OTAHKIANS NEED TO FIND PULSE SOON

Southeast Missouri State University women's basketball coach Ed Arnzen doesn't believe the Otahkians are dead yet in the Ohio Valley Conference race.

But Arnzen knows his team will have to show plenty of life during its upcoming four-game homestand that starts today with a 5:30 game against Eastern Illinois at the Show Me Center.

"We're not dead, but we really have to starting putting something together and this four-game homestand is a perfect opportunity for us," said Arnzen.

The Otahkians, 4-12 overall, are 2-6 in OVC play and tied with Murray State for last place in the 10-team league. Only the top eight teams in the final standings qualify for the OVC postseason tournament.

"It's a critical homestand for us," Arnzen said. "We have to take advantage of it."

EIU's Lady Panthers certainly won't be an easy touch. Picked to finish eighth in their first season in the OVC, the Lady Panthers have been solid so far. They're 8-8 overall and 4-3 in league play, good for fourth place.

"They've been playing really well. They've already had some big wins," said Arnzen. "They've got a very good foreign player (Barbora Gorbova, a 6-foot-2 junior), and they've got some other good players around her."

Arnzen thought the Otahkians let a golden opportunity slip away Thursday night when they lost at Murray State 52-50.

"We maybe had a chance to bury Murray State (in the OVC standings), but we didn't do it," he said.