Sidbury takes record into home date with Lipscomb

It's only four games into her Southeast Missouri State University basketball career -- and already Yashika Sidbury has tucked an Ohio Valley Conference record into her pocket.

Sidbury set the OVC single-game mark for most free throws without a miss when she connected on all 15 of her foul shots during Saturday's wild 93-87 double-overtime win over Quinnipiac in the third-place game of the Wisconsin-Green Bay Tournament. Previously, several OVC players were 14-for-14.

"That's pretty cool. I didn't even know about it," Sidbury said after being told of the record during Wednesday's practice.

The 5-foot-11 junior's performance Saturday also featured 36 points and 14 rebounds, making her Southeast's leading scorer (16.3 ppg) heading into tonight's 7 p.m. home game against Lipscomb from Nashville, Tenn. The Otahkians are 2-2 and the Bisons are 1-2.

"She played phenomenal," Southeast coach B.J. Smith said. "She's playing small forward for us but we needed her in the post because of injuries and she was unbelievable."

So far this year, Sidbury has missed just one of her 19 free-throw attempts for a sizzling 94.7 percent which, if she kept up that pace, would break the OVC's single-season record of 94.1 percent set by Southeast's Paula Corder in 1998-99.

Ironically, the league's single-game record for most free throws made is held by current Otahkian Lori Chase, who hit 23 during a contest two years ago.

While surpassing Corder's single-season conference record would appear to be quite a chore, Sidbury said it is within reach -- even if she doesn't even spend much time practicing foul shots.

"I think I can keep it up," Sidbury said. "I've always been a good free-throw shooter and actually, I don't even practice it that much."

Sidbury was one of first-year Southeast coach Smith's key recruits after the native of Washington, D.C., averaged 10 points and five rebounds last season for a Trinity Valley (Texas) Community College team that went 32-3 and finished seventh in the national junior-college tournament.

But Smith had to do quite a job of convincing for Sidbury to even continue her basketball career after junior college.

"I actually wasn't planning to go to school. I was tired of playing and I was just going to work," Sidbury said. "But coach convinced me. I liked his winning mentality."

Said Smith, "She really hasn't even been playing basketball that long, since she was maybe a sophomore in high school. I don't even think she knows how good she can be. She can be really good."

The personable, ever-smiling Sidbury -- who goes by the nickname Ya-Ya, which originated her sophomore year of high school because her coach couldn't pronounce Yashika -- is so far happy she changed her mind.

"I'm liking it so far," she said. "I'm glad I'm here."

In today's game, Lipscomb could give the Otahkians a stern challenge. The Bisons, 16-12 last year, have beaten Mercer 70-58 and lost to Oral Roberts 80-62 and Eastern Kentucky 78-73.

"The thing they have is experience," Smith said. "They'll be a pretty solid team. They lost to a very good Oral Roberts team and played tough against a good Eastern Kentucky team."

Last year, Southeast traveled to Nashville and defeated Lipscomb 72-58 in Ed Arnzen's final season as the Otahkians' coach.

Sidbury is one of four Otahkians scoring in double figures, the others being senior forward Chase (13.5 ppg), junior guard Kenja White (12.3 ppg) and junior forward Carina Souza (10.3 ppg).

Chase and Sidbury are the leading rebounders, at 7.3 and 6.5 per game, respectively, while Souza and junior point guard Sarah Costello are both averaging 2.8 assists per game. Costello is also contributing eight points a contest.

mmishow@semissourian.com

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