OTAHKS SUFFER 83-68 SETBACK AT MOREHEAD

MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Southeast Missouri State University's bid for its first two-game winning streak of the season in women's basketball fell short here Saturday, thanks to a six-minute burst by Morehead State to end the contest.

The Otahkians and Lady Eagles were locked in a tight struggle, MSU holding a tenuous 59-58 lead with under seven minutes remaining.

But the Lady Eagles outscored the Otahkians 24-10 the rest of the way as they posted an 83-68 Ohio Valley Conference victory.

Southeast fell to 5-16 overall and 3-10 in OVC play as the Otahkians remained in last place in the conference. MSU improved to 8-12 overall and 6-6 in the league.

"I thought the effort was there and I thought we played extremely hard," said Southeast coach Ed Arnzen. "We got behind the eight ball in the first five minutes when Dana Hawkins got three fouls and Kim Palmer got two fouls.

"Stephanie Faith (who suffered a neck injury last Monday against Austin Peay) is not on the trip with us and we don't have enough post people. So we had to use some people out of position."

To the Otahkians' credit, despite falling behind 18-9 early, they rallied for a 35-35 halftime tie and even led for much of the second half before wilting down the stretch.

"Under the circumstances, the first half was as good an effort as one of my teams has had," Arnzen said. "Then in the second half we get Hawkins and Palmer back and we played well except for that five-minute stretch at the end that always seems to hit us."

Jamie Koester poured in 28 points to pace the Otahkians. She hit 13 of 22 shots from the field while also grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out a team-high five assists. Palmer added 10 points.

Amy Kieckbusch led the Lady Eagles with 27 points and 10 rebounds. She hit 10 of 18 shots. Allison Osborn had 16 points and Alisha Griffeth added 14.

The Lady Eagles had a huge edge from the free-throw line, hitting 25 of 32 foul shots compared to only two of five for the Otahkians. But Arnzen did not point at the officiating.

"That's not poor officiating, it's just bad defense on our part," he said.

From a 35-35 halftime tie, Southeast opened up several four-point leads in the second half. And the Otahkians were still ahead 56-55 with just over eight minutes left.

MSU took the lead for good on Hilary Swisher's layup that made it 57-56 with 7:10 remaining.

Southeast was still hanging close at 59-58 after Palmer's jumper with 6:30 left, but then the Lady Eagles pulled away.

The Otahkians will be right back in action today as they visit OVC leader Eastern Kentucky for a 1 p.m. tipoff.

"That's going to be a huge challenge for us," Arnzen said. "Eastern Kentucky is playing extremely well and they're leading the league. But that's why you play the games. We'll try to bounce back."