Loss to Austin Peay shows progress of Smith's Otahks

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Saturday's 85-61 loss to Austin Peay in the championship game of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament figures to be only a temporary setback for Southeast Missouri State University's women's basketball team.

That's because there promises to be plenty of big things in the future for the Otahkians and energetic young coach B.J. Smith.

When Smith was hired last year to replace the retired Ed Arnzen, he vowed to bring championship-level Division I women's basketball to Cape Girardeau, saying the Otahkians can consistently be one of the OVC's premier programs.

Nothing the Otahkians did in their first season under Smith leads one to believe that won't happen.

Despite featuring an almost brand-new roster -- just two players returned who saw action the previous year -- Southeast recorded its best season since moving up to Division I and joining the OVC in 1991-92.

The Otahkians' 19 victories tied their Division I school record, their second-place regular-season OVC finish was their best ever and their OVC Tournament finals appearance was their first ever.

Southeast will miss its two seniors, Lori Chase and LaShelle Porter, who deserve plenty of credit for sticking with the new regime and adjusting not only to Smith's style of play but also to his fiery personality.

Chase and Porter were key four-year players, Chase winding up as the program's third all-time leading scorer.

But everybody else is scheduled to return next season, and Smith expects to have at least a few new players who will be every bit as good as -- if not better than -- many of the ones coming back.

Smith, who very well could be on the fast track toward landing a top Division I coaching job, probably won't be at Southeast all that long, especially if he builds the Otahkians into a big winner.

But Otahkian fans figure to reap plenty of excitement and enjoyment during the years Smith does call Cape Girardeau home.

I've written plenty about the state of Southeast's men's basketball program during these past two struggling seasons, so I won't rehash it all again today.

But, as much as Southeast supporters wanted this 11-19 season to go better -- and as much as impressive wins over the likes of Murray State, Tennessee Tech, Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Southwest Missouri teased fans -- realistically the Indians won about as many games as expected.

Before the season, I thought if Southeast reached 12 victories to double the total of last year's 6-22 debacle, it would be a successful campaign. And the Indians only came up one win short.

For a variety of reasons that have been discussed already, the Indians found themselves woefully short on talent and numbers the past two years.

Next season, barring any more unforeseen happenings, the talent level and numbers should be up to speed with most of the other OVC teams, which means the Indians' margin for error will increase greatly, which in turn means they won't have to be so perfect to win games, as was the case much of this year.

The big thing to watch for next year will be chemistry and togetherness. Chemistry regarding how all the new players mesh together. And togetherness regarding how some of this season's key players who might have their playing time slashed respond to their possible new roles.

Next season -- and really the next two because Southeast will have very few seniors in 2003-04 -- should be interesting for the Indians, and probably quite successful as long as they pass their chemistry and togetherness exams.

Talk about a basketball team with great chemistry. Austin Peay's men certainly have had it this year, and the Govs continued their magical season by capturing the OVC Tournament title with a 63-57 win over Tennessee Tech on Saturday.

The Govs, who also tied for the OVC regular-season title, were picked just fifth in the conference's preseason poll. They are not blessed with the most talent in the league, but they rode great team play, rugged defense and the ability to win close games all the way to the NCAA Tournament.

Boy, did the Govs ever win some close games. In the two OVC Tournament contests prior to Saturday's, they got a 3-point shot just before the buzzer to beat Eastern Kentucky by three points, and they beat Murray State by three points in overtime.

The player who hit that winning 3-pointer in the first round against Eastern Kentucky, area product Corey Gipson, had a solid game Saturday with 13 points. He also made the all-tournament team.

Gipson, a junior guard, played two seasons at Scott County Central High School before finishing his prep career at Richland. He transferred to Austin Peay from Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff.

Southeast's baseball team is probably getting tired of living out of suitcases.

This weekend's three-game series at Southern Mississippi will give them 10 straight road contests to start the season. That's torturous by any standards.

If the weather holds up, the Indians finally will play their first home game at 2 p.m. Monday when former OVC rival Middle Tennessee State visits Capaha Field. That marks the start of nine consecutive scheduled home contests for Southeast.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.