Redhawks need two wins to join 'Dance

~ Southeast will face Samford today in the semifinals of the OVC tournament.

In a season when most people outside the program did not expect it, Southeast Missouri State's women are two wins away from their second straight NCAA Division I tournament berth.

A team that has been tough on the Redhawks in recent years awaits today in the semifinals of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament.

Top-seeded Southeast (22-7) and fourth-seeded Samford (18-12) square off at noon at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tenn.

The winner moves into Saturday's 3 p.m. championship game -- against either second-seeded Murray State or sixth-seeded Tennesee-Martin -- where an NCAA tournament bid will be on the line.

"It's exciting, knowing how close we are," senior center Lachelle Lyles said. "We want to go back to the NCAA tournament real bad, but we just have to keep taking it one game at a time."

Southeast, the OVC regular-season champion, began the league tournament with Tuesday's 58-54 home win over No. 8 seed Austin Peay.

Acting head coach John Ishee expects no less of a challenge today.

Samford lost to Southeast 70-66 in overtime on Dec. 19 in Cape Girardeau, before the Redhawks beat the Bulldogs 66-58 last Thursday in Birmingham, Ala.

Last year, Samford handed Southeast one of its four regular-season conference losses and took the Redhawks to the wire before falling by seven points in the semifinals of the OVC tournament.

And two years ago, Southeast barely avoided an upset to Samford in the first round of the league tournament, winning by two points.

"Samford has been tough on Southeast in the past," Ishee said. "I expect a game as tough as Tuesday night, if not tougher."

But that's all right, figures Ishee, because nothing has come very easy for the Redhawks this season.

First of all, Southeast had to replace four starters from last year's team that tied for the program's first OVC regular-season title and won its first OVC tournament crown before making its inaugural NCAA Division I tournament showing.

That was enough for the Redhawks to be picked just fifth in the OVC preseason poll based on voting by the league's head coaches and sports information directors.

Then the Redhawks were jolted when head coach B.J. Smith -- who built Southeast's program into among the OVC's elite -- was placed on administrative leave prior to the season opener and resigned in early December without ever coaching a game.

"What this group has fought through and accomplished is pretty amazing," said Ishee, who began the season as an assistant before being named acting head coach.

All the Redhawks have done is win ther first outright regular-season conference title, tie last year's school record for most OVC wins (16) and equal the program's Division I record for overall victories. Southeast also won 22 games each of the previous two seasons.

"We knew people didn't think we could do this, losing six seniors and everything," junior guard Ashley Lovelady said. "Proving people wrong has been motivation for us."

If Southeast had a chip on its shoulder when the season started, the same could probably be said for Samford entering the tournament.

The Bulldogs were the preseason favorite to win the OVC championship but fell well short and finished fourth.

"They are a very good team," Ishee said. "They weren't the preseason favorite for nothing."

Samford is led by all-OVC junior forward Alex Munday, who averages 14 points per game and shoots 41.5 percent from 3-point range. Munday scored 36 points in this season's two meetings with Southeast.

"She's a great player, and they have other very good players," Ishee said. "I know we'll have our hands full."

A win for the Redhawks today puts them in the OVC tournament final for the third straight season.

Southeast lost in double-overtime to Eastern Kentucky two years ago to fall just short of its first NCAA Division I tournament berth before breaking through last season with a 71-50 rout of Tennessee Tech.

"We're two games away from getting an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament," Ishee said. "It's exciting, because this is what you play all season for."