RICHMOND, Ky.-The Eastern Kentucky University Lady Colonels are hoping to keep the momentum going on the road this week after winning two straight at home.

EKU will be facing three of its Ohio Valley Conference competitors on this six-day road trip. These encounters will be the second meetings with each of these schools, and with tournament time just around the corner, the Lady Colonels will have their hands full trying to improve their record in the OVC which is currently at 8-4.

EKU plays the Murray State Lady Racers, who are presently in seventh place in the OVC, Tuesday evening at 5:30 p.m. CST. Thursday at 5:45 p.m., the Lady Colonels will play the sixth-place Tennessee State Tigers with a conference record of 5-7. Eastern then plays Austin Peay on Saturday at 5:45 p.m., who is currently in eighth place in the OVC.

This past Saturday, the Lady Colonels played the Eastern Illinois Panthers in a game that went down to the wire. Each team took turns matching each other's shots with 16 lead changes and seven ties. This led to a nail-biting finish, topped off by freshman guard Mikki Bond's running jumper with four seconds remaining in the game which led the Lady Colonels to a 74-73 victory over EIU.

"Mikki really stepped up tonight," stated EKU head coach Larry Joe Inman.

The Lady Colonels really picked things up in the second half of the game. Inman believed that his team did an excellent job of guarding the perimeters in the second half which shut down some of the Panther scorers. He felt Eastern also did a good job of taking care of the basketball.

"Shannon Browning really picked things up for us in the second half , especially with her three point shots, " said Inman. "I was also pleased with Jennifer King's performance, especially on defense. She stepped up and showed her senior status."

Browning was 3-4 with her three point shots and had 18 points for the night. King ended the game with 12 rebounds. The Lady Colonels hit 69.2 percent from the free throw line in the second half, finishing the contest with a 66.7 percentage.

Inman thinks that these three games on the road will really test his ball club, both on the court and in the classroom. He has a real concern for his team's academics, especially since the Lady Colonels will miss so many classes.

"This will be a brutal road trip for us as we wind down the conference. We will have to play better on the road than we have our last two games. I believe that we have a shot, but it is up to us as to how we play," said Inman.

Charlotte Sizemore, EKU's sophomore forward, finished the game with her second double-double as she recorded 19 points and 12 rebounds. She is the Lady Colonels' top scorer and ranks third in the conference with her 17.8 per game average.