Redhawks' late escape thwarts ETSU women

Lachelle Lyles continued to be a virtual rebounding machine.

Rachel Blunt had the best offensive performance of her Southeast Missouri State career.

Missy Whitney got going just in time.

Ashley Lovelady was solid throughout, while Sonya Daugherty did major damage in the final minutes.

It took all of the above and more to help the Redhawks post an improbable 73-68 nonconference win over visiting East Tennessee State on Friday night.

"Everybody stepped up big time," Lyles said.

Otherwise, the Redhawks (4-4) surely would not have clawed back from a 12-point deficit with under 6 minutes remaining against the Buccaneers (4-5), who controlled play for much of the contest.

But the Redhawks scored 19 of the game's final 21 points, after they trailed 66-54 in the late going.

"East Tennessee State is a good team and I knew they would be a handful for us," Southeast acting head coach John Ishee said. "It didn't look good for us, but it was a total team effort."

Lyles, Southeast's senior center who entered play tied for the national rebounding lead with an average of 14.6 per game, grabbed 18 more against ETSU.

Lyles has 66 rebounds in her last three games, including an Ohio Valley Conference-record 32 against Tennessee State on Dec. 7.

"When you're on top, you can't go back down," she said. "I want to get at least 15 or 16 every game."

Blunt, a sophomore forward from Dexter High School, was averaging just 5.4 points per game, with a season high of 10.

At halftime Friday, Blunt had two points. But she hit all seven of her field-goal attempts in the second half -- including four 3-pointers -- to score 19 points in the period and finish with a career-high 21.

"Coach has been harping in practice that I need to start shooting more," said Blunt, whose previous career high had been 16 points last year during a loss at ETSU. "I decided to do it tonight."

Said Ishee: "She stepped up huge in the second half. I got on her pretty good at halftime."

Whitney, a junior college transfer forward who entered play as Southeast's leading scorer, had just two points at halftime and was in foul trouble much of the game.

But Whitney scored six consecutive points late, capped by a driving layup with 3 minutes, 12 seconds remaining that pulled Southeast into a 66-66 tie. She finished with 11 points.

Lovelady, a junior college transfer guard who entered as Southeast's second-leading scorer, took over the team lead from Whitney after putting in 16 points, including hitting four of four free throws in the final 8 seconds.

Lovelady, now averaging 12.4 points per game to Whitney's 12.1, finished the game 7-for-7 from the foul line, as Southeast hit 17 of 23 overall, including 16 of 19 in the second half.

Daugherty, a sophomore guard, scored just seven points, but three proved crucial.

Daugherty made one of two free throws with 2:37 remaining to cap a 13-0 run and put Southeast ahead 67-66. It was the Redhawks' first lead since the opening 2 minutes of the game.

After ETSU went back ahead, Daugherty's driving shot from in close with 2:01 left gave the Redhawks the lead for good, 69-68.

"We had so many big plays down the stretch," Ishee said. "We had to have everybody contribute, especially with Tarina Nixon out."

Nixon, Southeast's sophomore point guard, did not play because of a sprained ankle.

Ishee praised little-used freshman walk-on guard Mikal Bencomo for helping pick up some of the slack left by Nixon's absence.

Bencomo, who had played just 11 minutes all year and had not scored, gave the Redhawks 7 minutes Friday and made her only shot -- a first-half 3-pointer that was part of an 11-0 Southeast run after ETSU had opened up an early 14-point advantage, its biggest of the night.

"She came up huge for us," Ishee said. "She played some key minutes to rest Ashley at the point and she hit a big shot."

Southeast held two early leads -- 2-0 and 5-4 -- but after that it was pretty much all ETSU, which surged ahead 23-9 midway through the first half and then spent most of the rest of the night answering every run by the Redhawks.

When the Bucs, who led 34-27 at halftime, opened their 66-54 advantage with less than 6 minutes remaining, things looked bleak for the Redhawks, whose defense to that point had been shredded much of the night.

But the Redhawks finally buckled down defensively, which fueled the late spurt.

"We had to pick up our intensity defensively," Lyles said. "We had to step up."

After Daugherty's basket gave Southeast a 69-68 lead with 2:01 remaining, there was no more scoring for nearly two minutes.

ETSU missed a shot with 11 seconds left, but retained possession as the ball went out of bounds off Southeast.

The Bucs' Siarre Evans was called for a double-dribble on a drive to the basket with 8 seconds remaining. She apparently voiced her displeasure to the officials and was slapped with a technical foul.

Lovelady made both free throws and was fouled again with 6 seconds left. She made two more free throws to seal the win.

"This is a huge win for us, especially coming from behind and before we play two big conference games," Blunt said.