Feb. 9, 2007

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CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Junior forward Missy Whitney (Charleston, Mo./Three Rivers CC) and senior center Lachelle Lyles (Chicago, Ill./Shelton State CC) tallied double-doubles as Southeast Missouri State women's basketball gained an 84-70 win over Morehead State in an Ohio Valley Conference showdown Thursday night at the Show Me Center. The Redhawks improve to 16-7 (11-4) with the win, while the Eagles fall to 12-12 (11-4).

Whitney led all scorers with 28 points and added 10 rebounds for her team-leading seventh double-double of the year. Lyles contributed a game-high 12 rebounds and 10 points for Southeast.

The Redhawks struck first in the opening five minutes of the contest with an 11-5 advantage as four different players scored, including four points from junior guard Ashley Lovelady (Elkhart, Ind./Moberly Area CC). Southeast later increased its lead to 14-5 at the 13:56 mark on a conventional three-point play by Whitney, but back-to-back threes from junior Tarah Combs brought Morehead to within 14-13 just a minute later. The home team then scored 11 of the next 19 points during a near three-plus minute stretch to claim its biggest lead of the stanza at 25-16 with 8:37 remaining. The Eagles posted an 18-8 scoring drive in a span of 7:35 to post their first lead of the contest at 34-33 on a junior Stacy Strayer trey at the 1:02 mark. Lovelady connected on a 17-foot jumper with 27 seconds left to give Southeast a 35-34 lead before halftime.

Sophomore guard Sonya Daugherty (St. Louis, Mo./Hancock) scored on a short jumper to cap a quick 8-4 run in the first 3:12 in the second half as Southeast recorded a 43-38 lead. Morehead rebounded with a 10-2 scoring drive with four points coming from senior LaKrisha Brown to capture a 48-45 leading margin at the 14:11 mark. The Redhawks came back with a pivotal 23-11 run in seven minutes, including nine points by Daugherty to regain the lead at 69-59 with 7:14 left in the game. The Eagles could get no closer than seven points the rest of the way as Southeast held off any late rallies by scoring 15 of the game's final 26 points.

Sophomore guard Tarina Nixon (Gilbert, Ariz./Highland) added 14 points, four assists and two steals for the Redhawks, while Lovelady tallied 14 points and five rebounds. Daugherty finished the game with 12 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Combs recorded 25 points on 9-for-14 shooting, including 7-of-10 from downtown, to lead Morehead State. Brown was the other Eagle to score in double figures as she finished with 20 points along with six rebounds.

Southeast is back in action on Saturday as it welcomes Eastern Kentucky for an OVC contest at the Show Me Center with a start time of 3 p.m.