Box Score

Cape Girardeau, Mo. (February 10, 2003) - After a horrendous first-half shooting performance of just 32 percent, the Southeast Missouri State Otahkian basketball team kicked it into high gear, shooting 52 percent and defeated the Lady Eagles of Morehead State tonight, 78-64. Southeast moves to 14-7 and 8-2 in the OVC, while Morehead falls to 12-10 and 5-6 in the conference.

Neither team shot the ball well to start the game as nearly seven minutes in the score stood at 7-3 in favor of the Lady Eagles. Southeast did not get its first field goal until the 13:35 mark. Morehead had a lead as big as nine twice in the half, and went into the locker room up by seven.

Both teams shot under 35 percent in the half as the Otahks only hit 1-9 shots from behind the arc. Junior's Carina Souza and Kenja White led the attack with eight points apiece.

The second half was an entirely different story. Southeast immediately jumped on the Lady Eagles and cut the lead to one at 37-36 before Morehead opened up another nine-point advantage just before the first media timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Southeast went on a 20-7 run to take a four-point lead and eventually took the lead to 10 at 67-57.

The Lady Eagles would see both DeVonda Williams and Tasha Gales foul out late as Southeast cruised to a 14-point victory. Southeast shot 52 percent in the second half and outscored the Lady Eagles 50-29.

The Otahks were sparked by outstanding play from Souza and junior guard Sarah Costello. Souza had 18 points and nine rebounds on 7-11 from the field. Costello was just three assists and one steal away from a triple-double as she had 18 points, seven assists, and nine steals. She was 6-8 from the field and a perfect 1-1 from behind the arc. White had 12 points before fouling out, and junior forward Yashika Sidbury had 10 points.

Southeast was 5-17 from behind the arc, extending its streak of consecutive games with a three-point basket to 145.

The Otahks next will travel out of conference to Fort Wayne, Ind. to take on the Mastodons of Indiana University Purdue University at Fort Wayne. Game time is slated for 6 p.m. Central Time.