Southeast women have a Big 12 test

Nationally ranked Oklahoma will provide a daunting challenge for Southeast.

By Marty Mishow ~ Southeast Missourian

B.J. Smith has not shied away from playing a rugged pre-conference schedule since he began coaching Southeast Missouri State University's women.

That trend continues tonight, as Southeast starts Smith's third season with a game at 21st ranked Oklahoma. The tipoff in Norman, Okla., is set for 7 p.m.

Smith also took Southeast to play at Oklahoma during his first two seasons -- and the results were not pretty. The Sooners romped 83-48 last year and 87-59 the season before that.

Still, Smith sees only positives with giving his squad an early test.

"I like playing these teams. I like to know where we're at compared to the best teams in the country," Smith said. "They'll probably have 8,000 people at the game. An atmosphere like that is only going to make us better."

Oklahoma went 24-9 last year and earned its fifth straight NCAA berth. The Sooners are 128-40 over the past five seasons and appeared in the 2001-2002 national championship game.

"They've got a tremendous program," Smith said. "They're very good every year."

Smith, who coached junior college power Northeastern Oklahoma A&M before coming to Southeast, built a solid relationship with Sooners coach Sherri Coale during those times. She recruited several of his players, and that led to Southeast and Oklahoma hooking up the last three years.

While Smith said Southeast won't play Oklahoma next year, the Sooners are slated to visit the Show Me Center the following season, which would be a big attraction for Southeast fans.

"They were supposed to come to our place this year, but we had a scheduling conflict at the Show Me Center," Smith said. "We'll play them at home in two years, and that will be great for our program."

As for this season's Oklahoma squad, Smith believes the Sooners are considerably better than last year even though they lost two of their top three scorers.

Oklahoma returns its second-leading scorer in 5-foot-9 senior guard Dionnah Jackson, a preseason All-American who averaged 12.5 points per game last year. Also back are 10 of the other 12 players from last season, when the Sooners were decimated by injuries.

"I think they'll be better than they were a year ago," Smith said. "They had several kids out for just about the whole year with torn ACLs and they're back now. Jackson is a very good player, and they've added some great recruits."

Smith is anxious to see how his new-look squad reacts to such a big-time environment. Southeast, which went 16-13 overall and 10-6 in the Ohio Valley Conference last year, has just four returning players -- including only one returning starter -- joined by 11 newcomers

Likely to start tonight are three returning players and two junior college transfers.

The returnees are 6-3 senior forward Chandra Brown, the lone starter back from last year who averaged 10.3 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds per game; 5-7 senior guard Brandi Russia (3.7 ppg); and 5-7 junior point guard Tiffanne Ryan (2.6 ppg). The newcomers are 6-2 junior center Tatiana Conceicao and 6-foot junior forward Natalie Purcell.

"This is going to be a really tough first game for us," Smith said. "With so many new players, I don't know if we're going to be ready for them. But at some point, we will be.

"We have the size and athleticism. I really like this group. It might take some time, but I think we're going to have a really good basketball team."