Conference favorite may arrive with bad attitude

~ Samford enters tonight's game off its first loss in OVC play.

Southeast Missouri State acting head coach John Ishee expects something of a ticked-off Samford team to visit the Show Me Center today.

The Redhawks would like nothing better than to keep the Bulldogs in a foul mood.

Samford, the Ohio Valley Conference preseason favorite, is coming off Sunday's 77-63 loss at Murray State.

"They'll be smarting off that loss, and I know they'll be a handful for us," Ishee said. "It's a big game for both teams."

Southeast (5-4, 2-1) and Samford (6-4, 1-1) will tip things off at 5 p.m. The Redhawks moved into second place in the 11-team OVC Sunday by beating visiting Jacksonville State 90-83.

"They [Samford] were picked first and we were picked fifth," Southeast junior forward Missy Whitney said of the OVC preseason poll. "That will be good motivation for us."

Even though Southeast tied for last year's OVC regular-season title and won the conference tournament, the Redhawks graduated most of their top players and were relegated to the middle of the pack in the preseason poll.

Samford, on the other hand, returned most of its key players from a team that went 21-8 and finished just one game out of first place in the OVC.

The Bulldogs also proved to be a major thorn in Southeast's side last year. Samford won both regular-season meetings, 91-76 in Birmingham, Ala., and 57-53 in Cape Girardeau, before the Redhawks got revenge in the OVC tournament semifinals with a 59-52 victory.

"They're the preseason pick to win the league, and they beat Southeast twice last year, so that tells you what kind of team they have," Ishee said. "They're a very disciplined team with fundamentally sound players."

Alex Munday, a 6-foot junior forward, is Samford's top player with averages of 13.1 points and five rebounds per game.

Munday, a first-team preseason all-conference selection, made the all-league second team last year as she led the Bulldogs with a 14.7 scoring average.

Chelsee Insell, a 5-9 senior guard and another of Samford's four returning starters from a year ago, is averaging 10.2 points per game.

Southeast will look to continue dominating the boards. The Redhawks lead the OVC and rank 16th nationally in rebounding margin at plus 9.3.

A large reason for Southeast's prowess on the glass is senior center Lachelle Lyles, who leads the nation with an average of 15.1 rebounds per game.

Lyles has 82 rebounds in her last four games, including an OVC-record 32 boards on Dec. 7 at Tennessee State.

"She is just relentless on the boards," Ishee said.

The Redhawks hope to be relentless in enough areas today to win their third straight game and make an early statement that they will again be a major factor in the conference race.

"It will be a good game, and we know Samford is tough," junior guard Ashley Lovelady said. "But if we do what we're supposed to do, we should be all right."

Whitney honored

Whitney, a transfer from Three Rivers Community College, is the OVC newcomer of the week.

Whitney averaged 23.5 points in two Southeast wins and she scored a career-high 36 points Sunday against Jacksonville State.

The Charleston High school graduate hit 11 of 14 shots Sunday, including four of five 3-pointers, and made 10 of 12 free throws. She added eight rebounds and two blocks.

"Missy had a great game," Ishee said.

Whitney leads Southeast in scoring at 14.8 points per game, ahead of fellow junior college transfer Lovelady's 12.2 average.