Otahkians also try to climb out of hole

The last thing Southeast Missouri State University women's coach B.J. Smith wanted was for his team to immediately fall behind in the Ohio Valley Conference race.

But that's what has happened after the Otahkians dropped Thursday's OVC opener to visiting Austin Peay 64-54.

Today the Otahkians (5-7, 0-1) face what Smith believes is just about a must-win situation when Tennessee Tech (5-6, 1-0) visits the Show Me Center for a 5 p.m. tipoff.

"This puts us in a hole right off the bat, so it's a huge game for us," Smith said. "It's still early in the conference season, but we really can't afford to start out losing two home games. We really need this one."

Smith is still trying to figure out the Otahkians' offensive problems. They entered Thursday's game hitting 36.6 percent from the field, including 27.5 percent from 3-point range -- and those statistics went down as Southeast shot 28.6 percent and made just 24.1 percent of its 3-pointers.

"I think we've got good shooters, but we've got to start making some shots," Smith said. "We just have to score. You can't beat anybody scoring 54 points."

Said junior guard Sami Jo Cotton, who hit four of six 3-pointers and paced the Otahkians with 16 points, "We had so many opportunities, we just didn't finish shots and we missed a lot of layups. But I think we'll be all right."

Smith is wary of Tech, which was the OVC's dominant program before falling on hard times last year, going 12-17 for just the second losing record under veteran coach Bill Worrell and first losing season since 1995-96. The Eaglettes' sixth-place conference finish also marked their lowest ever.

Smith believes the Eaglettes -- who started their conference season Thursday with a 71-63 win at Eastern Illinois -- are much improved, largely because they returned all five starters. Still, Tech is the sixth-youngest team in Division I , according to the Herald-Citizen newspaper of Cookeville, Tenn.

"They're good," Smith said. "They struggled some last year, which is unusual for them, but they've got everybody back and they'll be a tough team for us."

The Otahkians contributed to the Eaglettes' frustrations last season as Southeast beat Tech three times, including in the semifinals of the OVC Tournament.

"We beat them three times last year and I'm sure that's never happened to them before," Smith said. "They'll be gunning for us."

Tech features the OVC's leading scorer in Emily Christian, a 6-foot-1 sophomore center who is averaging 20 points and seven rebounds per game. She was the OVC freshman of the year last season as she finished second in the conference in scoring at 17.6 points per game.

"She's really a good player," Smith said.

Said Cotton, "It's very important for us to bounce back, so this is a big game for us."