OTAHKIANS TO PLAY FIRST HOME GAME TONIGHT

Coaches are never happy with a loss, but Ed Arnzen could find little fault with the performance of his Southeast Missouri State University women's basketball team during Saturday night's 74-69 setback to host Arkansas State in the finals of the ASU Tournament.

The Otahkians, who tip off their home schedule tonight with a 7 o'clock game against Missouri-Kansas City at the Show Me Center, played the highly-regarded Lady Indians on virtually even terms before finally falling a bit short at the end."I was really pleased with the weekend we had," said Arnzen, whose squad opened its season Friday night with a 77-52 rout of Mississippi Valley State in the first round of the ASU tourney. "You're always looking to play well early in the season and I thought we played well over the weekend."We had a tremendous effort against Arkansas State. We were in the game the whole way, tied with three minutes left. It was just a great ballgame and to play like that against a very good opponent on the road is very encouraging."Through two games, sophomore center Pam Iversen leads the Otahkians in scoring with an average of 14 points per contest. Senior forward Paula Corder-King is close behind at 13.5 points a game.

Missouri-Kansas City, which lost its season opener to Wichita State Friday night, has been a bit down in recent years but Arnzen expects to see an improved Lady Kangaroo squad tonight."They've been down a little bit but I expect them to be better than they have been," Arnzen said. "We can't take them lightly."Tonight's matchup will be the Otahkians' only home game among their first seven contests of the season. "We're not home very much early so we have to take advantage of it when we can get it," said Arnzen. "It's going to be good to play at home."Following tonight's game, the Otahkians will compete in the rugged Nevada-Las Vegas Tournament Saturday and Sunday, with Southeast facing national power Louisiana Tech in the first round.