School honors Redhawks for second 'Dance' berth

~ About 225 fans turned out for the official celebration.

It had been more than 48 hours since Southeast Missouri State's women won their second straight Ohio Valley Conference tournament title.

But the Redhawks and their fans weren't ready to stop celebrating.

Approximately 225 mostly red-clad people -- along with the university's band, cheerleaders and dance team -- turned out to the Show Me Center Monday night to officially celebrate Southeast's latest feat.

Saturday's thrilling 62-60 win over Murray State in Nashville, Tenn., qualified the Redhawks for their second consecutive NCAA tournament.

The Redhawks (24-7) will find out Monday who and where they will play. Fans will also gather at the Show Me Center with the team that night to watch the NCAA selection show, which begins at 7 p.m. The doors will open at 6 p.m.

"This is exciting, with all the fans behind us," junior forward Missy Whitney said. "It's really important to have that kind of support.

"They've been behind us all year and it's nice to see them here tonight."

Players, coaches and fans were in a festive mood Monday night -- and who could blame them?

After losing four starters from last year's team that won the program's first OVC regular-season and tournament titles to make its inaugural NCAA Division I tournament appearance, the Redhawks were picked just fifth in the OVC's preseason poll.

Further complicating matters was head coach B.J. Smith being placed on administrative leave in November and resigning amid controversy the following month without ever coaching a game this season.

All the Redhawks did was win their first outright OVC regular-season crown -- they shared the title last year -- repeat as tournament champions and set a school record for wins on the Division I level.

"All the players and coaches really appreciate the support the fans have given us," Southeast coach John Ishee said. "We've had great support all year."

As an added bonus, the fans in attendance Monday night were treated to some fairly breaking news when Southeast athletic director Don Kaverman made the announcement at the celebration that Ishee had been named the Redhawks' head coach, after serving all season as their acting head coach.

About a half-hour earlier, a news conference was held in one of the Show Me Center meeting rooms to reveal Ishee's permanent hiring as he received a three-year contract.

Kaverman's announcement at the celebration brought plenty of cheers from the gathering.

Mike Kohlfeld of Kohlfeld Distributing, whose company has been a longtime financial supporter of Southeast athletics, said he fully supports Ishee being named head coach.

"Coach Ishee was in a very tough situation, but he and the other coaches just did an outstanding job, and so did the players," said Kohlfeld, a former president of the Southeast Booster Club. "I think it was the right choice."

While the Redhawks -- who were introduced individually and later signed plenty of autographs -- basked in all the attention, they said they're anxious to find out who their first-round NCAA tournament opponent will be.

Southeast, which has not taken the court since Saturday's OVC tournament championship, will resume practice Wednesday.

"We're very anxious to find out who we'll be playing," Whitney said.