Margenthaler fills out coaching staff

Southeast Missouri State women's basketball coach Ty Margenthaler completed his coaching staff Wednesday with the hiring of LaToya Howell as an assistant.

Howell, who spent the past two seasons as an assistant at Texas-Pan American, will primarily coach the Redhawks' perimeter players. She will also be involved in recruiting.

"I am pleased to welcome Latoya to the Redhawk family. She'll bring great experience in different areas, both in recruiting and on the court," Margenthaler said in a release. "LaToya has made a difference everywhere she's gone as a coach and a player. The fact that she was a captain at both the Air Force Academy and Nebraska is a testament to the quality of her leadership skills."

Howell served two years as an assistant at Loyola University in Chicago before her stint at UTPA. She spent the first three years of her coaching career as an assistant at Division II Texas A&M-Commerce.

Howell was a standout player for both Air Force and Nebraska.

She lettered in each of her two seasons at Air Force, earning all-Mountain West Conference honorable mention honors as a freshman in 2001-02. That season, Howell set a Division I school record with 90 steals and was named the team's Most Valuable Player.

Howell averaged 17.4 points and 7.0 assists per game as a sophomore, when she torched Minnesota for a school-record 38 points. She set Division I school records in scoring average and assists that season.

Howell spent her final two collegiate seasons at Nebraska, where she helped the Cornhuskers win 18 or more games twice. The Cornhuskers advanced to the WNIT quarterfinals in Howell's senior season, when she led the team with 159 assists.

Howell replaces Dionnah Jackson, who left Southeast after three years to become an assistant at George Mason.

Southeast's other two assistants, Ben Coomes and Heather Ezell, will be entering their third seasons on Margenthaler's staff.

Long to nationals

Kameron Long has parlayed a strong rookie college season into a nice opportunity.

Long, who recently completed his freshman campaign at Southeast as the Redhawks' top 800-meter runner, qualified for this week's USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. He will compete in the 800 preliminaries today, with the finals set for Friday.

Long, a Memphis, Tenn., native, placed fourth in the 800 at this year's Ohio Valley Conference indoor meet. He also ran a leg on Southeast's distance medley relay (third) and 1,600 relay (fourth) teams, then ran a leg on the 1,600 relay group that finished third at the OVC outdoor meet.

-- From staff reports