Redhawks finally find answer for nemesis Samford, reach final

~ Southeast defeated the Bulldogs on their third attempt, winning 59-52 to reach today's championship game.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Tatiana Conceicao said she had strict orders from Southeast Missouri State coach B.J. Smith prior to Friday's semifinal game of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament.

"We had a conversation, and coach B.J. said you have to stay out of foul trouble. That was my main focus," Conceicao said.

Mission accomplished -- and now the Redhawks once again find themselves just one win away from their first NCAA Division I tournament berth.

Conceicao, Southeast's brilliant senior center, poured in 27 points -- nearly half of her team's total -- to spark the second-seeded Redhawks' 59-52 victory over third-seeded Samford.

The Redhawks (21-8), who gained a share of their first OVC regular-season title this year, will play top-seeded Tennessee Tech (22-7) at 11 a.m. today in the championship game at the Gaylord Entertainment Center. Tech tied with Southeast for the regular-season crown.

"I think this is our year," said Conceicao, who along with her teammates had to endure last season's heart-breaking double-overtime loss to Eastern Kentucky in the tournament final.

To get past a tough Samford team that had won both regular-season meetings with Southeast, Smith knew he needed Conceicao on the floor as much as possible.

During a 57-53 loss to the Bulldogs (21-8) on Feb. 23 in Cape Girardeau, Conceicao missed a good part of the second half after picking up her fourth foul. She still scored 24 points and never fouled out, but played only 26 minutes.

This time, Conceicao never was in serious foul trouble, which allowed her to play 35 of the 40 minutes. And as tight as things were most of the way, the Redhawks needed virtually all of her points, 19 of which came in the second half.

"I did talk to Tatiana about that," Smith said. "And not just staying out of foul trouble, but doing it while defending. I thought she did a really good job on both ends."

On avoiding foul trouble, Conceicao said: "That was a big key, because we expected it to be close the whole way."

It certainly was, as neither squad led by more than five points until the final two minutes, when the Redhawks finally pulled away for good.

After Samford led 27-24 at halftime, there were seven lead changes and six ties in the first 13 minutes of the second half.

Conceicao finally put Southeast ahead to stay with 7:01 remaining as she hit one of two free throws to make it 42-41.

A basket and free throw by Conceicao gave the Redhawks a 45-41 lead. It was 45-44 with under five minutes to go when Southeast finally grabbed control with an 8-0 run.

Conceicao's basket at the 4:30 mark made it 47-44. After a Conceicao steal, senior forward Simone Jackson made two free throws with 2:58 left for a 49-44 advantage.

Samford missed shots on its next two possessions, which left the Bulldogs needing to foul -- and Southeast proved to be money from the line, particularly senior point guard Wanika Owsley.

"I don't know what Wanika shoots from the line in the last couple of minutes, but it seems like she hardly ever misses," Smith said.

That was the case Friday, as she made nine of 10 foul shots in the final 1:45, her first two putting Southeast ahead 51-44 for the biggest lead of the game up to that point.

After a Samford turnover, Owsley made two more free throws at the 1:24 mark for a 53-44 advantage. The Redhawks were basically home free, with the Bulldogs coming no closer than six points.

"I practice that," said Owsley of her clutch free-throw shooting. "I know it's going to come down to free throws."

Southeast's final 12 points came from the charity stripe, as the Redhawks missed just two in the last three minutes.

"It seemed like they made all the plays down the stretch the last time we played them, and we didn't," Smith said. "Today we did. We got stops defensively, made shots and then hit our free throws."

Added a smiling Smith, "Did you see that monkey jump off my back with about seven seconds to go? Samford had our number all year. It was nice to get them in this one."

Owsley added 11 points for Southeast, but other than Conceicao most of the Redhawks struggled offensively.

Conceicao was eight of 16 from the field -- including three of seven 3-pointers -- and eight of 10 from the line. She also had a game-high seven rebounds.

"She's an outstanding player, obviously," Samford coach Mike Morris said. "I really think she stepped up down the stretch. We tried some different things. She made great plays down the stretch."

The rest of the Redhawks went six of 28 from the field and three of 15 from 3-point range, although as a team Southeast was impressive from the foul stripe at 25 of 33.

Conversely, Samford -- which entered the game as the OVC's top free-throw shooting team at 75.9 percent -- made just 10 of 19 from the line.

"To get close enough ... making some free throws ... in 24 hours we could be playing for the conference championship," said Morris, whose squad wrapped up the best season in the program's history. "I thought SEMO played well. They made some big plays down the stretch. I thought we got beat by a good team that played well."

And one that kept its best player on the court most of the time.