OTAHKIANS HOPE TO SETTLE FOR SPLIT OF HOMESTAND

Southeast Missouri State University women's basketball coach Ed Arnzen was hoping his team could start the second round of Ohio Valley Conference play by sweeping a two-game homestand.

Instead, today the Otahkians will try to salvage a split as Tennessee State comes to the Show Me Center.

The Otahkians began their homestand Thursday with a 67-66 loss to Austin Peay as the Lady Govs overcame a nine-point deficit in the second half.

That defeat dropped the Otahkians into a third-place OVC tie with Austin Peay, both teams 6-3 in league play. Southeast is 11-8 overall.

"We had just completed the first half of our tour of the league. We went 6-2 and we'd hoped to do better than that the second half," said Arnzen. "To get knocked off in the first one makes it tough. This game (today) is one we really have to have now."

Even though TSU is just 5-14 overall and a seventh-place 3-7 in the nine-team OVC, Arnzen doesn't expect the Lady Tigers to simply roll over for the Otahkians.

Southeast beat TSU by just two points (82-80) earlier this season in Nashville. And the Lady Tigers snapped a four-game losing streak Thursday with a 76-69 victory at Eastern Illinois.

"Other than Tennessee Tech, they've been in just about every other (conference) game," said Arnzen. "They're a very dangerous team."

OVC leader Tennessee Tech, which is undefeated in conference play, drubbed TSU by 30 points. The Lady Tigers' other most lopsided league loss was by 11 points to second-place Eastern Kentucky and four of their seven OVC defeats have been by five points or less.

Angela Hassell, a 5-foot-11 senior forward, is the Lady Tigers' top offensive threat as she averages 19 points per game.

Tamara Washington, a 5-10 senior forward, contributes 16 points a contest while 5-7 senior guard Krystal Stancil and 5-8 senior forward Taurus Pyles each carry averages of nearly 11 points per game.

"Hassell's range is unbelievable. She's got the best range of anybody in the league. When she gets hot, she is really dangerous," Arnzen said. "And Washington is a very strong inside player."

Following today's game, the Otahkians will hit the road for three straight league contests, beginning Monday against powerhouse Tennessee Tech. The last thing Arnzen wants is for his team, which lost at Eastern Kentucky Monday, to carry a three-game losing streak to Tech.

"The Austin Peay game was a tough one because we seemed to have control (in the second half)," said Arnzen. "We've just got to bounce back and win this one before we go back on the road."