Jan. 11, 2005

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CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - (Tuesday, January 11, 2005) Home sweet home! That saying has never ringed more true then Tuesday night when the Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team showed that the close loss to Tennessee Tech on Saturday was in the past. Instead they made short work of Eastern Illinois defeating them, 87-70 on Tuesday night in the Show Me Center.

Southeast (8-6, 2-1 OVC) won their eighth-straight game over the Panthers (7-7, 0-3), including their fifth-straight victory over their conference rivals from Illinois in the friendly confines of the Show Me Center.

The loss was the Panthers third straight, with all three loses coming on the road and against OVC opponents. The Panthers fall to 1-7 on the road.

The Panthers held came out determined to establish the post despite being one of the top three-point shooting teams in the country. They succeeded for a moment in the first half as All-OVC pick Pam O'Conner and scored at a couple easy baskets as the Panther grabbed the lead 12-10.

However that would be the only time Eastern would lead in the game as Southeast countered with relentless defensive pressure and a barrage of three-pointers, including back-to-back treys by freshman Rachel Mueggenborg (West Salem, WI/West Salem) to grab their first 10-point lead, 30-20.

Southeast went into the half with a 45-39 advantage despite allowing the Panthers to shoot 54-percent from the field. Southeast answered with five threes, forcing turnovers and relentless work on the boards, especially on the offensive end as Southeast grabbed 11 offensive boards which led to second-chance opportunities.

The Panthers came out determined in the second-half cutting the lead to three, 47-44. Southeast countered with a 16-5 run and grabbed a 14-point lead, 63-49.

The Panthers would come no closer then seven points as the depth of Southeast took over and ended the game on a 20-9 run for the final margin.

Leanne Evans (Port Moody, Canada/Port Moody Secondary) sank two free throws to give Southeast their largest lead of the game 85-62 at the 2:23 mark.

Tatiana Conceicao (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Western Nebraska CC) finished with a game high 20 points on 8-14 shooting in only 19 minutes of action. She also grabbed eight boards and had four steals.

The OVC's leading scorer, it's the seventh game this season she has scored 20 or more points in the game. She has scored in double-digits in all but one game this season.

Conceicao was one of four Otahkians to finish in double digit scoring.

Katrisha Dunn (Dallas, TX/Eastern Oklahoma State College) finished with a career-high 13 points on 5-8 shooting, including 3-6 from behind the arc. It's the sixth game this season Dunn has made three treys in a game. She also had a career-high five rebounds.

Simone Jackson (Kingston, Jamaica/Southeastern Illinois CC) had 12 points and grabbed six boards.

Senior Chandra Brown (Louisville, KY/Southeastern Illinois CC) recorded her fifth career double-double and second of the season as she came the bench to score 10 points and grab 12 boards, six of which were on the offensive end. She also recorded three blocks and three steals.

For Brown it is the fourth game this season she has recorded 10 or more rebounds in a game.

The Panthers were led by Megan Sparks' 20 points and O'Connor's 18 points. However the duo was held to a combined six points in the second half as Southeast increased their defensive pressure.

The Panthers shot 53-percent from the field in the game, but their hot shooting was offset by 32 turnovers.

Southeast had 19 steals and held a 37-19 advantage in points off turnovers.

This is the eighth time this season Southeast has forced 20 or more turnovers in a game and the third time they have forced over 30.

Southeast also hurt the Panthers on the boards, specifically on the offensive end grabbing 21 offensive boards. That led to a 15-5 advantage in second chance points.

Southeast is 6-1 at home this season and are averaging 81.1 points per game and outscoring their opponents by 20 points holding them to 60.4 points per game.

Southeast heads back down to Tennessee again to face Tennessee State in Nashville Thursday night at 5:30 P.M. Southeast looks to improve on their OVC record as well as their road record as they are only 2-4 away from the Show Me Center.