OTAHKS LOOK FOR FIRST WIN EVER AT EKU

RICHMOND, Ky. -- Southeast Missouri State University's women's basketball team will attempt to pull off a first in the program's history today.

The Otahkians have never won a game on Eastern Kentucky's home court, losing 10 times at McBrayer Arena since the squads began playing when Southeast joined the Ohio Valley Conference in 1991.

If the Otahkians are able to finally break through, then they will take over sole possession of second place in the Ohio Valley Conference standings. Southeast, which has beaten the Lady Colonels three times in Cape Girardeau, and EKU are currently tied for second in the nine-team league with 6-1 records.

"It's going to be a tough one," said Southeast coach Ed Arnzen, whose squad began its two-game road swing with a 67-66 win over Morehead State Saturday night. "We've been very close the last two years, but we've never won at Eastern Kentucky. If we could win (today), it would just be a huge victory for us."

In order to pull off the feat, Arnzen knows the Otahkians (11-6 overall) will have to slow down the high-flying Lady Colonels (14-4) at least a little bit.

EKU is by far the OVC's highest-scoring team, averaging a whopping 88 points per game. The Lady Colonels also lead the league in victory margin, winning by an average of more than 11 points a contest.

But Southeast boasts the OVC's top defensive squad statistically, holding the opposition to a conference-low 65 points per game.

"Eastern Kentucky is the most athletic team in the conference," Arnzen said. "They have the best offensive team in the conference. They'll put up shots from almost anywhere and everybody will shoot the ball.

"We think we can do some things to slow them down, but it's going to be a very big challenge for us."

The Lady Colonels don't have any huge scorers, instead featuring balance as seven players average at least eight points per game.

Leading the way offensively for EKU are Candice Finley (12.9 ppg), Charlotte Sizemore (11.8 ppg), Katie Kelly (10.0 ppg) and Mikki Bond (9.5 ppg).

"They've got an excellent club, but we've been playing well and I look for a good ballgame," said Arnzen.

Southeast has not lost an OVC road game yet this season, winning all four times away from the Show Me Center.