Southeast women face unbeaten Arkansas

Southeast Missouri State women's basketball coach Ty Margenthaler is taking it one game at a time as his team prepares for the New Mexico tournament.

The Redhawks open the tournament against Arkansas at 6 p.m. today in Albuquerque, N.M., and will play either New Mexico or Binghamton at 6 or 8 p.m. Saturday.

"I kind of take [it] game by game, and Arkansas is our next game up, so I've been really focused on them," Margenthaler said.

Margenthaler noted that his team has been focusing on the offensive end because Arkansas (6-0) has a strong defense.

The Razorbacks have held their opponents to an average of 44 points per game, and only one team has scored more than 50 points against them this season -- Middle Tennessee State scored 51 on Nov. 19.

"No question, Arkansas is going to be a big challenge for us," Margenthaler said. "They're a great basketball team. Right now they're sitting at 6-0. They're a very, very long, athletic team. But they've not been tested on the road. All those six games have been at home, so this will be their first road game. Facing an SEC member, we know we have to be ready and play a great 40 minutes."

Arkansas is led in scoring by 6-foot-3 freshman forward Jessica Jackson with 14.8 points per game. Senior forward Keira Peak averages 13 points and six rebounds per game and freshman guard Kelsey Brooks averages 11.7 points per game.

Southeast (2-4) looks to snap its three-game losing streak with a win today.

The Redhawks lost 90-75 to Western Kentucky on Nov. 19 before nearly defeating the University of Missouri in a 62-57 loss on Nov. 21. The Redhawks lost 67-46 to Wichita State on Saturday.

"This is by far our toughest stretch in our schedule, the last four ballgames," Margenthaler said. "We know that, and again it's just how I address it. Really [my players] swing by my mood, and I'm very upbeat about what's going on and I understand what's in front of us.

"I also know that once we get through this stretch right here we'll be back on our way. I really do believe that time will tell. Hopefully this will only help us -- playing against the teams we've been going against. Missouri, we played them right to the wire, and hopefully being so competitive with all these top teams will help us in the conference."

Binghamton (0-4) and New Mexico (2-3) play at 8 p.m. today, which gives the Redhawks a look at their next opponent.

"We'll have an opportunity to live scout both of those teams and so really it'll be a quick turnaround to play, but that's going to be kind of our scout against them," Margenthaler said.

Kara Wright leads the Redhawks, averaging 12.5 points per game, and Olivia Hackmann, who started her first game against Wichita State, is averaging 11.5.