Otahkians look for louder statement at Eastern Kentucky

B.J. Smith, Southeast Missouri State University's first-year women's basketball coach, believes the Otahkians might have made a statement Saturday night.

But Smith said he won't know for sure until tonight.

After rolling past host Morehead State 83-63 Saturday, the Otahkians (8-4, 2-0 Ohio Valley Conference) remain on the road to play Eastern Kentucky (11-4, 3-0) at 6:30 p.m. today.

Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky tied for second in the OVC preseason poll. Southeast, with an almost completely new roster, was picked fifth.

"We only made a statement tonight if we back it up at Eastern Kentucky," Smith said following the victory at Morehead State. "But this was a big win for us."

And one that probably sent more than a few ripples throughout the conference as the Otahkians -- who other OVC teams probably didn't know what to make of entering conference play -- won by 20 points at one of the league favorites.

Southeast rolled past Morehead State with a big second half after trailing by six points at the intermission. The Otahkians won despite having 30 turnovers.

The Otahkians prevailed largely because of long-range shooting. They entered the contest hitting 29 percent from 3-point range but set school records for 3-pointers made and attempted by going 16 of 31 from beyond the arc.

Junior guard Natasha Starkes, averaging 5.4 points per game before Saturday, scored a season-high 19 points. She made five of six 3-pointers.

"It's conference time and coach said we have to step up," Starkes said. "This is a big win for us."

Now the Otahkians get ready to face perennial OVC power Eastern Kentucky, which leads the conference. A victory tonight would lift Southeast to the top of the league standings.

"They're a really good team, similar in style to Morehead State but probably better overall," Smith said. "Everybody talks about how tough a road trip this is and we know we'll have a big challenge.

"Winning the first game on this trip was big and if we could win the last game it would be really huge."

Following tonight's game, the Otahkians return home to face Murray State Saturday and Tennessee-Martin next Monday.

mmishow@semissourian.com

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