at the free-throw line. Cotton scored 16 of her points in the second half. Yashika Sidbury connected on seven of her 10 shots from the field and finished with 18 points. Chandra Brown finished with eight points, but pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds.

LaToya Johnson paced Alcorn State with 17 points while Candace Roberts had 13.

The Otahkians return to action on Thursday when they open Ohio Valley Conference play at home against Austin Peay.