LEDBETTER, Ky. – Jacksonville State won its second straight Ohio Valley Conference Women’s Golf Championship after shooting a tournament total of 915 to edge past Eastern Kentucky by five shots at the par 72, 6,178 yard Drake Creek Golf Course on Wednesday.

Senior Shanelle Howell shot the low round of the day with a 74 to earn medalist honors with a total of 225, just one shot ahead of EKU’s Kellie Warner and JSU teammate Mercedes Huarte.

Howell was named the OVC Tournament Most Valuable Player and also named the OVC Player of the Year. JSU head coach James Hobbs was named the OVC Coach of the Year, as voted by the league’s head coaches.

“This is a very special championship,” said Hobbs following the win. “These girls have worked extremely hard all season and they really came into this tournament focused and were ready to play.”

The Gamecocks entered the day with a six-shot lead, but Eastern Kentucky had taken a one-shot lead after the first three players had turned in their scores and the title hinged on the league’s top two teams No. 1 and No. 2 players.

JSU’s No. 2 player Mercedes Huarte then posted a final score of 75, while EKU’s Leslie Booth finished with a 78. Huarte, an OVC first-team selection, finished with two birdies, 12 pars and three bogeys and one double-bogey after shooting a 37 on the front side and finished with a 38 on the back.

The title came down to the No. 1 players on both teams, and Howell finished with the low round of the day with a 74, while EKU’s Kellie Warner, who entered the day with a two-shot lead over the field, finished with a 77 to tie for second. The two entered the 18th green tied for the lead, and Howell sank her 7-foot par putt, but Warner’s par putt sailed wide right for a bogey. Howell finished with two birdies, 13 pars, two bogeys and one double-bogey in the final round.

Murray State finished third with a total of 943, followed by Tennessee Tech (954), Austin Peay (963), Eastern Illinois (969), Samford (972) and Tennessee State finished with a 1078 to finish eighth.

Junior Louise Fleming carded a 37-41-78 to finish sixth, while Portia Abbott scored 39-39-78 to tie for 10th place for the Gamecocks. Freshman Alexandra Espinos finished in 24th place with a 54-hole total of 245.

It marked the third win of the season for the Gamecocks, after claiming wins at the Chris Banister Gamecock Fall Classic and the Ann Rhoads/Birmingham-Southern Shoot-out in February.

Jacksonville State earned the OVC’s automatic berth to the NCAA Championships, which will be announced on Monday, May 1. The East Regional will be hosted by Wake Forest at Bryan Park in Browns Summit, N.C., the Central will be hosted by Texas A&M at the Traditions Club in Bryan, Texas., while the West will be hosted by the University of Washington at the Washington National Golf Club.

OVC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Shanelle Howell (MVP), Jacksonville State
Kellie Warner, Eastern Kentucky
Mercedes Huarte, Jacksonville State
Beth Underhill, Tennessee Tech
Christi Baron, Murray State

2006 OVC COACH OF THE YEAR: James Hobbs, Jacksonville State
2006 OVC PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Shanelle Howell, Jacksonville State

2006 O'Reilly Ohio Valley Conference Women's Championship
Drakes Creek CC Smithland, KY
Dates: 04/17 - 04/19
Par: 72 Yardage: 6178

Fin. School Scores
1 Jacksonville St. 310 300 305 915
1 Shanelle Howell 78 73 74 225
T 2 Mercedes Huarte 78 73 75 226
6 Louise Fleming 75 77 78 230
T 10 Portia Abbott 79 77 78 234
24 Alexandra Espinosa 85 80 80 245

2 Eastern Kentucky 306 310 304 920
T 2 Kelli Warner 76 73 77 226
T 8 Leslie Booth 76 79 78 233
T 8 Kelly Flynn 77 81 75 233
T 10 Aubree Moore 77 78 79 234
T 16 Rachel Montgomery 85 80 74 239

3 Murray State Univ. 314 311 318 943
5 Christi Baron 77 74 78 229
7 Ilka Loubser 76 79 76 231
T 21 Julie Bennett 79 76 88 243
T 25 Lauren Hughes 82 82 82 246
33 Ashley Kelbough 88 86 82 256

4 Tennessee Tech U. 331 312 311 954
4 Beth Underhill 78 74 75 227
13 Megan French 83 76 76 235
T 25 Carla Hazelwood 86 79 81 246
28 Kristen Martinez 84 84 80 248
31 Amanda Seibert 90 83 80 253

5 Austin Peay State U. 335 315 313 963
T 16 Rachel Ingram 83 78 78 239
20 Christine Idoux 87 78 77 242
T 21 Erin Wise 83 81 79 243
T 25 Pier-Anne Lachance 82 85 79 246
35 Lindsey Pippins 97 78 91 266

6 Eastern Illinois 326 320 323 969
14 Carrie Riordan 81 77 78 236
19 Amy Simons 78 82 81 241
T 21 Jacky Bodis 80 82 81 243
30 Carrie Paul 87 79 86 252
36 Michelle Anderson 95 93 83 271

7 Samford University 334 317 321 972
15 Maria Troche 78 76 83 237
T 16 Courtney Warr 82 82 75 239
29 Kellie O'Connell 88 78 83 249
32 Kelly Stout 93 81 80 254
34 Stephanie Larson 86 90 84 260

8 Tennessee State U. 355 358 365 1078
T 10 Jessica Nemnich 75 80 79 234
T 37 LaToya Moppins 89 96 94 279
T 37 Danielle Stewart 91 90 98 279
39 Genesis Fitzgerald 100 92 94 286
40 Mary Brigance 114 108 142 364