SE WOMEN CONTINUE QUICK RISE IN STANDINGS

Southeast Missouri State University's women's basketball team completed a successful homestand Saturday night that has lifted the Otahkians right back in the thick of the Ohio Valley Conference race.

The Otahkians' surprisingly easy 87-66 victory over visiting Eastern Kentucky stretched their winning streak to three games and moved them into a fourth-place tie in the OVC.

Southeast, which is now 8-10 overall and 5-5 in the OVC, went 3-1 on the homestand after dropping the opening game to league-leading Tennessee Tech.

The Otahkians, who just a few games ago were near the bottom of the 10-team OVC, now are knocking on the door of second place.

"It was a good homestand for us, especially after we lost the first one," said Southeast coach Ed Arnzen. "We've put ourselves in a pretty good position now (in the OVC). We just have to keep playing well."

Arnzen expected a real battle against the Lady Colonels (9-10 overall, 6-4 OVC), who entered Saturday's game in a second-place league tie. But the Otahkians blitzed EKU with an impressive performance.

"I thought we played well for all 40 minutes," Arnzen said. "Eastern Kentucky puts a lot of pressure on you, and if you can get through it, you will normally get good shots. That's why we shot so well.

"Sometimes you can get rattled against the press. We did have some turnovers, but I was real proud of the kids for the way they handled it."

The Otahkians shot 54 percent from the field for the game, hitting 26 of 48, and they were especially strong in the first half, shooting 61 percent on 14 of 23.

Southeast also thrived at the free-throw line as EKU committed a whopping 30 fouls. The Otahkians hit 32 of 41 free throws for 78 percent.

Paula Corder-King led the Otahkians offensively with 19 points and she also had a team-high five assists.

Regan Hughston, a sophomore forward who has been coming on in recent games after a slow start, scored a season-high 17 points as she hit six of eight shots from the field.

"Regan is playing better," said Arnzen. "She has a little more confidence in her ability to score and she's looking to score more."

Said Hughston of the recent resurgence in her play, "I'm feeling a lot better. I'm getting a lot more confidence. And everybody did a great job of getting the ball in to me."

Pam Iversen scored 16 points while leading the way in rebounds with eight and blocked shots with three.

The Otahkians had two other double-figure scorers as Moneik Campbell and Lori Chase both added 10 points. Liea Toedte just missed double digits with nine points.

EKU guard Marla Gearhart, the OVC's leading scorer, poured in 30 points. She hit five of six shots from 3-point range. Susan Hatcher was the only other Lady Colonel to hit double digits as she had 10 points.

The Lady Colonels led 20-19 midway in the first half, but Southeast used a 10-0 run to take control. Toedte and Hughston each had five points during the spurt as the Otahkians went ahead 29-20.

EKU got as close as five points at 36-31, but Southeast closed the half with a 9-1 run to carry a 45-32 advantage into the break.

Southeast quickly went up by 17 points early in the second half and the Otahkians pretty much coasted the rest of the way as they never let their lead shrink to less than 11 points before totally pulling away in the final eight minutes.

"It was a really good game for us," Hughston said. "These last three games have really boosted us."

Now the Otahkians will hit the road for a pair of games, against Tennessee State Thursday and Austin Peay Saturday.