Southeast women win, gain share of OVC lead

~ The Redhawks avenged an earlier loss to Austin Peay with a 67-56 victory.

Less than two weeks ago, Southeast Missouri State's women routed a team at the Show Me Center that they had lost to on the road.

Things were considerably tougher Monday night, but the Redhawks used the same formula to avenge another previous defeat and pull into a first-place Ohio Valley Conference tie.

Southeast, which lost at Austin Peay on Jan. 13, used a late run to hold off the Governors 67-56 in the rematch as the Redhawks remained undefeated in seven OVC home games.

The Redhawks, winning for the 12th time in their last 14 games, improved to 15-6 overall and 10-3 in league play.

And, thanks to Morehead State's loss at Tennessee Tech, Southeast and Morehead are now deadlocked at the top of the conference standings.

"It's a big win for us," Southeast acting head coach John Ishee said.

But it certainly wasn't easy, unlike Southeast's 25-point romp past Tennessee Tech on Jan. 20, after the Eaglettes had beaten the Redhawks the first time around.

Austin Peay (7-14, 6-6), which defeated Southeast by 15 points earlier, threatened to sweep the season series. The Govs led 33-31 at halftime and 48-46 midway through the second half.

The Redhawks went ahead for good, 49-48, on junior forward Missy Whitney's two free throws with 9:22 remaining.

Then, leading just 58-56 with four minutes to play, the Redhawks iced the victory with a game-ending 9-0 run.

"I thought it was a gut-check win, after the double-overtime game," said Ishee, referring to Saturday's 66-63 home triumph over Murray State. "I thought our will to win was outstanding."

Whitney had her second straight double-double -- her sixth of the season -- with 21 points and 12 rebounds. She added three blocked shots and two steals.

"They were tough when we played them there, and we knew we'd get the same thing," Whitney said. "But we were determined tonight."

Sophomore guard Tarina Nixon scored 17 points for the Redhawks. She hit three of five 3-pointers, including a big one with four minutes left that put Southeast up 61-56.

Sophomore guard Sonya Daugherty added 10 points and five assists for the Redhawks.

Southeast senior center Lachelle Lyles, the nation's leading rebounder, matched her average on the nose by pulling down 17 to become the school's single-season rebounding leader.

In the earlier game against Austin Peay, Southeast led by 10 points at halftime but was outscored 52-27 in the second half, thanks largely to 58.1-percent shooting by the Govs over the final 20 minutes.

Although the Govs hung tough most of the way Monday, they shot just 33.8 percent.

"We did a better job this time on defense, stopping their post players," Nixon said.

Added Lyles: "We defended them a lot better than last time."

Southeast beat the Govs 47-36 on the boards, despite Austin Peay having a 21-17 rebounding edge in the first half.

"Coach got on us at halftime about that," Whitney said.

A big free-throw advantage also helped the Redhawks. Although they shot just 59.4 percent from the line, they made 19 of 32 compared to just five of eight for Austin Peay.

"That always helps," Nixon said.

The game was close the entire way, with 11 lead changes and eight ties. The biggest margin was the final score.

"They are a tough team, and I expected this kind of game," Ishee said. "I'm proud of us for coming out on top."

Claiming a piece of the OVC lead was an added bonus, although Ishee was not about to get carried away with seven league games still remaining.

"That's nice, but there's still a long way to go," Ishee said.

Noteworthy

• Whitney was named the OVC newcomer of the week Monday for the fourth time this season.

In two games last week, the Charleston High School product averaged 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Whitney, the Redhawks' leading scorer and No. 2 rebounder, entered play Monday with averages of 13.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.

Whitney, who played last year at Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, was tied for seventh in the OVC in scoring, while ranking fifth in rebounding and sixth in blocked shots.