Hawks steam ahead

Even if Southeast Missouri State's women can't gain a share of the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season title, they want to make sure they enter the OVC tournament on a roll.

The Redhawks took another step in that direction Thursday night by cruising past Murray State 86-69 at the Show Me Center.

Southeast (19-7, 13-2) clinched at least a second-place tie in the 11-team conference, which would equal its highest-ever OVC finish, and remained one game behind Eastern Kentucky. Both squads have one contest remaining.

The Redhawks also matched their highest single-season victory total since joining Division I in 1991-92. They can post their first 20-win season on the Division I level Saturday by beating visiting Tennessee-Martin in their regular-season finale.

"We realize we probably gave up the ring when we lost to Eastern Kentucky, but our ultimate goal is to win the tournament," Redhawks junior guard Tiffanne Ryan said. "We just want to keep winning going into the tournament."

Southeast, which has won two straight and 15 of its last 17, needs to beat Tennessee-Martin and have Eastern Kentucky lose to Austin Peay to gain a share of its first OVC title. Either way, the Redhawks will host a first-round OVC tournament game Tuesday.

"It's not entirely over, but we know our chances are slim," junior forward Natalie Purcell said of the regular-season race. "But it's not the end of our season. The ultimate goal is the NCAA tournament, and to get there we know we have to win the OVC tournament."

The Redhawks had little trouble with the Racers (9-17, 5-10) as they jumped to an early 20-4 lead and were ahead 45-28 at halftime.

MSU pulled within 10 points early in the second half, but Southeast went ahead by 23 midway through the period.

"It was the best start we've had in a long time," Southeast coach B.J. Smith said. "Offensively and defensively, we were sharp early. I just wish we'd have held it together more."

Senior forward Chandra Brown scored 17 points, as she hit eight of nine shots, and she also grabbed 10 rebounds to go with four assists, two blocks and two steals.

Junior center Tatiana Conceicao also had 17 points, 12 in the first half.

Purcell scored 13 points off the bench, while junior forward Simone Jackson had 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

Ryan, the Redhawks' backup point guard who has battled back problems all year, scored a season-high nine points while adding three assists and three steals.

"That was Tiffanne's best game all year," Smith said. "She's battled that back, but we gave her some extra rest this week and she really played well."

Junior forward Jessie Hirsch paced the Racers with 17 points. MSU shot just 33.3 percent.

Now the Redhawks will try to end the regular season on a positive note when Tennessee-Martin visits the Show Me Center Saturday.

"We want to finish as high as we can [in the OVC standings]. We don't want to lose and tie for second, and if Eastern Kentucky slips, we want to be there," Smith said. "We'd also like to create some momentum going into the tournament, and getting to 20 wins would be nice."