2013 OVC Women's Basketball Championship - First Round

3/6/2013 7:00:00 AM

#5 EASTERN KENTUCKY 62, #8 MURRAY STATE 51
NASHVILLE -Fifth-seeded Eastern Kentucky defeated No. 8 Murray State, 62-51, to advance to the quarterfinals of the OVC Tournament on Wednesday. The Lady Colonels will play No. 4 UT Martin on Thursday.

In the first half, the Racers got off to a strong start, thanks in part to a pair of 3-pointers from senior Mariah Robinson, and led by a 14-7 margin with 14:42 remaining in the half. However, Eastern Kentucky (18-10) battled back and continued to chip away at the lead throughout the period.

With 3:59 remaining in the half, EKU’s LaRa’e Allen made a lay-up that gave her team a 23-22 lead, its first lead since 3-0. The Lady Colonels went on to outscore MSU 6-3 in the final four minutes of the frame and took a 29-25 led in to the locker room at the break.

In the second half, the Racers stayed with EKU for most of the frame, tying the game once and cutting the lead to just one on three different occasions. With exactly 6:00 to play, Murray State cut the lead to 46-45 on a three from Robinson. However, the Lady Colonels ended the game on a 16-5 run from that point to advance to the quarterfinals.

Allen led the Lady Colonels with 13 points while Raechele Gray added 12 points. Maria Carpenter chipped in 11 points as Alex Jones tallied a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

Senior Mariah Robinson led the Racers in her final game with her seventh career double-double and fifth this season with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Robinson will end her career at MSU as the seventh all-time leading scorer with 1,583 career points and 575 career rebounds.

She will leave the team as its all-time career leader in 3-pointers made and attempted at 264 and 768, respectively. She is also one of only four players in Racer history to score at least 1,500 points and record at least 500 rebounds.

Freshman Erika Sisk followed Robinson with 10 points and four assist, while junior Jessica Winfrey had 10 boards to along with three points.

#6 SIUE 73, #7 TENNESSEE STATE 61
NASHVILLE - SIUE women's basketball made a successful Ohio Valley Conference Tournament debut Wednesday with a 73-61 triumph over Tennessee State at Municipal Auditorium.

Raven Berry led all players with 19 points and just missed her seventh straight double-double, finishing with nine rebounds. Berry shot 6 of 9 from the field, converted 7 of 9 from the free throw line, and added a career-high four blocks.

The Cougars, 16-13, advance to play third-seeded Belmont in the quarterfinals of the tournament. Game time Thursday is 2 p.m. The game will be covered on 88.7 FM WSIE and the siuecougarnetwork.com. Video is available on OVCDigitalNetwork.com.

Wednesday's win was SIUE's first in tournament play as a member of the OVC. It also was SIUE's first victory during the postseason since the 2000-2001 season.

SIUE Head Coach Paula Buscher watched her team play tight defense on Tennessee State, which ended its season with a 13-15 record. The Tigers shot 31 percent from the field (18-58).

The Cougars shot 47.3 percent from the field (26-55). CoCo Moore shot 5 of 10 from the field and finished with 13 points. Jazmin Hill's two 3-pointers tied Teri Evans (1992-95) for second all-time in 3-pointers as she added 10 points for SIUE.

The top rebounding team in the OVC, SIUE only won the rebounding battle 40-38. However, SIUE took clear advantage of Tennessee State turnovers. The Tigers turned the ball over 23 times, and SIUE capitalized on it for 26 points.

Jasmin Shuler led TSU with 17 points, including three 3-pointers. Kesi Hess shot 3 of 13 from the field but was a perfect 7 of 7 from the free throw line, finishing with 14 points. Chelsea Hudson added 11 off the bench.

Two players from each team fouled out of the contest, and the physical game turned into SIUE's favor.

The Cougars now move forward to face off with Belmont, which is making its first-ever appearance in the OVC Tournament.