Southeast Drops OVC Contest At Morehead State, 68-58 :: Redhawks fall in battle of OVC's second-place teams despite Daugherty's 19 points

Redhawks fall in battle of OVC's second-place teams despite Daugherty's 19 points

Jan. 25, 2007

MOREHEAD, Ky. - Sophomore guard Sonya Daugherty (St. Louis, Mo./Hancock) scored a game-high 19 points as Morehead State claimed a 68-58 win over visiting Southeast Missouri State Wednesday night in the battle of second-place teams in the Ohio Valley Conference at Johnson Arena. Morehead brought its record to 10-9 (9-2) with the win and the Redhawks fall to 13-6 (8-3) on the year.

The Eagles opened the game with a 12-5 lead in the first five-plus minutes, highlighted by five points apiece from senior Jessie Plante and junior Anitha Smith-Williams. Southeast used a quick 8-4 run to slice its deficit to 16-13 at the 10:53 mark on a Daugherty free throw. Morehead later claimed its biggest lead of the stanza at 31-21 on a Plante layup with two minutes left, but the Redhawks outscored the host team by a 4-1 margin to enter intermission down 32-25.

In the second half, Southeast scored 14 of the first 23 points to erase an early 11-point deficit to pull within 43-39 on a three-pointer from sophomore forward Rachel Blunt (Dexter, Mo./Dexter) at the 12:44 mark. The Eagles hiked their lead back to a double-digit advantage at 60-47 by producing a 17-2 run during a five-plus minute stretch that culminated on a trey from freshman Brandi Rayburn. The visitors rebounded with an 11-4 run of its own to get within six points (64-68) with a minute left on layups from junior center Missy Whitney (Charleston, Mo./Three Rivers CC) and Blunt, but Morehead later connected on four free throws down the stretch for the final margin.

Whitney finished with 13 points and seven rebounds for Southeast. Junior guard Ashley Lovelady (Elkhart, Ind./Moberly Area CC) contributed 10 points, a career-best eight rebounds and five assists, while sophomore guard Tarina Nixon (Gilbert, Ariz./Highland) added nine points and four caroms.

Plante (12 points) and sophomore Brittany Bass (10 points) scored in double figures to lead Morehead, while junior Stacey Strayer tallied a game-high seven assists and freshman Amanda Green finished the game with nine points on 3-for-4 shooting. Rayburn added eight points and eight rebounds for the Eagles.

The Redhawks are back in action this Saturday at the Show Me Center when they host OVC-leading Murray State with the tip-off set for 5 p.m.