OTAHKIANS TRY TO BREAK THREE-GAME SKID TONIGHT

Southeast Missouri State University's women's basketball team jumps right from the frying pan into the proverbial fire tonight.

The Otahkians, coming off an 89-71 home loss to a strong Middle Tennessee State squad on Saturday night, now must face another of the Ohio Valley Conference's powerhouse teams in Tennessee Tech.

Tonight's tipoff at the Show Me Center is set for 7 o'clock.

Southeast (4-8 overall, 2-3 OVC) has lost three straight games. The most damaging of those, according to Otahkian coach Ed Arnzen, was a 98-95 overtime setback at Morehead State on Jan. 3.

In that loss to Morehead, the Lady Eagles hit a late desperation 3-point shot to force overtime and then prevailed. Since then, the Otahkians have lost by 39 points to Eastern Kentucky and by 18 to Middle Tennessee.

"I don't think we've recovered from that (Morehead) game yet," said Arnzen. "That game really seemed to take a lot out of us."

The Otahkians will have to regroup in a hurry. Even though Tennessee Tech (8-5 overall, 2-2 OVC) has struggled lately itself with two straight defeats, the Golden Eaglettes are picked to finish second in the 10-team league.

"They are a very good ballclub," Arnzen said. "I think they're definitely one of the top teams in the conference."

Diane Seng, a 6-foot-2 sophomore who is the OVC's preseason player of the year, averages nearly 15 points per game to lead the Golden Eaglettes.