Southeast women play Oklahoma today in NCAA tournament

~ Redhawks play role of underdog for second straight year.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Virtually everybody not associated with the Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team expects the Redhawks to offer Oklahoma little resistance today.

But don't count OU coach Sherri Coale among that group -- if you can believe her.

"We have a great deal of respect for Southeast Missouri," Coale said Friday.

Coale and several OU players, along with Southeast coach John Ishee, senior center Lachelle Lyles and sophomore point guard Tarina Nixon, met the media at the Erwin Center on the eve of today's first-round NCAA tournament game.

Oklahoma head coach Sherri Coale spoke at a news conference Friday in Austin, Texas. (Fred Lynch)

The third-seeded Sooners (26-4) and 14th-seeded Redhawks (24-7) will square off at 11 a.m. The game is scheduled to be televised nationally on ESPN2. The winner advances to play either Marquette or Louisiana-Lafayette on Monday night.

Coale praised Southeast and said the Sooners would have no trouble getting fired up to play a team they are expected to trounce.

"Getting motivated is no task at all," Coale said. "It's the NCAA tournament ... that's all the motivation you need.

"They play hard, they compete, they get after you, they play great defense. They're a formidable opponent. We're facing this game with the same amount of respect as when we went into the Big 12 tournament final against Iowa State."

OU sophomore center Courtney Paris, the nation's third-leading scorer and No. 2 rebounder, echoed her coach's assessment.

Southeast Missouri State head coach John Ishee spoke at a news conference Friday in Austin, Texas. (Fred Lynch)

"They're obviously good enough to be in the tournament," said Paris, who stands 6-foot-4. "It just doesn't matter. You've got to be ready to play every night no matter who you're playing against or where they're seeded."

While Coale and her players professed to have plenty of respect for Southeast, Nixon said the Redhawks are ready to take a crack at the nation's ninth-ranked team.

"We're really focused," she said.

Nixon and Lyles believe the Redhawks are better equipped for an improved showing this year after getting hammered by Stanford 72-45 in their inaugural NCAA Division I tournament appearance last season.

"The teams we played in our preseason really helped us prepare," Nixon said. "We're just going to take the experience and try to win."

Southeast faced Baylor, Florida State and Tulsa in nonconference action earlier this season. Despite losing all three contests, the Redhawks believe the experience of playing top programs will help them against the Sooners.

"I feel like we pretty much competed with those teams, and I feel like we're better prepared this year," Lyles said.

Southeast coach John Ishee realizes the enormous challenge the Redhawks face as they try to hang with Oklahoma, the Big 12 Conference regular-season and tournament champion.

"I think we're playing a Final Four-caliber team," Ishee said. "It's an enormous challenge for us."

Slowing down Paris, a consensus first-team All-American as a freshman who is likely to repeat that honor this season, is particularly daunting.

Paris averages 23.6 points and 16.2 rebounds per game while shooting 56.7 percent from the field. She has recorded an NCAA record 58 consecutive double-doubles and also blocked 105 shots, which ranks fourth nationally.

"I don't think we've seen anybody quite like Courtney Paris," Ishee said. "She's probably a generational type player. I really think that."

As an interesting subplot, today's game will feature the nation's top two rebounders. The 6-2 Lyles leads the country with 17.2 boards per game.

"I think the matchup is going to be physical. She's a great player and rebounder," Lyles said. "I am just going to go into the game to compete like I have in previous games."

Coale said she is impressed by Lyles and is looking forward to her battle with Paris.

"You don't post consistent numbers like that unless you have a nose for the basketball," Coale said. "It should be an interesting battle. I think it adds a nice little subplot to the whole thing."

More than just Paris

Ishee emphasized that Paris is not the only OU player that Southeast needs to watch.

Paris dominates OU statistically, with no other Sooner averaging double-digit points. But OU ranks 12th nationally in scoring offense (76.5 points per game) and ninth in field-goal percentage (46.7).

Leah Rush, a 6-1 senior forward, was OU's top scorer as a sophomore but stepped somewhat into the background since Paris entered the program. Rush averages 9.5 points per game.

Chelsi Welch, a 5-9 senior guard, averages 9.1 points and leads the Big 12 in 3-point shooting at 43.7 percent.

"The thing that makes Oklahoma such a great team is you can double-team Paris and then you create open shots for other players who are great shooters," Ishee said.

In addition to being dominant offensively, OU ranks fourth nationally in field-goal percentage defense (34.0), second in rebound margin (plus 13.3) and seventh in blocked shots (179).

Southeast, the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season and tournament champion, counters with a defense and rebounding unit that dominated the OVC, but an offense that was far from overwhelming.

The Redhawks rank 24th nationally in field-goal percentage defense (36.2 percent) and ninth in rebounding margin (plus 9.5).

Southeast averages 67.4 points per game and shoots just 40.6 percent from the field, although the Redhawks rank 18th nationally in 3-point field-goal percentage (36.2).

"I think we have to obviously play with confidence ... our approach is the same it's been all year," Ishee said. "I will be happy as long as we compete like crazy, rebound, share the ball and communicate."

Both teams enter the contest riding lengthy winning streaks. Southeast has won nine straight games, while OU has posted eight consecutive victories.

"It's a heck of an opportunity for us to show our team to the nation," Ishee said. "I hope we play NCAA championship caliber basketball."