Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team faces critical OVC homestretch

~ The Redhawks have three games left in conference place and need to move up three spots in the standings

It's going to take a lot to go right for the Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team to make it to the Ohio Valley Conference tournament.

With three games remaining the Redhawks are 8-18 overall and 4-9 in the OVC, which puts them in 11th place and 1 1/2 games behind eighth-place Austin Peay.

"The reason why we're at where we're at is just our inconsistency," Southeast coach Ty Margenthaler said after Wednesday's loss to Murray State. "I mean, you hope that everyone gets on the same page, but for some rhyme or reason we haven't been and I only can take it by is focus. That's all I can take it by. I mean, we miss layups, we have a 2-on-1 fastbreak we don't convert, we have some silly turnovers, we take some silly shots, and to me it's just focus and not really being determined to play together."

Mathematically, Southeast can still lose one game and qualify for the tournament, but it is against the odds. In reality, the Redhawks basically need to win out and hope for some help.

"I think we just need to play the game like we have in the past, like where we're all on the same page," Southeast senior guard Jordan Hunter said following Southeast's 66-55 loss to Murray State on Wednesday. "Because you never know, like what happens in the other [games] in the conference. We could still have that chance. It's just all about attitude and overcoming."

The team's attitude was something in the forefront when it began the conference season, and Hunter's co-captain and fellow senior Patricia Mack feels it is something that should be better.

"That was one of our goals to choose your attitude, and I feel like some of my teammates don't work on that," Mack said. "Like you can have an awful day, but when you get between those lines suck it up and lay it on the line."

The next opportunity for Mack and her teammates to "lay it on the line" will be against Jacksonville State. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Show Me Center for the Redhawks' "Pink Up" game.

Jacksonville State (11-16, 7-7 OVC) is in sixth place in the OVC standings and is coming off a 45-43 loss to Morehead State on Monday.

The Gamecocks are led in scoring by guard Candace Morton with 17 ppg. Guard Destany Mclin averages 13.3 points and center Miranda Cantrell averages 10.4 points and 7.4 rebounds.

Mack and guard Olivia Hackmann lead Southeast with 9.5 ppg. Mack averages 9.4 rebounds.

The Redhawks shot 27.5 percent (19 of 69) in their loss Wednesday and were 2 of 22 from 3-point range.

Hunter, Mack and Margenthaler all attributed the Redhawks' poor outing to a lack of focus and the entire team not being on the same page.

"You can tell it's a different dynamic team than like the beginning of the year -- we played, we had fun, we laughed and it didn't matter who scored because we're a team, and we got excited for whoever scored," Mack said.

Mack didn't say exactly when that dynamic changed during the season, which is probably because the Redhawks still have shown sparks of that togetherness and focus in some games.

"I think it's just individual," Mack said. "Them like knowing how to be a team player and laying it on the line for your teammate every day. No matter if you score or anything like that or even if you don't get a stat, you still did something on the court to help your team."