Feb. 25, 2012

Box Score

MOREHEAD, Ky. - Junior Raven Berry scored her 1,000th career point Saturday night as the SIUE women's basketball team squandered a 14-point lead but survived to win 72-70 in overtime at Johnson Arena in its Ohio Valley Conference finale.

The Collinsville native became just the 20th player in school history to reach the milestone scoring 13 points. Berry also moved into third place on the all-time rebounding list (706 career rebounds) grabbing 15 in the win for her 11th double-double of the season, and 23rd of her career.

"A great game and great battle for Raven," added Levens. "She had her hands full with Harris. Raven made her free throws down the stretch. 9 for 10 from your post player, it doesn't get much better than that."

Adding to the record-setting day, senior Melia Duncan played in her 114th career game as a Cougar, tying the all-time record set by Misi Clark (1997-2001) and Whitney Sykes (2004-08).

Playing in overtime for the fourth time this season, the Cougars (18-9, 12-4 OVC) improved to 4-0 in extra time and won their seventh consecutive game on the road and fourth straight win overall. SIUE finished its first season in the OVC in third place.

"I am so proud of our team for finding a way to win," said SIUE Head Coach Amanda Levens. "I have no idea really how we won. We hit some shots and got a lead, and thankfully it was a comfortable lead."

The Eagles (10-18, 7-9 OVC) opened the game scoring 11 of the first 15 points and built their lead to eight 17-9 before the SIUE bench sparked the team to 9-0 run for an 18-17 advantage.

After Morehead State reclaimed a 22-20 lead, SIUE shut down the Eagles using a 12-0 run to take control late in the first half.

The Cougars held MSU to one field goal over the final 7:15 of the opening stanza on their way to a 32-25 halftime advantage.

Courtney Kenner connected on back-to-back three-pointers before Tierny Austin hit another from behind the arc putting SIUE leading 51-37, its largest lead of the game with 11:37 remaining.

"It was great to see Courtney break out," said Levens. "She was sick coming into the game, so for her to battle through and be tough, I'm very proud of her."

The Cougars connected on 70 percent (7 of 10) of its three-pointers during the game while MSU was just 30 percent (12 of 40).

The Eagles continued to battle on their Senior Night closing the gap to three 53-50 holding the Cougars scoreless for nearly four minutes.

With 2:13 remaining, MSU's Terrice Robinson hit a three-pointer that gave the Eagles their first lead since the 7:15 mark of the first half.

Trailing 61-59, Berry was fouled with 58 seconds remaining after pulling down an offensive rebound and promptly hit both free throws, the second of which was her 1,000th career point.

Morehead State had a chance to win the game on the final possession but Robinson's jumper was off the mark sending the game into overtime.

SIUE converted 9 of 12 free throws in overtime to seal the 72-70 victory despite a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Robinson. The Cougars finished 88 percent from the charity stripe (21 of 24).

"The team did a great job of sticking together and keeping their composure," added Levens. "They battled and hung on and tried to play every possession as if it were the last one."

Austin, Berry, and Kenner all scored 13 points to lead the four Cougars that reached double-figure scoring. Michaela Herrod also reached double figures with 10 as every SIUE player that saw action scored.

After scoring 32 points in the previous meeting, the Cougars held MSU's Courtney Lumpkin to nine points on 3 of 19 shooting. Lumpkin hit her first field goal of the game with 5:51 to play in the second half.

Robinson led the Eagles with 20 points off the bench while Linda Dixon and Almesha Jones joined her in double figures with 18 and 17, respectively. Ashar Harris grabbed a game-high 19 rebounds, including 13 on the offensive end.

With the OVC season under wraps, the Cougars have two non-conference matchups remaining in the 2011-12 season with a trip to South Dakota March 1 up next.

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