|
January 19, 2001
Lady Tigers win over Reddies in overtime
by Mac Sisson
ARKADELPHIA-Two transfers proved to be stars of the show on Thursday night as the Ouachita Baptist University Lady Tigers took a hard-earned 94-84 overtime victory over the Henderson State University Lady Reddies while the HSU Reddies outlasted the OBU Tigers, 73-60 in NCAA Division II Gulf South Conference basketball action at HSU's Duke Wells Center.
In the ladies' game, University of Texas-Arlington sophomore transfer guard Tracy Denney of Sheridan scored 10 of her team's 14 points in overtime to lead Ouachita before 1,250 fans to its eleventh win of the season against four losses. Garry Crowder's Lady Tigers hold a 3-2 GSC record.
With Ouachita leading 80-78 on a basket by Denney with 29 seconds to play, HSU freshman forward Jodi Delaney took possession of the ball and made a layup with 16 seconds to play to tie the score 80-80 on a drive to the basket. Ouachita took the ball down court and saw forward Jennifer Edwards miss on a layup as time ran out in regulation play.
Delaney hit a 10-foot jumper with 4:32 to play in overtime as HSU (4-11, 1-4) took an 82-80 lead. Ouachita freshman post Kristen Hurdle of Fort Worth, Texas evened the score with a turn around jumper with 3:26 in OT. Delaney again took control at the other end of the court on a jump shot to put the Lady Reddies on top 84-82 for the last time with 2:59 to play. Henderson did not score a point after that juncture.
Denney wove her magic from both the field and at the line. She was fouled by five different Lady Reddies in the closing minutes and hit the pressure shots at the line.
Denney ended the evening with 16 points, including 11 of 12 from the line, five assists, and five rebounds.
Ouachita junior guard Robyn Anders of Grapevine, Texas also contributed in a large manner to the Lady Tiger victory with 25 points. The Southlake Carroll product was 11 of 18 from the field, with four rebounds, and three assists. Leading team scorer Crystal Allen scored 16 points. Edwards scored 11 points and led all rebounders with 13, including 10 defensive boards. Hurdle also contributed 11 points.
Henderson was led by Regina Koonce with 20 points, followed by Rachel Keeton with 12 and Kenneshia Henderson with 11. Keeton had 11 rebounds.
The Lady Reddies led at halftime, 42-39.
Ouachita jumped out to an early 27-20 lead with a free throw by guard Vive Dees with 8:26 gone. Henderson got the lead with 2:49 to play, 35-34, on a layup by Laura Culpepper. David Thigpen's Lady Reddies then marched to a five point lead, 40-35, with 1:40 to play on a three-pointer by Koonce. Anders of OBU cut the lead to 40-39 on two successive short jumpers at 1:25 to play and 34 seconds remaining. Robin Rae Burns of Henderson edged the halftime difference to 42-39 on two free throws off fouls.
The lead was regained by OBU, 52-50, with a basket at 16:02 by Hurdle. From that point the lead exchanged hands several times with one and two point margins common.
Ouachita ended the night shooting 51 percent from the field (31 of 61), while HSU shot 43 percent (28 of 58), At the arc, OBU was five of nine for 56 percent, and the Lady Reddies went seven of 17 for 41 percent. At the line, the Lady Tigers shot 27 of 39 for 69 percent, while HSU was 27 of 41 for 66 percent. HSU led in rebounding, 32-23.
Before a capacity crowd of 2,100 spectators, Wake Forest transfer Niki Arinze made 25 points to lead Rand Chappell's team to its third GSC win of the season against two losses, while improving its season mark to 9-6. Arinze of Nashville, Tennessee hit nine of 14 from the field and seven of eight from the line while grabbing five rebounds. He had eight points at half. Teammate Carlos Kimbro ended the evening with 11 points.
The Reddies, who are the sixth best team in defense against scoring in Division II, were able to throttle the Tigers (3-12, 1-4) in the second half after being behind 32-31 at halftime.
the second stanza, OBU shot 44 percent from the field (12 of 27), while the Reddies hit 56 percent (14 of 25). For the game, OBU was 23 of 49 from the field for 47 percent, while HSU was 25 of 46 for 54 percent. At the line, OBU was a perfect nine of nine, but the Reddies hit 18 of 28 for 64 percent. The Tigers were outrebounded, 32-23.
Ouachita was led in scoring by senior forward Mauricio Watson of Panama City, Panama with 13 points, followed by senior point guard T.J. Jones of Conway with 12.
The Tigers were in the game until HSU had a 13 point run, 59-46 that climaxed on a jump shot by Kimbro with 7:11 to play. Mike Reynolds' club fought back to a six point deficit, 60-66 with 1:44 to play on a bucket by Watson. But, the home court Reddies pulled away off seven consecutive free throws to make the final margin.
Ouachita's basketball teams have the advantage of having two consecutive home dates coming up next. On Monday, the Lady Tigers entertain the Southern Arkansas University Riderettes from Magnolia. The tipoff is at 6 p.m. at Bill Vining Arena in the Roy and Christine Sturgis Physical Education Center. Later that evening, the Tigers and Muleriders of SAU tangle in a Gulf South contest at 8 p.m.
Ouachita Baptist University• Lady Tigers
