Morehead State latest test for Southeast women

The Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team began a three-game Ohio Valley Conference homestand with Saturday's 25-point loss to defending regular-season champion and preseason favorite Eastern Illinois.

Things don't figure to get much easier for the Redhawks today when Morehead State visits for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.

The Eagles (11-5, 4-2) are tied for fourth place in the 10-team OVC, just one-half game out of first place, after they finished second last year.

Southeast (5-10, 1-4) is in eighth place. The Redhawks have lost five of six overall and have suffered three straight OVC defeats.

"It's a big game for us. They're all big," Southeast coach John Ishee said. "It doesn't get any easier. Morehead State is a really talented team."

Southeast Missouri State coach John Ishee talks to his players during a timeout in a game earlier this season. (Laura Simon)

Morehead features the reigning OVC player of the year and the preseason favorite to repeat in 5-foot-10 senior guard Chynna Bozeman.

Bozeman broke an OVC single-season record last year with 121 3-pointers made, the fourth-highest single-season total in NCAA Division I history. She led the league in scoring with 19.6 points per game.

Bozeman, the first player in program history with career totals of at least 1,500 points, 500 rebounds, 300 assists and 200 steals, is the league's No. 2 scorer with a 17.5 average. She has made 41 3-pointers, second in the OVC, although she is shooting just 28.9 percent from long range. She also leads the league in steals with 56.

During Saturday's overtime home upset loss to Jacksonville State in which Morehead led by nine points with less than two minutes left in regulation, Bozeman had 39 points while attempting an OVC-record 41 field goals.

"She's a great player," Ishee said. "And they've got a lot of other really good players."

The Eagles feature two more of the OVC's top 12 scorers.

Ashar Harris, a 5-11 sophomore forward, is eighth with a 13.9 average while leading the league in rebounding at 11.1. She is third in field-goal percentage (50.9).

Courtney Lumpkin, a 5-8 junior guard, is the OVC's No. 12 scorer with a 12.8 average.