Southeast women climb standings

It wasn't easy, but the Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team continued its dominance of Eastern Kentucky on Thursday.

The Redhawks overcame a one-point halftime deficit to beat the Colonels for the eighth straight time, 66-56 in Richmond, Ky.

The Redhawks (13-11, 8-5) moved into fifth place in the 10-team Ohio Valley Conference. They are just one game on the loss side out of third place. The top four finishers earn home games for the first round of the eight-team OVC tournament.

"It was a big win for us," said Southeast coach John Ishee, whose squad has won nine of its last 12. "This time of year, they're all big. And any time you win on the road, it's huge."

EKU (6-17, 3-11) suffered its ninth straight loss, including a 71-54 defeat at Southeast on Jan. 17.

Thursday's rematch was much tougher as the Colonels scored the final 11 points of the first half to go up 26-25 at the intermission.

There were seven lead changes and three ties in the second half before Southeast finally went ahead for good.

Junior backup center Lesley Adams hit a follow shot to give the Redhawks a 42-40 advantage midway through the final period.

Adams' basket started an 8-1 run that made it 48-41.

EKU was still within striking distance at 53-49 in the late going before the Redhawks pulled away for good.

"We re-established ourselves in the second half and played pretty good down the stretch," Ishee said.

Senior wing Sonya Daugherty had a double-double for Southeast with 11 points and a team-high 10 rebounds.

Daugherty, who played a team-high 38 minutes, also led the Redhawks in assists with five and steals with three.

"Sonya had a very good all-around game," Ishee said. "She really played well defensively."

The Redhawks received a boost from the return of sophomore wing Lauren Sharpe, the OVC steals leader who missed the last two games with a sternum injury.

Sharpe scored 13 points as she hit 3 of 8 3-pointers. Sharpe, who played 34 minutes, added four rebounds and a steal while contributing several deflections.

"Lauren makes a difference on both ends of the court," Ishee said.

Senior forward Crysta Glenn matched Sharpe for team-high scoring honors with 13 points. She grabbed seven rebounds.

Senior guard Tarina Nixon, after being shut out in the first half, finished with 12 points.

Adams had a strong performance off the bench with seven points as she hit 3 of 4 shots.

"Lesley had a really nice game," Ishee said. "She was active."

Senior forward Rachel Blunt scored all eight of her points in the second half.

"It was a nice team win," said Ishee, whose squad had only seven turnovers. "We got a lot of contributions."

EKU was paced by sophomore forward Cherie White with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Freshman guard Kayla Drake also scored 13 points.

Southeast returns to action Saturday at Morehead State -- which beat the Redhawks 74-68 on Jan. 15 at the Show Me Center -- in a key matchup.

The Eagles (14-12, 8-6) fell into sixth place, one-half game behind Southeast, after losing to second-place Eastern Illinois on Thursday.

A win Saturday would assure Southeast of pulling into a fourth-place OVC tie because the squads deadlocked for third at 9-4 -- Austin Peay and Tennessee State -- square off Saturday.

"It's a big game against a very good opponent," Ishee said of Saturday's contest. "By winning [Thursday] we put ourselves in a position to sweep this two-game road trip, and that's all you can ask."