SIUE women roll into first place

EDWARDSVILLE – SIUE women's basketball team used a balanced scoring attack Wednesday and took over sole possession of first place in the Ohio Valley Conference with an 80-73 victory over Southeast Missouri at the Vadalabene Center.

All five SIUE starters finished the game in double figures as the Cougars improved to 6-1 in OVC play and 11-9 overall. Southeast Missouri dropped to 12-8 overall and 5-2 in the OVC.

SIUE Head Coach Paula Buscher put SIUE's three straight win and sixth triumph over the last seven games in perspective.

"We did play a little differently offensively, but I thought this game lived up to what it was supposed to be," she said. "It was a fun game and both teams really battled hard. That's how the game is supposed to be played. Although we may have taken the top spot in the conference, we feel good about it but we show up tomorrow and we get back to work. Where you are right now in the season doesn't make any difference. It matters where you are in March."

Gwen Adams led the way for SIUE with 16 points, including 8 of 9 from the free throw line. Lauren White scored 13 points and added a team-high eight rebounds. Sidney Smith tallied 12 on four first-half three-pointers. Shronda Butts, the reigning OVC Player of the Week, scored 12 and led all players with six assists. Donshel Beck tossed in 11 points.

"This team has a lot of confidence in each other," said Buscher. "We aren't a one man show. They believe in each other, and they have the confidence to finish."

The two teams played hurry-up offense in the first half with the Cougars gaining the 47-41 edge behind seven three-pointers. Along with Smith's four, Erin Kelley hit two and White added the seventh.

While it looked like a high-scoring game in the first half, the scoring pace slowed as defense took over. Southeast Missouri, led by 23 points from Erin Bollman, had the lead down to a single basket twice in the third period as well as just one point at 67-66 with 2:41 to play.

White put the Cougars back up by four with an old-fashioned three-point play with a layup and a free throw with 2:15 to play. Butts gave the Cougars a six-point lead  with 1:48 to play and climbed into double figures for the 40^th time in her career at SIUE with a three-pointer with 1:15 to play.

"Shronda kept her head tremendously, and that shows the kind of leader and the kind of player she is. When we needed some shots late, she stepped up," said Buscher.

SIUE hit its free throws down the stretch and held a 10-point lead in the final minute before Bollman connected on a final three-pointer with 11 seconds left.

"I want them to feel good about wins because they are hard to come by, but once we get to tomorrow morning, we need to move on," said Buscher. "Win or lose, it's about the next game."

SIUE next travels to Murray State for a 5 p.m. contest in Murray, Kentucky.