Redhawks endure long layoff before Oklahoma game

~ Southeast will have gone two weeks since its last game.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Southeast Missouri State was one of the first women's basketball teams to nail down an NCAA tournament berth this season, meaning the Redhawks have not played a game for nearly two weeks.

Coach John Ishee hoped the Redhawks had not developed any rust as they prepared to hit the practice court Thursday following their arrival in Texas.

"You always worry about things like that," Ishee said.

The Redhawks, in the NCAA tournament for the second year in a row, will put their 24-7 record and nine-game winning streak on the line 11 a.m. Saturday against Oklahoma in a first-round game of the Austin Subregional.

Oklahoma, the nation's ninth-ranked team, is 26-4 and has posted eight consecutive victories.

Southeast, seeded 14th in the Dayton Regional, last played on March 3, when it won the Ohio Valley Conference tournament championship.

The third-seeded Sooners most recently played Saturday, when they captured the Big 12 Conference tournament crown.

"It'll be right at two weeks between games for us, and you never like to go that long," Ishee said. "Then we had more than a week between when we won the conference tournament and we found out who we'd be playing.

"We had a couple of good practices in Cape after we found out our opponent, and hopefully we'll have some very good practices out here. You worry about rust being a factor, but hopefully it won't be."

Added Ishee with a smile: "More than rust, my biggest worry is our opponent. Oklahoma is a great team. They're as talented as any No. 1 seed in the country, let alone a No. 3 seed."

After arriving in Austin early Thursday afternoon, the Redhawks grabbed lunch, checked into the hotel, rested a bit and headed to a practice facility on the University of Texas campus.

The Redhawks, who worked out for approximately 90 minutes Thursday, will get their first taste of the 16,755-seat Erwin Center -- home of University of Texas basketball -- today.

Southeast and Oklahoma both have public practice sessions scheduled. Those are as much for the media as the teams, but it allows the players to get used to the surroundings and shooting background.

"It'll be nice to get a feel for everything, get acclimated to the surroundings," Ishee said. "Programs like ours don't get a chance to play in big arenas like this very often, so you want to get used to it."

Also today, the teams will have official NCAA tournament news conferences, where the coaches and selected players from both squads will meet with the media.

Ishee acknowledged that the added media attention -- it will be considerably more than what Southeast receives during the season -- could be a distraction if the coaches and players allow it to be.

But since six current Southeast players -- although only two received considerable action -- also were on last year's team that made the NCAA Division I tournament for the first time in school history, Ishee figures that should help.

"Some of the girls have been through it before, so that's always a plus," Ishee said. "You want to have fun out here and enjoy the experience, but you also want to remember why you're out here, and that's to try and win."

Senior center Lachelle Lyles and sophomore point guard Tarina Nixon -- the only current Redhawks who saw significant court time last season -- believe focus won't be an issue.

"I think the experience of being in the tournament last year will help," Lyles said. "There's a lot more media and everything, but we're going to try and keep everybody focused."

Said Nixon: "A lot of us were through it last year, so we kind of know what to expect. I think that's an advantage. I think we'll be able to handle it all pretty well."