ROAD THRILL: OTAHKS CLAIM ANOTHER VICTIM WITH 67-66 WIN AT MOREHEAD

MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Southeast Missouri State University's women's basketball team keeps winning on the road and the Otahkians keep making sure the opposition's fans remain in their seats until the very end.

For the second straight game, the Otahkians built a big second-half lead away from home but were forced to withstand a furious comeback before holding on at the end.

But Southeast coach Ed Arnzen wasn't about to complain after the Otahkians' latest road cliffhanger, Saturday evening's 67-66 victory over Morehead State.

The Otahkians, who improved their overall record to 11-6 and their Ohio Valley Conference mark to 6-1, remained tied for second place in the nine-team league with Eastern Kentucky. Southeast and the Lady Colonels square off Monday in Richmond, Ky., in a key conference clash.

MSU fell to 5-14 overall and 1-7 in OVC play. The Lady Eagles are tied for last place in the league.

"Any road win is a good win," said a smiling Arnzen, whose squad remained perfect in four OVC games away from home. "Before the game started, I put the number 1 on the board and circled it. I said if we win by one, I'll be one happy dude."

Added Arnzen, "But we've had a tough time protecting leads several times. The 3-point shot can really bring a team back."

Southeast, which saw most of a 15-point lead at Eastern Illinois slip away before the Otahkians were able to prevail last Saturday, opened up a 52-38 advantage over the Lady Eagles after Christine Rathke made two free throws with 8:32 remaining in the second half.

MSU stormed back, pulling to within two points twice in the final 25 seconds.

But the Otahkians made four pressure-packed free throws in the closing moments, Lori Chase hitting a pair with 22 seconds left to put Southeast up 65-61 and Tiffany Melis nailing two with nine seconds remaining to give the Otahkians a 67-63 lead.

The Lady Eagles then hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to account for the final margin, but that was merely window dressing thanks to the Melis foul shots.

Chase paced the Otahkians offensively with 20 points and she pulled down 10 rebounds. Pam Iversen also recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Veronica Benson added 10 points for the Otahkians while point guard LaShelle Porter grabbed nine rebounds to go along with four assists. Rathke led the way in assists with five.

MSU got 23 points from Kandi Brown.