Southeast improves to 9-0 in conference road games

~ The Redhawks kept control of first place with their 72-67 victory.

RICHMOND, Ky. -- It goes without saying that the Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team would rather have senior center Missy Whitney on the court.

But the Redhawks did just fine for the second straight game without their leading scorer and rebounder, who's nursing an elbow injury.

The Redhawks posted their eighth straight win and remained perfect in Ohio Valley Conference road games, beating host Eastern Kentucky 72-67 on Saturday afternoon.

"Missy is a big part of this team. We have proven we can play without her, but we need her," senior guard Ashley Lovelady said.

Southeast coach John Ishee encouraged his players during a timeout Saturday.

Southeast (17-6, 12-2) remained in first place in the OVC as it chases a third straight conference title. The Redhawks have won 13 of their last 14 games.

The Redhawks are 9-0 on the road in OVC play. They have five of their final six league games at home.

"We're very excited about that," Lovelady said. "We're tired of the road."

Southeast sure doesn't play that way. After squeezing out a two-point win at Morehead State on Thursday, the Redhawks closed Saturday's game with a 9-3 run to overcome a one-point deficit.

"We've got a lot of heart," Southeast coach John Ishee said. "To go on the road and win both games without Missy, ... I couldn't be prouder."

The Redhawks received strong contributions from their usual suspects, and also got major help from some unlikely sources, namely Crysta Glenn and Lauren Sharpe.

Glenn has been a solid contributor all season, and she is Southeast's second-leading rebounder, but she normally is not a big scorer.

That changed Saturday as Glenn continued to step up in Whitney's absence by turning in a career performance.

Glenn, a 5-foot-10 junior college transfer post player, scored 17 points and pulled down 14 rebounds.

Glenn's previous best point total at Southeast was 14 points, and she matched her season-high rebounding total, which she set Thursday.

"I think I just felt comfortable. Shooting before the game, I was pretty hot," said Glenn, who entering the contest averaging 5.9 points.

Glenn hit 6-of-11 field-goal attempts, including both of her 3-pointers. She doesn't shoot many from beyond the arc, but is effective when she does, now having made 7-of-12.

"We knew we had to step up without Missy," said Glenn, who played 34 minutes, after playing 37 minutes at Morehead State.

Said Ishee: "Crysta has really shouldered a lot of the load with Missy out. She had a great game."

Sharpe, a 5-11 freshman guard/forward, began the season receiving solid playing time, but her action has been limited lately.

That changed Saturday as Sharpe played 16 minutes, the most she has received since a Dec. 2 nonconference game at Purdue.

Sharpe had scored six points in OVC play. She bettered that Saturday with eight points, including making 2-of-4 from 3-point range.

"I knew I had to be ready with Missy out," Sharpe said. "I felt good in warmups."

Said Ishee: "Not only did Lauren have eight points, she had just one turnover in 16 minutes. She did a really good job."

Lovelady praised the contributions of Glenn and Sharpe.

"They both stepped up. It's that time of the year. We're fighting for another championship," said Lovelady, who scored just two points, but had five assists.

Junior guard Sonya Daugherty, Southeast's second-leading scorer, had a game-high 18 points. She added six rebounds.

Junior point guard Tarina Nixon scored 14 points while leading the Redhawks with six assists and three steals.

Junior forward Rachel Blunt added 10 points for her first double-figure scoring performance in six games.

Southeast led most of the way, including 39-32 at halftime -- behind 13 points and nine rebounds from Glenn -- and 44-32 early in the second half for its largest advantage.

EKU (11-9, 6-7), the OVC's highest-scoring team at 75 points per game, rallied to go ahead 64-63 with under 6 minutes left.

The Redhawks responded to take control down the stretch as they held the Colonels to just three points over the final 5 minutes, 32 seconds.

Southeast went ahead for good on Daugherty's steal and layup with 4:18 remaining.

The Redhawks hit 5-of-6 free throws in the final 52 seconds to close it out. Daugherty made two with 12 seconds left after EKU had pulled to within 70-67.

"We've got a lot of heart, and people stepped up," Lovelady said. "We fought until the end."