UT-MARTIN OVERTAKES OTAHKS IN SECOND HALF

MARTIN, Tenn. -- The upset bid of Southeast Missouri State University's women's basketball team was foiled Thursday night by a barrage of turnovers and a big second-half comeback by Tennessee-Martin.

Southeast had 26 turnovers -- 16 coming in the second half -- as UTM overcame a 10-point halftime deficit and rallied for a 71-65 Ohio Valley Conference victory.

The Otahkians, who fell to 5-8 overall and 2-3 in OVC play, were saddled with a third narrow road loss against one of the OVC's top three teams in the league's preseason poll. Southeast earlier lost by four points at both Tennessee Tech and Middle Tennessee.

The Skyhawks improved to 4-9 overall and 3-1 in the conference.

"It's frustrating," said Southeast coach Ed Arnzen, whose squad had a three-game winning streak snapped. "We're close, but we can't seem to put two good halves together.

"Turnovers were the key to the game. We had 26 and that's way too many. They hurt us a lot on the press."

Southeast was hampered somewhat by illness and injury. Starting point guard Moneik Campbell did not even make the trip because she is suffering from the flu. Starting shooting guard Liea Toedte, who had been questionable with a sprained ankle, played 23 minutes but was not at full strength.

"We didn't have all our players and we had to play a lot of young kids," Arnzen said. "We got tired in the second half."

Two freshmen actually led the Otahkians in scoring.

LaShelle Porter, making her first start in place of Campbell, had 15 points, 10 coming in the second half.

Lori Chase, playing strong inside, came off the bench to score 14 points and grab a game-high nine rebounds. Ten of her points came in the second half.

Pam Iversen added 12 points and eight rebounds while Paula Corder-King had 10 points.

Zabrina Harris, last season's OVC Player of the Year, led the Skyhawks with 18 points as she hit eight of 12 shots from the field. Kelly Pendleton and Amy Watson were also in double figures, with 13 and 12 points, respectively.

The Skyhawks, after shooting a horrendous 27 percent in the first half (nine of 34), sizzled at 56 percent in the second half (19 of 34).

"They were a lot more aggressive in the second half and they shot the ball a lot better," said Arnzen.

The Otahkians controlled play virtually the entire first half, holding big advantages at the free-throw line and on the glass.

Southeast hit 11 of 17 foul shots over the opening 20 minutes, compared to one of two for UTM. And the Otahkians held a 27-18 rebounding edge.

Regan Hughston scored the first basket of the game to give the Otahkians a quick 2-0 lead and Southeast would not trail in the initial half.

After UTM pulled into a 2-2 tie the only deadlock of the half Southeast went on an 8-0 run to go up 10-2 and the Otahkians never led by less than three points the remainder of the period.

Leading 23-18 late in the half, the Otahkians closed the period with a 7-2 run. Toedte made two foul shots with 6.3 seconds left to put Southeast up 30-20 at halftime.

It didn't take long for the Skyhawks to make a game of it in the second half. They scored the first eight points and pulled into a 34-34 tie less than five minutes into the period on a basket and free throw by Chastity Bohannan.

"We didn't have much intensity right at the start of the second half and they scored (eight) quick points," said Arnzen. "That was big."

Iversen scored five straight points as Southeast righted the ship and went back up 39-34.

Corder-King's 3-pointer with 12:33 left gave the Otahkians a 42-36 lead, and Southeast also later led by six at 48-42.

An 8-0 UTM run, capped by a Harris basket with 7:03 left, gave the Skyhawks their first lead of the game at 50-48.

Southeast freshman Kristy Roherty drilled a 3-pointer with 5:58 left as the Otahkians went back on top 51-50.

But the Skyhawks came right back with a 7-0 run. LaShanta Morrow's 15-footer with 5:33 remaining put UTM up 52-51 and the Skyhawks later led 57-51.

The Otahkians answered with five quick points, getting two Iversen free throws and a three-point play by Chase with 4:24 left that made it 57-56.

After UTM went back up by four points, Southeast pulled to within a pair twice, the last time on a Chase follow shot that made it 63-61 with 1:46 remaining.