March 1, 2005

Final Stats |  Photo Gallery

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - (Tuesday, March 1, 2005) When it was all said and done and the dust finally settled it came down to who won, not how or why they won. "They" as it happened to be were the Redhawks in an at times sloppy, but intense and emotional 47-45 victory over Samford in the first round of the O'Reilly Ohio Valley Conference Women's Championship Tournament in the Show Me Center Tuesday evening. The Redhawks advance to the semifinals for the their third-straight season and will face No. 3 seed Tennessee Tech on Friday at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee at 2:00 p.m.

The No. 2 seeded Redhawks (21-7) were frustrated by the Samford (13-15) zone right from the opening tip-off. The Redhawks committed three straight turnovers and quickly fell behind 9-0. The Redhawks didn't score their first points till 14:16 mark in the first half.

The Bulldogs answered by grabbing their second nine-point lead of the game, 11-2, the largest lead by any team throughout the whole game.

The Redhawks went on a 16-5 run late in the half to grab their first lead of the game, 18-16 on a Natalie Purcell (Auckland, New Zealand/Hutchinson CC) three-pointer with 1:40.

A Taryn Towns free throw and a Cora Beth Smith lay-up with :06 second left gave the Bulldogs the lead heading into the half, 19-18.

The 18 points that the Bulldogs held the Redhawks to in the first half was a season low in any half this season. The previous low was 21 points in the first half against Austin Peay on January 6.

Despite out-shooting the Bulldogs, 40-percent to 27-percent, it was turnovers that provided the difference as the Redhawks committed 14 in the first half, which led to nine of Samford's 19 points.

The second half featured more offense as well as heroics by a number of Redhawks player.

With each team jockeying for the lead and sustaining runs, it seemed that the Bulldogs had the answer to every Redhawks offensive outburst.

However they did not have the answer for Tatiana Conceicao (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Western Nebraska CC) or Chandra Brown (Louisville, KY/Southeastern Illinois CC).

Conceicao proved especially challenging albeit in a way that Redhawks fans are unaccustomed to.

After the Bulldogs grabbed a three-point lead, 31-28 at the 10:31 mark, Conceicao made a long jumper from right inside the three-point arc to cut it to one, 31-30. On her next trip down the court she remained behind the line and nailed a three and got fouled. After completing the four-point play the Redhawks held a 34-31 lead.

Conceicao later nailed another three with 7:09 to give Southeast their largest lead of the game at five points, 39-34.

The Bulldogs refused to go down without a fight as they would later tie the game at 40 apiece on Smith lay-up with 5:05 left to play.

Conceicao answered with back-to-back lay-ups to push the Redhawks lead back to four, 44-40 with 3:28 left.

Both teams then exchanged baskets and free throws, none more important than Brown's jumper with 2:00 remaining and a Tiffanne Ryan (Oklahoma City, OK/Westmoore) free throw with :22 seconds left.

The Ryan free throw gave the Redhawks a two-point lead, 47-45 but the Bulldogs still had the opportunity to win or tie the game.

Bulldogs Head Coach Mike Morris elected for the tie. Smith took a short jumper in the lane with three seconds left that caromed off the rim and took a Redhawks bounce as the buzzer sounded sending the players and fans in a frenzy as the Redhawks won their 17-straight home game against an OVC opponent and their third-straight OVC opening round victory.

The game featured seven lead changes and three ties.

Conceicao finished with a game-high 19 points on 8-14 shooting including a perfect 2-2 from behind the arc. She also recorded three key steals and grabbed six boards.

Brown was the only other Redhawk in double-digits as she recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds. She scored her 11 points on 5-8 shooting. She also recorded two blocks to tie her with Vera Roberts and Pam Iversen for first on the school's all-time single season blocks chart with 46 rejected shots.

Simone Jackson (Kingston, Jamaica/Southeastern Illinois CC) was all over the court as she recorded eight rebounds of her own, including four on the offensive end.

Ryan again was huge off the bench providing hustle and flawless ball-handling. She recorded a game and season-high six assists, grabbed four rebounds and swiped two passes.

The Redhawks shot only 38-percent but held the Bulldogs to 32-percent. The Redhawks also out-rebounded the Bulldogs 45-32.

Smith led the Bulldogs with a co game-high 19 points.

The Redhawks will head down to Nashville on Thursday for the OVC Awards banquet before playing Tennessee Tech on Friday. OVC regular season champion Eastern Kentucky will face No. 4 seed Jacksonville State also on Friday in the noon game.

Tickets for the Redhawks game can be purchased at the ticket office located in Houck Field House or by calling 1-866-SEMO-TIK.