Southeast women look to rebound momomentum

The Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team no longer can have a perfect homestand.

But the Redhawks want to make sure they don't end up with a losing one.

Southeast closes out a three-game run at the Show Me Center today at 5:30 p.m. against Eastern Kentucky.

The Redhawks had their three-game winning streak snapped Thursday by Morehead State, 74-68.

Southeast, 1-1 on the homestand, fell to 7-9 overall and 3-3 in the Ohio Valley Conference.

"We have to try and bounce back, pick up our defense," senior forward Crysta Glenn said. "We don't want to lose two in a row."

Senior point guard Tarina Nixon said the Redhawks must increase their level of performance in most areas.

"Intensity, focus, emotion," she said. "Just go out there and lay it all on the line."

Southeast coach John Ishee was as visibly upset following Thursday's game as he has been after any contest this season.

Ishee questioned the Redhawks' toughness after the Eagles' shot 47.5 from the field and repeatedly beat Southeast off the dribble.

Asked if the Redhawks took a step back, after they appeared to be coming on, Ishee said: "We did in the loss column and from a toughness standpoint."

Added Ishee: "My thoughts are what direction is Southeast going to go? Are we going to go forward or backward, like we did [against Morehead State]?"

Ishee hopes he receives the answer he's looking for against EKU, which comes to town 6-9 overall and 3-4 in the OVC following Thursday's 78-44 loss at conference co-leader Eastern Illinois.

Despite that performance, Ishee is wary of the Colonels, who feature one of the OVC's premier freshmen.

Kayla Drake, a 5-foot-4 guard, leads the Colonels in scoring and ranks fourth in the league with an average of 16.4 points per game.

"She's one of the better freshmen in the conference," Ishee said.

EKU's only other double-figure scorer is 6-1 junior forward Colette Cole (10.2 ppg).

The Colonels are under the direction of first-year coach Chrissy Roberts, a former EKU standout who took over following the retirement of Larry Joe Inman.

"They're playing well. They had been playing everybody tough in the conference, even in their losses," Ishee said. "I think the fact their new coach was a premier player in the conference helps. She knows what it takes."

Roberts did not like the way the Colonels competed at Eastern Illinois as they had a two-game winning streak snapped.

"Right now, it's all about heart and pride," Roberts told the Richmond (Ky.) Register. "We have to do some soul-searching. We didn't come out and compete.

"You have to bring your 'A' game every night. It's not about what I can draw up on the board, it's about what's inside."

Southeast is in sixth place in the 10-team OVC, one-half game ahead of EKU. The Redhawks are still only two games out of first place in the tight conference standings.

"There's a lot of basketball left to be played," Ishee said.