Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team must reverse road fortunes

The Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team has its fate in its hands as it chases its first Ohio Valley Conference tournament berth in three years.

Southeast finishes the regular season with two road games, at Jacksonville State today and Austin Peay on Saturday. The tipoffs are set for 5:15 p.m.

Southeast beat both squads at the Show Me Center earlier in the year.

If Southeast repeats that feat on the road, where the Redhawks are winless this season and have lost 17 straight dating back to last year, it will make its first appearance in the eight-team OVC tournament since the 2008-09 campaign.

"We control our own destiny, which is all you can ask for," first-year Southeast coach Ty Margenthaler said. "We have a great opportunity."

Southeast (6-21, 3-11) is 10th in the 11-team conference but ninth for OVC tournament purposes because third-place SIU Edwardsville is ineligible for the event this season.

Austin Peay (7-20, 4-10), which is one game ahead of Southeast, currently holds the final OVC tournament berth.

If the Redhawks win their last two games, the worst they can finish is even with Austin Peay. Southeast would earn the tiebreaker because it would have beaten the Governors twice.

Even if Southeast happens to stumble today at last-place Jacksonville State (4-23, 1-13), the Redhawks would get into the tournament by beating Austin Peay as long as the Govs don't upset first-place Tennessee-Martin today.

"I believe it's going to come down to that last game," Margenthaler said.

Southeast actually could finish as high as the No. 7 tournament seed since it still has an opportunity to catch eighth-place Tennessee State (9-18, 5-10), which the Redhawks beat in the only meeting between the squads.

"I'm glad we have something to play for, and we're playing for the future," Margenthaler said. "It would be exciting for this group to have a chance to play in the tournament."

Jacksonville State, which lost to the Redhawks 66-48 on Jan. 2 in Cape Girardeau, enters today's meeting riding an eight-game losing streak. The Gamecocks have been eliminated from tournament contention.

Southeast beat Austin Peay 69-60 on Jan. 30 at the Show Me Center.

"We have the ability to win these last two games. We've proven that. We beat them at home," Margenthaler said. "But it's going to be much tougher on the road."