MURRAY STATE 68, EASTERN KENTUCKY 66
MURRAY, Ky. ? Lady Racer freshman guard Mallory Luckett may have lived up to her nickname "Lucky," as she found herself in position to hit a putback shot with 14.9 seconds left to tie Murray State's O'Reilly OVC Championship quarterfinal at 66-66.
Eastern Kentucky came down the court for one shot. Crystal Jones put it up with three seconds left, and MSU's Ashley Nichole Hayes rebounded -- and was fouled by Jones with 0.4 seconds remaining in regulation.
Hayes hit both free throws to give the Lady Racers their first trip to Nashville under head coach Joi Felton.
Murray State (20-8) was led by Hayes, who had a game-high 26 points and a team-high 11 rebounds (10 on the defensive end). Alaina Lee added 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting, while Amber Guffey had 12 points and five boards. Shaleea Petty had nine rebounds and a team-high seven assists for the Lady Racers.
Eastern Kentucky was led by Avery, who had 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting and a game-high eight assists. Andrea Jenkins added 12 points on 6-for-9 shooting. Amber Kirkpatrick grabbed a game-hgih 15 rebounds (10 on the defensive end), while Jones had five assists.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 58, AUSTIN PEAY 54
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. ? Junior guard Ashley Lovelady tallied a game-high 20 points and added six rebounds to lead top-seeded Southeast Missouri State women's basketball past eighth-seeded Austin Peay, 58-54, in an O'Reilly Ohio Valley Conference Tournament first round contest tonight at the Show Me Center. Southeast improved its season record to 22-7, while the Lady Govs finished with a 10-20 mark on the year.
The Redhawks posted an early 11-5 lead in the opening four minutes of the first half on a layup from sophomore guard Sonya Daugherty. Daugherty scored nine during the game-opening run and she later increased Southeast's advantage to 15-9 with a jumper at 12:25. Austin Peay scored four straight points on baskets from freshman Nicole Jamen and junior Kellea Reeves to close within 15-13 at the 10:50 mark. The Redhawks then scored 10 of the next 15 points to take a 25-18 lead at 3:11 on a free throw from junior forward Missy Whitney. A quick 10-5 scoring drive helped the Lady Govs cut their deficit to 30-28 entering the halftime break.
Southeast outscored Austin Peay by a 14-7 margin over a span of six-plus minutes to post its biggest lead of the game at 44-33 on a Lovelady jumper. The Lady Govs came back with an 8-0 run, including four points from junior Ashlee McGee, to slice their deficit to 44-41 at the 9:22 mark. After senior center Lachelle Lyles posted a fast break lay up off a steal with 5:04 remaining to put the home team ahead 52-45, Austin Peay tallied six of the next eight points to close within three at 54-51 at the 2:57 mark. Lovelady brought the lead back to 56-51 with a jumper just 22 seconds later before senior Alicia Watson scored three points over the next minute and a half that sliced the Lady Govs' deficit to 56-54 with 48 seconds left in the game. After being fouled with 13 seconds left, Lyles split a pair of free throws and grabbed her own miss on the second shot before splitting the final two free throws at the 11 second mark for the win.
Daugherty finished the game with 16 points, two rebounds and two steals for Southeast, while Lyles nearly posted a double-double with nine points and a game-high 19 rebounds. Whitney contributed seven points and eight rebounds for the Redhawks.
Watson tallied a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead Austin Peay. Senior Amber Bacon added 12 points and Jamen posted eight points and three boards.
UT MARTIN 61, MOREHEAD STATE 57
MOREHEAD, Ky. ? Phyllisha Mitchell scored 12 points to lead four UT Martin players in double figures as the visiting sixth-seeded Skyhawks upset third seed and host Morehead State, 61-57, in the first round of the 2007 O’Reilly OVC Women’s Basketball Tournament Tuesday. UTM now moves on to face second-seeded Murray State in the semifinals Friday in Nashville, Tenn., while MSU finished its 2006-2007 campaign at 14-16.
The Skyhawks got a balanced offensive effort and the defense held Morehead State to 38 percent shooting. Nicole Holeman poured in 11, including a key three-pointer with 1:25 left in the game, while Crystal Fuller and Deina Willingham scored 10 each.
The Eagles got a game high 17 points and a team high seven rebounds from senior Holly Williams in her final collegiate game. Williams scored five baskets and added a career high seven free throws. Senior Jessie Plante closed her four-year MSU career with 13 points and four assists, hitting a career high 8-of-8 free throws. The Eagles hit 19-of-24 free throws, but could not find the range from beyond the arc, hitting 6-of-22. The Skyhawks shot 44 percent for the game and out-rebounded the Eagles 37-27. UTM also helped itself with 12 offensive rebounds.
UTM led by as many as 11 (49-38) with 9:21 left in the game but saw the Eagles scratch back into the contest. The Eagles went on a 12-3 run over a six-minute span and cut their deficit down to one (52-51) with 3:51 left. The Skyhawks got baskets from Holeman and Fuller and moved back out 56-51 with 2:06 left.
The Eagles, however, answered with a trio of free throws and trailed 56-54 with 1:40 left. That’s when Holman essentially sealed the eagles; fate with a long three pointer from the top of the key to put UTM back out 59-54. Williams hit a lay up and one of two free throws with 19 seconds left to give the Eagles a last chance, but Holman’s missed free throw was rebounded on the offensive end by UTM’s Fuller, and she hit two free throws to close the game 61-57.
In the first half, the Skyhawks also controlled the tempo, taking an 18-12 lead with 8:57 left before the break. However, an 11-4 Eagles run erased that lead, and MSU took its first lead since the 14:19 mark with 5:48 left (23-22). The teams traded baskets before UTM gained a 31-28 halftime advantage.
SAMFORD 63, TENNESSEE TECH 60
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ? Alex Munday scored 20 points and made key free throws down the stretch to lead the Samford women's basketball team to a 63-60 win over Tennessee Tech in the first round of the 2007 O'Reilly Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Tuesday night at Seibert Hall.
With the win, Samford (18-12) advances to the OVC semifinals. The fourth-seeded Bulldogs will take on top-seeded Southeast Missouri Friday at 12:00 p.m. at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tenn. Tennessee Tech ends its season with a 12-18 record.
The game was the final game in the 45-year old Seibert Hall. Next season, Samford will play in the new Pete Hanna Arena.
"I thought we played a very good first half, particularly defensively," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "But, Tennessee Tech is a good team. They are used to winning championships, they were not going to just die. When they took the lead, our girls bowed up. I was so pleased with the way we responded."
Behind Munday for Samford, Veronica Pike scored 11 points, and Chelsee Insell and Monica Maxwell added eight points each.
For Tennessee Tech, Kendall Cavin and Blair Bowens scored 19 points each.
Samford jumped out to an early 8-0 lead with 16:41 to go in the first half after a three-pointer by Munday. Samford pushed its lead out to nine at 11-2 with 12:45 to go following a three-pointer by Insell.
After Tennessee Tech cut the lead to four at 13-9, Samford went on an 11-2 run to push its lead to 13 at 24-11 with 2:42 to go after a three-pointer by Maxwell. Samford took a 29-15 lead into halftime.
Tennessee Tech opened the second half with a 12-2 run to cut the Samford lead to four at 31-27 with 16:28 to go after a three-pointer by Cara Reed. The Golden Eagles took the lead at 39-37 with 12:44 to go after a layup by Blair Bowens.
Tech took a four-point lead at 49-45 with 6:13 to go after a three-pointer by Cavin. After Samford fought back to tie the score at 51-51, the Bulldogs retook the lead at 54-51 with 3:55 to go after a three-pointer by Munday.
Tech then scored the next four points to take a 55-54 lead with 2:40 to go in the game. Four-straight Samford free throws, two by Munday and two by Maxwell gave Samford the lead back at 58-55 with 1:38 to play. Samford pushed its lead out to four at 61-57 with 19 seconds to go after a pair of free throws by Munday.
After Tennessee Tech cut the lead to one at 61-60, Megan Wilderotter hit two free throws with 10 seconds left to put the game away.
For the game, Samford shot 38.6 percent to Tennessee Tech's 45.8 percent. The Bulldogs shot 36.4 percent from three-point range and 87.5 percent from the free-throw line.