Redhawks tame Panthers

The Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team wanted to make a statement Saturday.

Mission accomplished.

Southeast handed Ohio Valley Conference preseason favorite Eastern Illinois its first league loss, 58-51 at the Show Me Center.

In the process, the Redhawks say they served notice to the rest of the OVC that they are still the conference's defending regular-season champions.

"We just tried to go out and prove ourselves," senior forward Crysta Glenn said. "We kind of did [want to make a statement]."

ELIZABETH DODD ~ edodd@semissourian.comSoutheast Missouri State's Rochelle Ikeni, left, and Sonya Daugherty celebrate Saturday's win over Eastern Illinois.

Added senior point guard Tarina Nixon: "I think because of those two losses [to start OVC play], teams were counting us out. We just want to get better every day and defend our title."

Southeast (7-8, 3-2) won its third straight game and posted its first OVC home victory.

The Redhawks also avenged a loss to EIU (10-6, 4-1) in last year's OVC tournament semifinals that denied Southeast a potential NCAA tournament berth.

More importantly, the Redhawks kept from falling three games on the loss side behind EIU, which dipped into a first-place tie.

"There's still a long way to go, but a loss definitely would have been almost monumental to overcome," said Southeast coach John Ishee, whose squad scored the game's last eight points over the final two minutes. "Now we've at least got a fighting chance."

Senior wing Sonya Daugherty led Southeast with 19 points.

Glenn had her fourth double-double of the season with 10 points and 14 rebounds, including 12 offensive boards, while battling inside against the taller Panthers.

Ishee said a big key to the game was the defensive pressure applied by various Southeast guards.

Sophomore Lauren Sharpe, the OVC leader in steals, had four of the Redhawks' 14 thefts.

Sophomore Tore Fite, who did not play in the first half, added three second-half steals along with seven points.

Ishee also singled out true freshman guard Bianca Beck.

"I thought the difference in the game was Crysta Glenn's tenacity and the defensive pressure of Lauren Sharpe, Tore Fite and Bianca Beck," Ishee said.

Southeast's defensive pressure helped turn the tide in the Redhawks' favor after EIU controlled the first half.

The Panthers scored the first seven points and led by as many as 13 points before settling for a 31-22 advantage at the break.

Southeast turned up the heat on its press in the second half and forced 14 turnovers, twice as many as EIU had in the opening period.

"Our defense really picked up in the second half," Glenn said.

Several of EIU's second-half turnovers led to baskets as the Redhawks had a 12-2 edge in points off turnovers.

"We just turned it up," Nixon said of Southeast's second-half defense. "Coach said we would bring pressure like they've never seen."

Southeast grabbed its first lead of the game on two free throws by Daugherty that made it 37-35 with just under 12 minutes remaining.

There were 10 lead changes and seven ties the rest of the way before the Redhawks finally took control in the closing minutes.

Daugherty's tough shot in the lane with 1:44 left put Southeast ahead 52-51.

The Redhawks' defense did the rest in a span of 20 seconds.

Sharpe and Daugherty both got layups after steals on the press to make it 56-51 with 1:24 to go.

Beck and Sharpe each hit 1 of 2 free throws to close out things.

"It's a great win. We beat a really good team that is seasoned," Ishee said. "It's a credit to our kids for not quitting after they got on us pretty good in the first half."

Nixon, who had eight points, five assists and three steals, said the fact EIU was in first place and the preseason OVC favorite made the matchup special.

"For me personally, I went into this game more amped than normal," Nixon said. "We didn't want to fall too far behind [in the OVC race]."

Added Daugherty, who missed Southeast's two OVC losses with a knee injury: "Don't let that [overall] record fool you."

EIU, which has lost seven straight times to Southeast in Cape Girardeau, was led by junior forward Maggie Kloak with 14 points.

Senior forward Rachel Galligan, regarded as the OVC's premier inside player, was held to 11 points as Glenn primarily defended her.

Southeast continues a three-game homestand Thursday against Morehead State.