Lovelady, Whitney achieve college goals

~ The Southeast women will try to wrap up the outright OVC crown.

One of the primary reasons Missy Whitney and Ashley Lovelady chose to play basketball for Southeast Missouri State was to win championships.

It's not surprising that as their college careers wind down, the Redhawks' two seniors couldn't have scripted things much better.

Whitney and Lovelady have been cornerstones of Southeast teams that have ruled Ohio Valley Conference women's basketball over the past two years.

"You just can't say enough about what they've done for our program," Southeast coach John Ishee said. "They've shown great leadership all year long.

LEFT: Missy Whitney averages 14.1 points per game for the Redhawks. RIGHT: Ashley Lovelady has started 27 of her team's 28 games this season.

"Not just their contributions on the court, but off the court. ... We would not be where we're at without them."

Whitney and Lovelady will be recognized today when Southeast (21-7, 16-3) hosts Jacksonville State (11-17, 8-11) in a 5 p.m. senior night game that ends the regular season.

The pair took some time following a recent practice to reflect on their Southeast careers.

Both said the fact they don't have many games left -- especially at the Show Me Center -- causes a certain amount of sadness.

"I'm like, man, I won't be able to play [many more] games here," said Whitney, a senior center from Charleston, Mo. "As it gets closer, it is sad."

Added Lovelady, a senior guard from Elkhart, Ind.: "It's kind of sad knowing it's close to coming to an end."

The Redhawks' success this season means Southeast's seniors will play one more home game after today.

Southeast, which has clinched a share of its third straight OVC regular-season title and needs a win today to assure itself of the outright crown, will host a first-round OVC tournament contest Tuesday night.

Which brings us back to one of the main reasons Whitney and Lovelady decided to continue their basketball careers at Southeast following junior college.

The Redhawks captured the program's first OVC regular-season and tournament titles during the 2005-06 campaign, which sent them to the NCAA Division I tournament for the first time.

That was plenty of incentive for Whitney to sign with Southeast out of Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, Mo., and for Lovelady to come over from Moberly (Mo.) Area College.

"I wanted to keep winning championships," Whitney said. "I knew they had lost six seniors, and people weren't expecting us to win again.

"And having my family, my friends, be able to see me play, ... it's nice to have that support."

Said Lovelady: "I came here because it was a program on the rise. I wanted to win championships."

Both were double-figure scorers last season, helping the Redhawks repeat as OVC regular-season and tournament champions despite breaking in four new starters.

The 6-foot-2 Whitney averaged 13.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game while blocking 45 shots -- fourth on Southeast's single-season list -- to make second-team all-OVC.

Lovelady, 5-7, averaged 10.1 points and was second on the squad with 73 assists.

"They were two very important players for us last year," Ishee said.

That hasn't changed this year for the Redhawks, who had a 12-game winning streak snapped Thursday by visiting Samford, but still can set an OVC record for most single-season conference victories with a win today.

Whitney, who missed four OVC games due to injury, is Southeast's leading scorer and rebounder with averages of 14.1 points and seven boards. She is also first with 38 blocks.

Whitney, the OVC preseason player of the year, ranks ninth in the league in scoring, seventh in rebounding and second in blocks. In only two seasons, she is fifth on the school's career list for blocks.

"I don't know if Missy will get [OVC] player of the year because she missed four games, but I think she's very deserving," Ishee said. "She's had another great year, and a great career."

Lovelady's scoring is down as she averages 6.5 points, but Ishee stressed that her all-around play -- especially her defense -- has been as solid as ever.

"Not just her defense, but she brings such passion and energy," Ishee said.

Whitney and Lovelady are both recreation majors who hope to play professional basketball overseas before eventually becoming coaches.

They said it's been a great two seasons at Southeast, but emphasized their work is far from done.

While the Redhawks have at least a tie for another OVC regular-season title in hand, they have their sights set on their third straight conference tournament championship and NCAA berth.

"It won't be complete unless we win that [tournament] championship," Whitney said.