Free-throw shooting buoys Southeast

~ Redhawks come through with game on the line in final minutes.

Southeast Missouri State women's basketball coach John Ishee considers two factors when deciding who to put on the court in the closing minutes of a tight game.

Ishee takes into account a player's ball-handling skills and her free-throw shooting percentage.

During Thursday's 46-41 victory over Eastern Illinois, Ishee's players rewarded him from the line. The Redhawks made 6-of-8 in the final minute to seal the win and maintain their hold on first place in the Ohio Valley Conference.

"We try to make sure we have the right people on the floor who have proven they are pretty good percentage wise," Ishee said.

When one of his players starts to falter at the free-throw line, he makes sure they understand their shortcomings will affect their playing time.

"I tell them, 'You're not very good. You got to get better or you're not going to be on the floor,'" he said. "The problem is not going to go away. We're going to go through the problem. We're not going to go around it."

Free-throw shooting late in games has helped the Redhawks remain in a familiar spot atop the OVC standings. They went 5-of-6 from the line in the final minute of their win over Eastern Kentucky on Saturday. Against Murray State on Jan. 26, Southeast went 5-of-6 in the final 1 minute, 2 seconds to seal the win.

Even though the Redhawks rank seventh in the OVC in free-throw percentage (.699 percent), they have a knack for hitting them down the stretch.

The players credit Ishee's corrective action when they miss in practice for their success.

"We practice a lot," senior Ashley Lovelady said. "We shoot free throws twice in practice, and we run for them. If we miss one, we have to run."

The player has to run to the other end of the gym and back after a miss. It's not a significant distance, but it's enough to get the players' attention. But Ishee said the players need to understand that after an uncontested layup, a free throw is the easiest shot in basketball.

"It's the same shot," he said. "It's 15 feet from the line to the front of the rim. There's no defense. There shouldn't be any pressure. You guys all have great shot form, so it's just about step up, be consistent, shoot the ball and it's going to go in."

The Redhawks feature two of the top free-throw shooters in the OVC -- Tarina Nixon at No. 9 (.811 percent) and Missy Whitney at No. 10 (.794 percent). Rachel Blunt sits just behind Whitney at .789 percent.

With their impressive percentages, it's not surprising that Whitney, Nixon and Blunt often find themselves on the court in the final minutes of close games. But even with all their practice, the players acknowledged there's no way to simulate the pressure of crucial free throws.

"What they [the coaches] try to do is if someone misses, you've got a suicide or just a little more running," Blunt said. "But it's hard because you don't have the crowd into it."

Ishee appreciates his players' ability to deliver down the stretch, but said there isn't a drill or secret formula for making a player a good free-throw shooter late in games.

"If I knew the answer to that, I would put it in a bottle, I really would," he said.

In the meantime, he'll settle for more performances from the line like Thursday's 81 percent (17-of-21).