Glenn gives Redhawks big boost on boards

~ Junior college transfer helps Southeast women after the graduationof the nation's leading rebounder.

RICHMOND, Ky. -- She's no Lachelle Lyles, although not many people are.

But Crysta Glenn has had a big impact on the boards, helping pick up some slack in Lyles' absence for the surging Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team.

"Crysta is doing exactly what we brought her in to do," said Southeast coach John Ishee, whose squad has won seven straight and 12 of 13 as it chases a third straight Ohio Valley Conference championship.

Entering today's 2 p.m. OVC game at Eastern Kentucky, Glenn has established herself among the league's better rebounders.

Glenn, a 5-foot-10 junior college transfer, is Southeast's No. 2 rebounder with a 5.6 average, even though she averages only the sixth-most minutes on the squad at 21.3.

Glenn ranks 14th in the league in rebounding, and fifth in offensive rebounding with three per game. In OVC play, her 6.9 rebounding average ranks ninth, and she is tied for third in offensive boards at 3.7.

"She has a real nose for the ball, and she competes," Ishee said. "That's why I recruited her."

Ishee knew the Redhawks needed some rebounding help after Lyles completed her eligibility last year. The 6-2 Lyles led the nation with an average of 17 rebounds per game.

Glenn, a native of San Diego who spent the last two seasons at Cowley County Community College in Kansas, knows her duty is to collect rebounds.

"That is what I was brought here to do," she said.

While Lyles was taller and bulkier than the slender Glenn, Southeast's junior makes up for her lack of size with hustle and instincts.

"She doesn't have the size of a Lyles, but she still does a really good job," Ishee said. "She's been a big addition to our team."

Glenn, averaging 5.9 points, has spent most of the season as Southeast's first player off the bench, but she has started the last three games and played at least 33 minutes in those contests.

During Thursday's 50-48 win at Morehead State, Glenn filled in for senior center Missy Whitney, Southeast's leading scorer and rebounder who was out with an elbow injury, and pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds while playing a career-high 37 minutes.

Whitney is questionable again today, and if she can't play, Glenn knows she again will have to shoulder much of the rebounding load.

"I'll be ready," she said.

Another road test

Southeast (16-6, 11-2) leads the OVC with seven games remaining because of its success on the road.

The Redhawks are 8-0 in conference road contests, but that mark should be challenged today against high-scoring EKU (11-8, 6-6), especially if Whitney can't play.

EKU, tied for fifth in the 11-team OVC, is 5-1 in league home games. The Colonels lead the conference in scoring at 75.1 points per game.

"It's going to be a very difficult game for us," Ishee said. "I'm a lot better coach with Missy on the floor."

EKU is the only OVC squad the Redhawks have not played this season.

Crystal Jones, a 5-9 senior guard, is the Colonels' top scorer with a 15.7 average.

Noteworthy

• The Redhawks will see a familiar face on the EKU bench today.

Lisa Pace, who spent the last seven years as a Southeast assistant and helped recruit many of the current players, is in her first season as an assistant at EKU, her alma mater.