~ The basketball coaches and SIDs see a dropoff for the Redhawks
For the first time in a long time, the Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team has been predicted to finish in the bottom half of the Ohio Valley Conference.
Coach John Ishee doesn't disagree with the OVC preseason poll announced Thursday, as voted on by the league's coaches and sports information directors (the men's poll will be released Oct. 29).
But Ishee emphasized that, just because the poll suggests the Redhawks will finish seventh in the 10-team conference, that doesn't mean they'll wind up there.
"I think when you go with preseason predictions, it's based on the amount of offense you have returning and all-conference players you have returning," said Ishee, whose squad graduated its top three scorers and features no returning all-league performers. "I would have been shocked if we had not been picked in the bottom half of the conference.
"But having said that, that's on paper. You play games. ... I think our talent level and chemistry are good. We expect to put a product on the floor that is competitive and contends for conference championships."
A big key, said Ishee, is how well the young Redhawks -- their 13-player roster includes one senior, one junior, two sophomores and nine freshmen -- mature.
"A lot of it depends on how quick we grow up," Ishee said.
Southeast dipped to 15-15 last season, including a fifth-place 10-8 in OVC play, and failed to reach the conference tournament semifinals for the first time in seven years.
That came after Ishee led Southeast to OVC regular-season titles in his first two years, along with a conference tournament title and NCAA tournament berth.
The Redhawks welcomed back just four players, with junior wing Lauren Sharpe the top returning scorer at eight points a contest.
"Our team is very, very young and we've got a really tough nonconference schedule," said Ishee, 62-32 in three seasons at Southeast. "We're obviously a work in progress, but I really like our group. We'll try to get better every day."
Morehead State is the preseason OVC favorite after the Eagles went 17-14 last year, including a fourth-place 11-7 in league play.
The Eagles, among four teams with two players each on the all-OVC preseason team, received nine of the 20 first-place votes. They return four starters, including OVC preseason player of the year Chynna Bozeman.
Ishee said he voted for the Eagles No. 1. "From a depth standpoint, they have the most talent," he said.
Defending OVC tournament champion Austin Peay, which finished tied with Southeast for fifth in the regular season last year, was picked second.
The Governors (17-16, 10-8) nabbed six first-place votes and finished just one point behind Morehead, 147 to 146. They also return four starters.
Tennessee State and Eastern Illinois were selected third and fourth, respectively, as they grabbed the remaining first-place votes.
Four first-place votes went to the Tigers (18-13, 13-5, third place) and one to the Panthers (24-9, 15-3, second place).
Jacksonville State (7-23, 4-14, tie for eighth) was picked fifth, followed by defending regular-season champion Murray State (23-9, 16-2), Tennessee Tech (9-21, 7-11, seventh), Eastern Kentucky (7-20, 4-14, tie for eighth) and Tennessee-Martin (2-27, 0-18, last).
Southeast plays its lone exhibition game Nov. 9 at home against Christian Brothers. The first regular-season contest is Nov. 13 at home against Missouri-St. Louis.
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