SE Missouri St. 71, Tennessee Tech 50

3/4/2006 2:51 PM

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Tatiana Conceicao scored 28 points to lead Southeast Missouri State past Tennessee Tech 71-50 in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament final, earning the school's first NCAA tournament berth.

The Redhawks (22-8), who had played in three of the four conference finals, clinched the automatic berth.

The Golden Eaglettes (22-8) came in having won their 12th regular season title in 20 years under coach Bill Worrell. They had been looking for their ninth tournament title in that stretch and first since 2000.

Emily Christian, the OVC player of the year, finished with 26 points for Tennessee Tech. She didn't get much help as the Golden Eaglettes hit only 6-of-26 from the floor in the second half.

Tennessee Tech led 32-31 at halftime and 37-31 off a pair of free throws by Jana Reece with 18:02 left.

But Conceicao scored 10 points in a key a 19-1 run, starting with a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer. She also blocked a shot, a steal and two of her 13 rebounds in the spurt that left the Redhawks up 50-38 with 11:40 to go.

Simone Jackson added 10 points, and Lachelle Lyles had 10 rebounds and nine points as Southeast Missouri outrebounded Tennessee Tech 43-26. That helped the Redhawks dominate in the paint 36-24, and they scored 23 points off the Golden Eaglettes' 13 turnovers.