Southeast attempts to avenge loss

~ Southeast faces third-place Murray State on the road today.

Southeast Missouri State women's basketball coach John Ishee knows getting off to a decent start will be key today.

That didn't happen the last time the Redhawks played Murray State, and they paid for it with one of their two Ohio Valley Conference losses.

On Jan. 7 at the Show Me Center, Murray State shredded Southeast's normally stout defense to build an 18-point halftime lead after the Racers led by 20 points at one time.

Southeast nearly pulled off a comeback win -- the Redhawks missed a contested layup with 11 seconds left that would have given them the lead -- but fell short 71-68.

The squads meet again today in a 4:30 p.m. tipoff at the Regional Special Events Center in Murray, Ky.

"We've got to get off to a much better start this time," Ishee said. "We can't dig a hole like that over there and expect to win."

Today's game has major implications in the OVC race as the Redhawks chase their third straight regular-season title. They have also won the past two conference tournaments, including a two-point victory over Murray State in last year's championship game.

Southeast (13-6, 8-2) is in second place, just one-half game behind Eastern Illinois and tied with the Panthers in the loss column.

The Racers (13-5, 7-3) are tied for third place, one game behind Southeast.

"It's a big game for the standings. Both teams are up there," Southeast junior point guard Tarina Nixon said.

Both squads are rolling with four-game winning streaks. The Redhawks have posted victories in nine of their last 10 games. Their 8-2 OVC start is exactly the record they had last year at the midway point of the league schedule.

"We're right where we need to be," Ishee said.

Even though Southeast lost to Murray State at home earlier this season, the Redhawks should have plenty of confidence entering today's rematch.

That's because the Redhawks have won all six of their OVC games away from home.

"We've been road warriors so far," said Ishee, whose team is just 2-2 in conference play at the Show Me Center, including Thursday's 66-58 victory over Morehead State.

In the earlier meeting with Murray State, the Racers shot 54.8 percent during the first half and Southeast committed 13 turnovers as the Redhawks trailed 40-22 at the break.

That isn't the norm for a Southeast squad that is one of the OVC's stingiest defensive units, and also one of the conference's most careful with the basketball. Southeast is second in the league in scoring defense (58.6 points per game), fourth in field-goal percentage defense (40.4) and second in fewest turnovers per game (14.1).

"We just got off to a bad start that game," said Southeast senior center Missy Whitney, who has taken over the team scoring lead with a 14.4 average. "Coach always talks about the first four minutes being real important."

Murray State, the OVC's second-highest scoring team at 73.2 points per game, features two of the league's top players in 5-foot-8 junior guard Amber Guffey and 5-10 junior forward Ashley Hayes.

Guffey is the OVC's No. 1 scorer (19.6 ppg) and ranks fourth in 3-point shooting (44.2 percent, 42-of-95). She led the Racers with 19 points in the earlier meeting with Southeast.

Hayes is third in the conference in scoring (18.2 ppg) and third in rebounding (9.2).

"They'll be a very tough team," Ishee said. "It's a huge game for both teams. We have to keep pace with Eastern Illinois, and a win would give us a little separation on them [Murray State]."