RIGHT AT HOME: OTAHKIAN JUNIOR ON FIRE AFTER RE-ENLISTING AT SE

For Southeast Missouri State University women's basketball coach Ed Arnzen, the two-year wait to get Paula Corder back in an Otahkian uniform was well worth it.

Corder, a junior guard/forward who originally signed with Southeast out of high school but wound up playing two seasons in junior college before returning to Cape Girardeau, is the Otahkians' leading scorer through 11 games, averaging 16.8 points per contest.

The former Ellington High School standout has been a major reason why the Otahkians, at 9-2 overall and a first-place 4-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference, are off to their best start since moving to the Division I level eight years ago.

But it's what Corder did Saturday night during a home game against Eastern Kentucky that has put her on a level with the best shooters in the history of both Southeast and the OVC.

Corder had one of Southeast's top single-game performances ever as she hit nine of 11 3-pointers and scored 44 points to lead the Otahkians to a thrilling 101-93 double-overtime victory.

Only one other Otahkian has ever scored more points in a single game than Corder did Saturday, that coming in 1996 when former standout Gray C. Harris poured in 49 points.

And Corder's nine 3-pointers shattered the previous school record of six set by Julie Meier in 1993 and it also tied the OVC mark that had been shared by three players.

"It was no doubt one of the top individual performances we've ever had at Southeast," said Arnzen. "And most of it was after halftime."

Corder scored just eight points in the first half, suggesting little of what was to follow.

Corder's performance included numerous pressure-packed shots, none more important than the three free throws she hit after being fouled on a 3-point attempt during the closing seconds of the first overtime. The Otahkians needed every foul shot as they trailed by three points at the time.

"It was a great night, mainly because we got the win," said the humble, soft-spoken Corder, who insists that she doesn't care much about individual records. "Whatever I can do for the team, that's what matters to me. I think it's awesome that we're 9-2 and we've already won more games than last year. That's what means a lot to me."

Arnzen loves to hear that kind of talk from his leading scorer, but he knows that for the Otahkians to be successful most nights, Corder will need to have her long-range shooting radar working.

And the fact the 5-foot-10 junior normally is on the mark from long distance should really come as little surprise. Corder, who leads the OVC in 3-point shooting at 51 percent and is shooting 92 percent from the free-throw line -- second in the league only to teammate Pam Iversen, the Otahkians' freshman sensation who is at 96 percent -- has been one of the nation's premier shooters for a long time.

When Corder was 9 years old, she finished second in the Elks national free-throw shooting contest. At age 13, she won the event.

"Paula is just a phenomenal shooter and she's always been," said Arnzen. "You send her to the free-throw line and it's pretty much automatic. It's a surprise when she even hits the rim on her free throws."

Corder said she became interested in basketball at an early age and played virtually all the time.

"My first organized basketball was fifth grade, but I started the (Elks) hoop shoot at eight and I've always been a gym rat. I just played all the time," she said with a laugh. "My dad really taught me most of what I know. He just loves basketball and he and my mom come to all the games. When I'm in a slump, my dad will help me out."

After twice earning all-state honors at Ellington High School, Corder signed with Southeast and began school there. But it took only about a couple of weeks for her to realize that her extreme homesickness would not let up. So she instead enrolled at Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, which is much closer to home.

At TRCC, Corder earned All-American honors and was -- surprise -- one of the nation's top free-throw shooters. She then signed with Southeast once again.

Reflecting on her decision to leave Southeast two years ago, Corder said it definitely worked out for the best.

"It really helped me," she said. "I grew up a lot, I got to play a lot and I got a lot stronger."

And how is she doing away from home now? Said a chuckling Corder, "I'm pretty well over it. At the beginning of the year I was still kind of homesick, but we're gone (on the road) so much, I better be over it."