Southeast women can't catch a break with injuries

The Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team has displayed significant improvement during the early part of the season.

But second-year coach Ty Margenthaler can't seem to catch a break as he continues his rebuilding project with the Redhawks.

Senior forward Brittany Harriel, arguably Southeast's top player, suffered a fracture of her left ring finger midway through the first half of Friday's 61-44 loss at Houston. She is expected to miss at least several weeks but is out indefinitely.

Harriel is averaging 10.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, both second on the squad. She led the Redhawks in both categories last year with averages of 10.2 points and 6.9 boards.

The Redhawks already were without two key players for the entire campaign. Guard Katie Norman was forced to end her basketball career because of lingering back problems, and forward Brooke Taylor suffered a second torn ACL during preseason practice.

Both Norman and Taylor also missed all of Margenthaler's first season last year -- Norman with the back issues and Taylor with her first torn ACL.

Margenthaler no doubt hopes the Redhawks (3-3), who won just seven games last season but already own notable comeback victories over Arkansas State and Texas-Pan American along with beating a good Wright State team, can keep their heads above water before Harriel returns.

---

I hope I didn't speak too soon when I wrote last week that I was impressed by the Southeast men's basketball team through the early part of the season.

The Redhawks, who started off the year 3-1, since have lost three straight, including Saturday's 56-45 setback at Illinois-Chicago.

Southeast's offense has fallen into a major funk, although the Redhawks continue to play strong defense, which is a good sign.

It's a long season, and the Redhawks (3-4) have plenty of time to get their act together before the all-important Ohio Valley Conference games begin.

---

An OVC men's basketball team received some national publicity last week that it would rather do without.

Morehead State coach Sean Woods came under fire for his actions during Wednesday's 81-70 loss at Kentucky. The Eagles led the heavily favored Wildcats early in the second half and stayed close most of the way.

Woods was captured by television cameras verbally berating one of his players in a heated exchange that lasted several moments and included him shoving the player.

Two days later, the university announced that Woods had been suspended for one game -- tonight's contest against Norfolk State.

Woods, a former star guard for Kentucky, is in his first season at Morehead after taking Mississippi Valley State to last year's NCAA tournament.

---

On the positive side for OVC men's hoops, two conference teams already have notched several impressive wins.

Murray State, while probably not quite as strong as it was during last year's historic season, beat Auburn and St. John's before losing to Colorado in the finals of the Charleston Classic.

First-year OVC member Belmont, like Murray a perennial NCAA tournament participant, won at reigning NIT champion Stanford.

---

The OVC's postseason football futility continued Saturday as Eastern Illinois was destroyed 58-10 at South Dakota State in the opening round of the FCS playoffs.

An OVC football team has not won a playoff game since 2000.

OVC champion Eastern Illinois, the conference's lone playoff representative this year, entered the contest with one of the nation's top-ranked offenses but was shut down by a rugged defense from the powerful Missouri Valley Football Conference.

The Panthers' defense was sliced up by one of the nation's top rushers. South Dakota State's Zach Zenner ran for a school-record 295 yards and three touchdowns despite sitting out most of the second half with the outcome well in hand.

---

The Ste. Genevieve Valle Catholic High School football team came up a bit short in its bid for a third straight Class 1 state title Friday.

Valle and Penney put on quite a show in St. Louis before Penney pulled away late to post a 60-34 victory. The final score was not representative of how the game went.

The Warriors, trailing 39-34, were poised to take the lead with under three minutes left in the fourth quarter before being stopped on downs inside the Penney 30-yard line.

Penney then scored three more touchdowns to ice the victory. The squad from Hamilton, Mo., finished the season undefeated and claimed its third state title in four years, including one in Class 2.

Meanwhile, Webb City extended its incredible winning streak to 45 games by routing Jefferson City Helias 49-14 on Saturday for its third consecutive Class 4 championship.

Webb City and Valle now are tied for the most state titles by one school with 11 apiece.

---

The area high school basketball season, which tipped off last week with a handful of games, gets going in earnest this week as virtually every team is in action.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.