Redhawks take OVC break for ETSU visit

Southeast Missouri State begins a three-game homestand tonight with a nonconference matchup against East Tennessee State University.

The Redhawks hope a solid performance -- and a win -- will help arm them with momentum heading into Ohio Valley Conference contests Sunday against Jacksonville State and Tuesday against Samford.

"This is a big, big week for us, with three quality opponents," Southeast acting head coach John Ishee said. "It would be real nice to get it started with a win."

Southeast is 3-4 overall and 1-1 in OVC play after splitting a pair of conference road games last week, beating Tennessee State 67-53 and losing to Tennessee Tech 59-58.

ETSU, riding a three-game winning streak, is 4-4 overall and 2-0 in the Atlantic Sun Conference.

The Buccaneers finished 18-10 last year -- including an 81-74 triumph over Southeast at home -- for their third-highest win total in school history. They were 14-6 in their first season in the Atlantic Sun.

Like Southeast, which lost 81-47 at ninth-ranked Baylor, ETSU also was soundly thrashed by a nationally-ranked squad. The Buccaneers fell 96-35 at No. 2 North Carolina in their season opener.

The Buccaneers feature three players averaging in double figures offensively.

Michele DeVault, a 5-foot-11 junior forward, and 5-10 freshman guard Siarre Evans lead the way at 14 points per game apiece. Evans is also the squad's top rebounder with 6.9 a contest.

Kelly Turman, a 5-11 junior guard, is close behind with a 13-point scoring average.

Brooke Wilhoit, a 5-8 senior guard, is ETSU's top 3-point threat. She is shooting a sizzling 48.5 percent from behind the arc, having made 16 in 33 attempts.

But as a team, the Buccaneers are shooting just 29.7 percent from 3-point range.

"They are a good team, with a mixture of good athleticism and girls who can shoot the ball," Ishee said. "They beat Southeast last year, and I expect them to be very tough again."

With no starter taller than 5-11, the Buccaneers are being outrebounded by an average of more than five per game.

National co-leader

The Redhawks, who feature the nation's co-No. 1 rebounder in 6-2 senior center Lachelle Lyles, are outrebounding their opponents by eight a contest.

"They are not very big, so hopefully we can take advantage of that some," Ishee said.

Lyles' 14.6 rebound average ties her with Oklahoma All-American Courtney Paris for the best in NCAA Division I.

It was reported early in the week that Lyles was No. 2 with a 14.4 average, but a statistical error discovered later in the week regarding Saturday's game at Tennessee Tech gave Lyles an additional rebound, bumping her average to 14.6.

Missy Whitney, a 6-2 junior forward in her first season with Southeast after transferring from Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, leads the Redhawks offensively with 12.3 points per game.

Another junior college transfer, 5-7 guard Ashley Lovelady, is right behind Whitney with an 11.9 average.

Ishee said Southeast might be without sophomore point guard Tarina Nixon, whose sprained ankle is still giving her trouble.

Nixon hurt the ankle Dec. 7 at Tennessee State and was noticeably hobbled while playing just 17 minutes two days later at Tennessee Tech.

"We really need her as healthy as possible for our conference games," Ishee said.