Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team tries to end OVC skid at Austin Peay

~ The Redhawks look to snap six-game losing streak on the road

The Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team is riding a season-long six-game losing streak built primarily against some of the Ohio Valley Conference's top squads.

Today the Redhawks get a chance to climb back into the win column against a fellow struggling team they already have beaten.

Southeast (8-14, 2-7) visits Austin Peay (6-15, 1-8) for a 7 p.m. tipoff in Clarksville, Tenn.

The matchup features the bottom two squads in the OVC West Division who both are desperate for victories as they try to squeeze into the eight-team conference tournament.

Southeast is 10th overall in the 12-team league, while Austin Peay ranks 11th.

"We need to get this turned," said Southeast coach Ty Margenthaler, whose squad has seven OVC contests remaining. "They're in the same position we're in. They need a win."

The Redhawks rolled past Austin Peay 71-57 on Jan. 5 in Cape Girardeau for their first OVC win of the season. Southeast beat visiting Murray State two days later to improve to 2-1 in conference play but has not tasted OVC success since.

"We definitely need to find a way to win [today]," senior guard Bailie Roberts said.

Junior point guard Jordan Hunter and senior forward Brittany Harriel paced Southeast offensively in the first meeting against Austin Peay with 21 and 19 points, respectively. It was a career high for Hunter, a junior college transfer, and a season high for Harriel.

The Redhawks shot a season-high 47.4 percent from the field while the Govs shot 37.3 percent.

"We beat them before and we can do it again, but they're definitely not going to hand it to us," said Margenthaler, whose squad is 1-10 in true road games, including 0-4 in OVC road contests. "We're on the road and it's going to be a dogfight."

Austin Peay has lost eight of its last nine. The Govs snapped a seven-game losing streak a week ago, prevailing at winless Jacksonville State for their only OVC victory. They are coming off Saturday's 65-61 setback at Murray State.

Meghan Bussabarger, a 6-foot senior guard/forward, leads Austin Peay offensively with an average of 13.2 points per game.

Southeast is coming off Saturday's 53-49 home loss to Eastern Kentucky. The Redhawks led a good portion of the contest before falling just short.

The Redhawks play two straight OVC home contests following today's game, beginning Saturday against West Division leader Eastern Illinois.

Top-10 shooters

Roberts and sophomore guard Allyson Bradshaw recently etched their names on the Southeast career top-10 list of 3-pointers made.

Roberts is 10th all-time at Southeast with 71 3-pointers in her four-year career. Bradshaw, a Notre Dame Regional High School graduate, is ninth with 74 3-pointers.