SPORT NEWS -- Special & HT Feb. 23, 1998 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE LADY COLONELS CAPTURE SECOND STRAIGHT OVC TITLE, HOST SOUTHEAST MISSOURI IN FIRST ROUND OF OVC TOURNAMENT

RICHMOND, Ky. -- The Eastern Kentucky University women's basketball team earned a share of the Ohio Valley Conference Championship in action last week. Eastern won the title outright last season, and now has posted its first-ever back-to-back OVC championship seasons. The Lady Colonels finished the regular season with a 19-7 overall record and were 15-3 in the conference.

The Lady Colonels earned the top seed in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament, which begins Tuesday. Eastern will host Southeast Missouri Tuesday at 7 p.m. The semifinal round and championship games of the tournament will be held at the Nashville Arena on Saturday and Sunday.

Eastern earned the share of the OVC title by defeating Middle Tennessee last Thursday. Middle Tennessee took a 24-26 lead into the locker room at halftime and came out to start the second half and controlled the first four minutes. Middle built a 15-point lead, 44-29, with 15:20 remaining in the game. The Lady Colonels then began to chip away at Middle's lead. EKU went on a 31-16 run to tie the game with 2:08 left in the contest. With one second left on the clock, sophomore guard Marla Gearhart, an Olive Hill native, hit a 15-foot jump shot to give the Lady Colonels the 63-61 win.

Chrissy Roberts, a senior guard from Eminence, led all scorers with 19 points, as Gearhart added 14. Franklin native Laphelia Doss recorded her sixth double-double of the season as she contributed 16 points and 12 rebounds. Doss' 12 rebounds put her over the 1,000 career mark, making her the first Eastern basketball player to ever pull down 1,000 career rebounds.

Saturday, the Lady Colonels fell just short of earning their second straight outright OVC title, as Eastern dropped an 81-71 decision to Tennessee Tech. EKU jumped out to a 13-3 lead on the Golden Eaglettes, but were unable to sustain the effort. Tennessee Tech took the lead with 10:39 remaining in the first half and never looked back. Gearhart led the Lady Colonels with 19 points, as Roberts chipped in 16 points and Doss contributed 12.

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