Otahks win final exhibition 86-71 over Cougars

Southeast Missouri State University's women's basketball team wrapped up its two-game exhibition season with a convincing 86-71 win over Division II opponent SIU-Edwardsville at the Show Me Center Friday night.

The Otahkians shot a blistering 63 percent from the field in the second half to build on a 40-33 halftime lead.

Southeast coach Ed Arnzen said, "We shot well the second half and a lot of that was because our guards penetrated their defense a little bit, we ran the break well and got some easy shots."

SIU-Edwardsville stayed in the contest in the first half, primarily, on the play of 6-1 junior Ruth Kipping, a transfer from the University of Michigan. Kipping scored 19 first-half points and finished with a game-high 29.

Junior forward Lori Chase paced a balanced Otahkian offense with 17 points. Tisa Thomas, a reserve sophomore center starting for the injured Pam Iversen, chipped in with 12 points, as did senior guard Veronica Benson.

Iversen is out with a broken nose, but is expected back early next week in time for the Otahkians' season opener against the University of Montana Friday.

Tanya Guell, a 6-foot freshman center/forward who had been counted on for help off the bench, is still out indefinitely with an injured knee.

Freshman Andrea Koeper, a Jackson High School product, came off the bench to contribute nine points, four rebounds and two steals in 16 minutes.

"Andrea was a little tight the first exhibition game we played, but tonight I thought she was at ease and played well and acted like she's been here for a long time," said Arnzen. "No question, she's going to be a big plus for us."

With the score tied at 31, Southeast went on a 9-2 run to close out the first half.

After the half-time break, SIU-Edwardsville closed to within two points at 43-41before the Otahkians got the running game in gear and took a 54-43 lead.

Said Arnzen, "We were wanting to run the basketball on the fast break and I thought we saw that. That gives us good percentage shots and I like that."

SIU-Edwardsville switched to a zone defense to slow the Southeast fast break, but Southeast guard Kristy Roherty foiled that strategy with two quick three-pointers.

"When Kristy hit a couple of threes, I thought that just kind of opened it up," said Arnzen.

The visiting Lady Cougars never got within 15 points the rest of the game.

SIU-Edwardsville coach Wendy Hedberg, on her team's first and only preseason game, said, "I am fairly happy with our performance. Some areas I thought we did a good job, but I wasn't real happy with our play on the boards. They were killing us on the boards, both offensively and defensively. They're very physical and we're not used to physical play."

Arnzen believes his team is ready to go for the regular season and hopes the injury bug is behind them.

"I think we've got a solid ballclub, I really do, and I think how good we become depends on how much we develop and how injury-free we can stay," he said.