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2012 OVC Women's Basketball Tournament Bracket

Box Score

RICHMOND, Ky. – Eastern Kentucky’s women’s basketball team led by three with 2:22 left in the game and had a one-point lead with 47 seconds to go, but couldn’t hold off Eastern Illinois in a 79-76 defeat.

With the loss, the Lady Colonels finish the regular season 12-15 overall and 7-9 in Ohio Valley Conference play.  EKU will be the sixth seed in next week’s OVC tournament and will play the No. 7 seed Tennessee State at 3 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

A pair of free throws by Ta`Kenya Nixon gave Eastern Illinois (22-7, 14-3 OVC) a four-point lead, 69-65, with 4:46 left to play.  However, Eastern Kentucky scored seven unanswered.  A tip-in and a free throw by Alex Jones put the Lady Colonels on top 70-69.  Two free throws by Raechele Gray capped the run and made it a three-point game with 2:22 showing on the clock. 

The lead changed hands five times over the next two minutes.  Marie Carpenter’s jumper with 47 ticks remaining gave EKU its final lead, 76-75.  Nixon hit a jumper at the other end with 38 seconds to go and EIU never trailed again.  The Lady Colonels put up two three-point attempts in the final 10 seconds in an attempt to tie the game, but both missed.

Five players scored in double figures for Eastern Kentucky led by Carpenter’s 15.  Jones finished with 13 points and nine rebounds.

Nixon led all scorers with 30 points, 15 of which came at the free throw line.  Mariah King added 18 for the winners.

The Lady Colonels started strong, hitting their first six attempts from the field, eight of their first 10 and their first four three-point attempts.  EKU’s lone senior, Jasmine Stovall, started strong on “Senior Day.”  The Lawrenceville, Ga., native hit a lay-up to put Eastern on top 20-15 and then laid it in again for a 26-21 advantage with 10:33 left in the first half.  Stovall had 11 of Eastern Kentucky’s first 26 points.

LaRa`e Allen’s three-pointer at the 3:10 mark gave the Lady Colonels the largest lead by either team all night, six points, 38-32.  After making 59 percent of its first half shots, EKU took a four-point lead, 44-40, into the locker room at the break.

With EKU leading by five three and a half minutes into the second half, the Panthers went on a 12-3 run to build a four-point, 56-52, lead.  The Lady Colonels however answered the call, going on a 10-2 run of their own to go back on top by four, 62-58, with 9:08 left in the game.  The game remained within four points the rest of the way.

After shooting so well in the first half, Eastern Kentucky fell to 27 percent shooting in the second 20 minutes.  EKU shot 42 percent for the game.  Eastern Illinois shot 40 percent from the field, but out-scored the Lady Colonels by 15 at the free throw line and held a 16-6 advantage in points off turnovers.