Feb. 14, 2004

Box Score

Nashville, Tenn. - Coming off the bench, junior forward Miah Shelford netted a career-best and game-high 19 points to lead the Otahkians (13-10, 8-4 OVC) to their second win over Tennessee State (1-21, 0-12 OVC) this season, 87-58. Shelford shot 7-of-9 from the field and 5-of-5 from the line, as her and the rest of the reserves made a huge impact tonight in Nashville, Tenn., combining for 49 of the squad's 87 points. Running down the bench points, it was Chandra Brown and Brandi Russia netting nine a piece, Tiffanne Ryan adding eight, and Shannon Proffit chipping in four to contribute in a big way.

Six turnovers plagued the team early as they found themselves down 7-6 with 16:07 to play in the first half. A steal by senior guard Sarah Costello at the top of the key set her up for the full-court lay-up, sparking a nine point Otahkian run. Sophomore guard Tiffanne Ryan capped off the run with a trey, opening a 15-7 advantage.

Capitalizing on their lead, the Otahks then used a 24-8 run to extend their lead to a 24-point advantage, at 39-15, with just 1:41 to go until the break. The Lady Tigers showed they weren't ready to quit as they closed the half with a 7-3 surge to pull the deficit to 19 at intermission, 42-23.

Southeast enjoyed 44.4 percent shooting on the half, while the Lady Tigers shot just 30.8 percent from the floor. Although the Otahks had several early turnovers, the squad settled into the offense and closed the final ten minutes with only two. Their full-court defense created quite a stir for TSU as they stole 12 passes and forced 16 Lady Tiger turnovers.

The Lady Tigers came out of the locker room extending their shooting streak as they nailed two early buckets and two three-pointers to open with an 8-5 run. A TSU foul and two made free throws by junior forward Chandra Brown sparked an offensive run by the Otahks. A 20-9 run, capped off by a Sami Jo Cotton three-pointer, mounted a 25-point Otahk lead with 9:27 on the clock. The squad went on to close the game with an 87-58 victory.

The Otahkians increased their shooting percentage in the second half, closing the game shooting 47.7 percent from the floor. The Lady Tigers also improved their shooting in the second to close the game shooting 38.5 percent. The defense continued to rattle TSU, stealing 20 passes and forcing 28 turnovers, allowing them to score 28 points off turnovers.

Yashika Sidbury shot 3-of-4 from the field, 1-of-2 from long range and 4-of-6 from the charity stripe to pump in 11 points, recording double-digits for her fourth straight game. Cotton rounded out double-digit scorers for Southeast, with 11 also. Costello was the top helper with nine assists, while Russia stole a career-best six passes to lead the Otahks.

TSU's reserves led the way as well as Kisha Stewart netted 15 points and Lakisha Clay added 14. The Lady Tigers Kendra Bailey grabbed a game-high ten boards.

The win moves Southeast into a three-way tie for third in the OVC with Eastern Kentucky and Jacksonville State. Austin Peay leads the way with an 11-1 OVC record while Tennessee Tech moves into second with a 9-3 league record.

The Otahkians return home to host Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State next week. They will face EKU on Thurs., Feb. 19 and MSU on Sat., Feb. 21. Both contests will tip-off at 5:00 p.m. in the Show Me Center.