2008 Woodie Awards
Late free throws lift women to victory over rival Racers
First-round game to be played today at Morehead State
Brad Hurt
Issue date: 2/27/07 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 3 next >
|
The win improved the Skyhawks' record to 16-13 overall and evened their conference mark at 10-10. More importantly it cemented their postseason destiny as the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament, which begins tonight at various campus sites. The Skyhawks will travel to face No. 3 seed Morehead State tonight at 6 p.m.
Although Murray State entered the game tied for first place in the conference with Southeast Missouri State, the Skyhawks refused to be intimidated. Besides their postseason fate, they also faced the added pressure of extending their home winning streak.
In the first half it appeared that the Skyhawks would have no trouble with the Racers as they pulled away to a surprising lead. They led throughout the half and held their largest advantage at nine points on three different occasions during the half.
Instead, the Skyhawks found themselves in a tough battle with their border rivals as the Racers rallied to tie the game on several occasions.
"We got a little rattled in the second-half, but recovered and it ended well for us tonight," said Skyhawk head coach Tara Tansil. "We have such a home advantage here at the Elam Center and it helped tonight. This crowd really does it for us and makes Skyhawk Arena a place no one wants to come play."
The Skyhawks survived the loss of the focal point of their offense this season as senior post player Andreika Jackson suffered a season-ending knee injury during conference play. Faced with this setback the team found alternative sources of offense and fought hard to stay in the thick of the OVC postseason race.
The win also gave the Skyhawks a sense of payback for the 67-59 loss they suffered to the Racers earlier this season.
The Skyhawks entered the 2006-07 season with an optimistic outlook. Despite the bitter taste that remained in their mouths from a disappointing 2005-06 campaign that saw them exit the OVC tournament in the first round for the second consecutive year, the Skyhawks retained hopes that this season would bring a turnaround.
The team got off to a promising start by winning five of its first six games, including a road win over the University of Memphis. The Skyhawks gained experience on both the winning and losing side of close games, grabbing consecutive one-point wins at home over Texas A & M-Corpus Christi and Dayton and losing on the road to St. Louis. Those games proved to be beneficial to the team as they grinded through the challenging OVC schedule.
Be the first to comment on this story