Southeast will attempt to extend streak to 8

Southeast Missouri State's women exorcised one major demon from last season by winning at Tennessee-Martin on Thursday.

Today, the red-hot Redhawks (14-6, 8-1 Ohio Valley Conference) will try to wipe out another one when they visit Murray State (8-12, 4-5) for a 5:15 p.m. tipoff at the Regional Special Events Center in Murray, Ky.

When the Redhawks romped 79-56 on Thursday, it avenged last season's upset loss at Tennessee-Martin. Southeast also suffered an upset defeat at Murray last year, as the Racers prevailed 64-59.

"Last year they got us there, and they can get us again if we don't play well," Southeast coach B.J. Smith said. "We've talked a lot about these last two games."

The way the Redhawks are playing these days, it's hard to imagine them being dealt another surprise loss by the Racers, but Smith is leaving nothing to chance.

"You have to come ready to play every night or you can be beat," he said. "I think the players understand that."

Southeast has won seven straight games to match the program's longest winning streak since moving up to Division I in 1991-92; the 1998-99 squad also reeled off seven consecutive victories. The all-time streak is 21 straight by the 1990-91 team that finished second in the Division II national tournament.

And the Redhawks have not just been winning, they've been crushing the opposition lately.

The Redhawks' last five victories have been by an average of 30 points. During that time, Southeast has forced 130 turnovers and not allowed an opponent to shoot better than 37 percent nor score more than 56 points.

All the while, Southeast's offense has continued to hum, as the Redhawks rank ninth nationally in scoring with an average of nearly 76 points per game.

"I'm pleased with where we're at, but we still have to get a lot better," Smith said. "We can't get satisfied. We have to keep improving."

Southeast is in a second-place tie in the 11-team OVC with Tennessee Tech, one-half game behind Eastern Kentucky (9-1), but the Colonels are idle today so a win over Murray will move the Redhawks back into a share of the lead.

No matter what has happened recently, Smith doesn't expect a victory over Murray to come easy. The Racers are second in the OVC in 3-pointers made with 141 -- behind Southeast's 154 -- and they have some dangerous scorers, led by 5-foot-9 senior guard Rebecca Remington (15.8 ppg).

"They give us different problems. They shoot a lot of threes," Smith said. "It will be a tough one."