Southeast women successfully defend turf

It figured that points would be hard to come by at the Show Me Center on Friday night.

Arkansas-Little Rock, the defending Sun Belt Conference West Division champion, ranked third nationally in scoring defense last season.

Southeast Missouri State, the defending Ohio Valley Conference champion, was no slouch itself defensively last year, as the Redhawks ranked 26th.

"You're talking about a team that was third in the nation in scoring defense," Southeast coach John Ishee said. "Now that's impressive. We were 26th. That's why it was 18-18 at the half."

But when push came to shove in the physical, defensive-minded game, the Redhawks pushed the hardest.

Southeast broke open a tight contest down the stretch to notch a 57-45 victory.

The Redhawks improved to 3-0 while the Trojans fell to 2-1.

"That was a great win," Southeast senior point guard Tarina Nixon said. "We knew they were going to come out aggressive. Offense will come. We wanted to focus on defense."

Each team lived up to its defensive billing as neither squad shot better than 37 percent from the field.

But two things in particular helped turn the tide toward Southeast in the second half.

After committing nine turnovers compared to eight for Little Rock in the first half, the Redhawks had only four second-half turnovers while forcing 11.

And after attempting six free throws compared to five for Little Rock in the first half, the Redhawks shot 20 second-half foul shots while the Trojans attempted 11.

"We got a lot more aggressive," Southeast senior forward Crysta Glenn said.

Especially ratcheting up her aggressiveness was Southeast senior wing Sonya Daugherty, known for her explosive first step.

Daugherty, Southeast's top scorer two years ago and No. 2 scorer last season, had just two first-half points. She did not attempt a free throw.

"Coach was encouraging Sonya [at halftime] to get aggressive, get fouled like she does," Glenn said.

Daugherty heeded Ishee's words, finishing with a game-high 19 points. She made 7 of 8 free throws in the second half and also nailed both of her 3-point attempts.

Daugherty was fouled several times on slashing drives to the basket.

"We talked about it at the half, you have to go in there and make them call the contact," Ishee said.

Daugherty was particularly effective in the final eight minutes, as she scored 14 of the Redhawks' last 24 points to help them erase a 35-33 deficit.

Daugherty's basket and free throw with 7:44 remaining put the Redhawks ahead 38-35. They never looked back.

By the time Daugherty made 1 of 2 free throws with 4:56 left, Southeast had used an 11-0 run to go up 44-35. Daugherty scored seven of the 11 points.

Daugherty added seven more points in the final 4:20 to help put the game away.

"At halftime I told Sonya let's get going, kind of lit a match under her butt," Nixon said. "Sonya always comes through."

Glenn and Nixon also came through.

Glenn, who was Southeast's leading scorer in the first two games, had her second double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. She also got to the line often, making 9 of 10, and scored seven second-half points.

"She continues to play well," Ishee said.

Nixon, a starter since her freshman season, had seen limited playing time in the first two games because of a finger injury on her right hand.

Nixon made her first start Friday and played 35 minutes -- eight more than in the first two games combined. She scored 10 points -- eight in the final period -- and had three assists while providing her usual strong leadership.

"She's just a warrior," Ishee said.

Nixon said with a smile that she was glad Ishee finally extended her court time.

"I've been waiting to play a lot. It was just a matter of coach putting me in," Nixon said. "It still hurts, but it's a lot better."

Anshel Cooper, one of two all-conference players for the visitors, hit 8 of 12 shots and scored 16 points. The rest of the Trojans shot 9 of 35

Kim Sitzmann, Little Rock's other all-league performer, was held scoreless.

"Sonya did a great job on her," Ishee said.

Southeast plays its first road game Tuesday at Florida State, ranked 21st nationally.