OVC Tournament Bracket

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – SIUE women's basketball gained momentum heading into next week's Ohio Valley Conference Tournament with a thrilling 70-62 overtime triumph at Eastern Illinois.

SIUE, 15-13 overall and 9-7 in the OVC, earned the No. 6 seed for its first-ever appearance at the league tournament. The Cougars will play Tennessee State, 13-14 overall and 9-7 in the OVC, Wednesday in the first round at Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn. Game time is 2 p.m.

The other first round game is fifth-seeded Eastern Kentucky against eighth-seeded Murray State at noon.

SIUE Head Coach Paula Buscher's team showed some growth in its final regular season OVC contest.

"I think the biggest thing is that we had some good focus tonight," Buscher said. "I really liked seeing them at the end. They were communicating with each other. It wasn't just the bench trying to get them to communicate. It was them, and that was a huge step for us."

Despite the loss for Eastern Illinois, the Panthers, 19-10 overall and 12-4 in the OVC, remain the No. 1 seed for the OVC Tournament. Tennessee Tech, the leader in the East Division, is the No. 2 seed. Belmont and UT Martin grabbed the third and fourth seed, respectively.

SIUE's victory was its third straight as the team heads to the OVC Tournament. It also was SIUE's third overtime win of the season.

Tierny Austin was SIUE's leading scorer with 14 points after scoring six of the Cougars' 12 points during the overtime period. Freshman CoCo Moore stepped up for 11 points and a team-leading four assists.

Raven Berry turned in another incredible effort with her sixth consecutive double-double. The Cougar senior scored 13 points, grabbed 17 rebounds, and collected three steals.

It also marked another personal milestone for the Collinsville native. She became the first women's player in school history to record more than 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in her career. She now has 1,455 points and 1,014 rebounds.

It was the second straight year SIUE defeated Eastern Illinois on its Senior Night. EIU finished with three players in double figures. Mariah King led the Panthers with 16 points followed by 12 from Sabina Oroszova and 11 from Sydney Mitchell.

The Cougars held a five-point lead at halftime and then fell behind by as many as seven in the second half on a strong Panther second-half run. A free throw by Austin with 30 seconds left tied the game 58-58, giving EIU one final opportunity to pick up the win in regulation.

Ta'Kenya Nixon, who finished with eight points, missed EIU's final attempt in regulation with one second left. Buscher said she hopes that defensive stand will help propel the Cougars the rest of the season.

"It was about defense. We really defended well," said Buscher. "I've been preaching about defense forever, and I thought we stepped up and got a great stop. Hopefully that will make us believe and continue play as hard we did."

The Cougars pushed the ball into the paint for Berry during the overtime period.

"I think that really opens everyone else up," said Buscher.

Feeding off the double teams Berry received, the Cougars would shoot 4 of 7 from the final field in the final five minutes.

SIUE's bench played a key role in the win. Six of the team's 14 steals against EIU were from bench players Courtney Kenner, Kiara Conner, and Michaela Herrod. For the game, SIUE's bench outscored EIU's bench 17-6. SIUE forced 24 turnovers against the Panthers.

Buscher said the bench will be important as the Cougars move forward for the OVC Tournament. It will take four wins in four days for the Cougars to take the OVC title.

"We're definitely going to have to have our bench step up and help a ton," said Buscher.

2013 OVC BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
 
FIRST ROUND - Wednesday, March 6
Game 1 - #5 Eastern Kentucky vs. #8 Murray State - 12 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)
Game 2 - #6 SIUE vs. #7 Tennessee State - 2 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)
 
QUARTERFINALS - Thursday, March 7
Game 3 - Game 1 winner vs. #4 UT Martin- 12 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)
Game 4 - Game 2 winner vs. #3 Belmont - 2 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)

SEMIFINALS - Friday, March 8
Game 5 - Game 3 winner vs. #1 Eastern Illinois- 12 p.m. (ESPN3)
Game 6 - Game 4 winner vs. #2 Tennessee Tech- 2 p.m. (ESPN3)

CHAMPIONSHIP - Saturday, March 9
Game 7 - Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner - 1:30 p.m. (ESPN3)