Southeast women get time to mend

~ Redhawks should have Missy Whitney back on floor when timely 10-game break concludes.

The Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team picked up its first Ohio Valley Conference win of the season despite missing its top two scorers and rebounders.

As the Redhawks gear up for their first OVC road trip of the year, their roster should be a bit more replenished.

Southeast coach John Ishee said junior wing Sonya Daugherty and senior center Missy Whitney both should see action Tuesday at Samford.

Daugherty, averaging 14.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, did not play during Saturday's 66-60 home victory over Tennessee Tech because of what Ishee termed "an internal issue."

Ishee met with Daugherty Monday, and she returned to practice later that day.

"I expect her to be back on the road with us, and playing at Samford and Jacksonville State [Dec. 20]," Ishee said. "It was just an internal thing ... families have their disagreements all the time. This was really no different than that."

Whitney, the OVC preseason player of the year who is averaging 12.5 points and six rebounds, has not played the past two games, including Thursday's 61-49 home loss to Tennessee State.

Whitney suffered a foot injury Dec. 2 at Purdue and was in a walking boot all of last week.

Ishee said Whitney put on her basketball shoes for the first time Monday and did some light working out, including shooting free throws.

"We hope to get her some minutes on this trip," Ishee said. "But we're not going to rush her back."

Ishee knows the two-time defending OVC champion Redhawks (5-5, 1-1) will need to be as healthy as possible to survive an upcoming stretch that features six of their next seven conference games on the road.

"It's a brutal stretch for us," Ishee said. "Hopefully we can come out of it in pretty decent shape."

The Redhawks have no games this week because of finals, meaning they will have gone 10 days between contests by the time they face Samford in Birmingham, Ala.

As banged up as Southeast is, Ishee believes the lengthy layoff is good.

Not only is Whitney hobbling, but junior point guard Tarina Nixon -- a three-year starter -- continues to be bothered by lingering back problems that likely won't get any better.

Ishee said Nixon has been receiving a shot before games in order to relieve some of the pain.

Nixon was able to gut things out Saturday as she scored 16 points in a team-high 37 minutes. She led the Redhawks in rebounds with six and assists with five, while adding two steals and two blocked shots.

"Tarina is an incredible warrior, to go through what she does to try and play," Ishee said. "She is so tough."

Added Ishee of the time off for his squad: "It's good for us. It gives Tarina a chance to rest some and Missy a chance to get healthier.

"Plus, it's just good that the players can concentrate on finals without having to worry about any games. Academics is the most important thing right now."

Ishee said Southeast's practices during the early part of this week are fairly short but intense, then the length of workouts will increase later in the week as the players complete their final exams and begin gearing up for Samford.