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CHARLESTON, Ill. – For the second consecutive season, the SIU Edwardsville women's basketball team spoiled the Panthers 'Senior Day' as the Cougars upended Eastern Illinois, 70-62, in overtime on Saturday night inside Lantz Arena. EIU concludes regular-season action as the Ohio Valley Conference Co-Champions with Tennessee Tech.
 
The Panthers (19-10, 12-4 OVC) earned the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament and will play in the semifinal round at noon on Friday, March 8. Fans interested in purchasing tickets for the tournament should contact the EIU Ticket Office at 217-581-2106.
 
With the game tied at 42 with 11 minutes left on the clock, EIU used a 12-5 run to take its largest lead of the night, 56-49, with just over six minutes remaining in the contest. The Cougars (15-13, 9-7 OVC) rallied to outscore the Panthers 9-2 in the closing minutes to force EIU's third overtime game of the season. EIU went 0-for-4 from the field and 2-for-6 from the foul line in the final six minutes of regulation.
 
The Cougars went 4-for-7 from the floor and 4-for-5 from the foul line in overtime to outscore the Panthers, 12-4. EIU only scored four points in the extra stanza and committed five turnovers.  

SIUE led the entire first half, racing out to an early 11-3 advantage until the Panthers used a 12-3 run to get within one (15-14) with 8:42 left on the clock. The Cougars had their largest lead of the contest, 30-21, with 1:40 left in the half and led by five (32-27) at intermission.
 
Mariah King led the Panthers with her ninth career double-double, scoring a game-high 16 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Sabina Oroszova added 12 points, eight rebounds and game-high five blocks. Sydney Mitchell rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 points. Ta'Kenya Nixon finished the day with eight points, six assists and five rebounds.
 
Defensively, both teams posted 44 rebounds while the Cougars had eight more steals (14-6) than the Panthers. EIU finished the contest with two more blocks (7-5) than SIUE.
 
The Panthers hit 38.6 percent of their field-goal attempts (22-for-57) in the loss. After going 7-for-28 from the floor in the first half, the Panthers drained 54.2 percent of their shots in the second stanza (13-for-24). EIU also went 2-for-11 from behind the arc and 16-for-22 from the charity stripe.
 
Raven Berry led the Cougars with 13 points and a game-high 17 rebounds. Tierny Austin added 14 points while CoCo Moore chipped in 11 points. SIUE hit 35.2 percent of its shots (25-for-71) and went 17-for-24 from the foul line.
 
NOTES
• The Panthers won their second conference title in the last four seasons on Saturday night. EIU also won the 2009-10 regular-season title, the first OVC title in school history.
 
• Ta'Kenya Nixon went 4-for-4 from the foul line in the loss against SIUE, increasing her career total to 527 made free throws – the most in school history. Nixon entered Saturday's contest tied with Rachel Galligan (523).
 
• The Panthers blocked seven shots on the night, increasing their season total to 119 blocks – the most in EIU single-season history. Sabina Oroszova also has 54 blocks on the year, needing only eight more blocks to set the EIU single-season record held by Rachel Galligan during the 2006-07 season.