Southeast women's basketball team eager to cash in on last season

~ The Redhawks return a lot of experience this year

Southeast Missouri State was among the nation's youngest women's basketball teams last year.

The Redhawks not only suffered from that inexperience but also from several key injuries to post one of the worst seasons in program history.

Although still young -- there are no seniors and only three juniors -- the Redhawks are more experienced and battle-tested. They hope that pays off in a vastly improved campaign.

"It'll be a good season," junior point guard Bianca Beck said during Wednesday's media day. "Everybody got to play last year. They got a lot of experience. They know what to expect now."

The 2009-10 Redhawks went 7-21 overall and a last-place 4-14 in the Ohio Valley Conference as they matched the program record for losses in a season and missed the OVC tournament for the first time since the 1996-97 season.

"Any time you don't win, it's disappointing," said fifth-year coach John Ishee, who led Southeast to consecutive OVC regular-season titles in 2006-07 and 2007-08 -- along with NCAA tournament and WNIT berths -- and has a 69-53 record with the Redhawks but is just 22-36 the past two seasons. "If we can stay healthy, I think we'll be a lot better than most people think.

"We plan on getting back to the top of our league. It's a matter of when."

Southeast officially ranked as the nation's fourth-youngest team with nine freshmen last year. Eight of those rookies are back, a year older and wiser.

"We're excited," sophomore guard/forward Katie Norman said. "We've got more experience on and off the floor. We know what it takes now to be successful at this level."

The Redhawks actually weren't in bad shape a year ago. They won their first two OVC home games in early January to even their conference record at 2-2 and improve to 5-8 overall after a slow start.

But guard Jasmine Davis and forward Lauren Sharpe never again took the court because of injuries.

Sharpe was Southeast's top returning player while Davis was the Redhawks' leading scorer. Another top player, forward Bailie Roberts, missed six games with an injury.

Southeast lost 12 of its final 14 OVC games and 13 of its last 15 overall without Davis and Sharpe and with Roberts missing extensive time.

Davis (10 points per game) and Roberts (9 ppg) wound up being Southeast's top two scorers as freshmen. Roberts also tied for third in rebounding (4.8).

Sharpe (7.2 ppg) finished tied for third in scoring after ranking among the OVC's leaders in steals as a sophomore, but she no longer plays basketball because of lingering back problems.

"The injuries hurt us, no question," Ishee said. "Everybody has injuries, but when you're the fourth-youngest team in the country, it hurts even more."

In addition to Davis, who is not yet 100 percent but is improving, Roberts and Norman, other returning sophomores are guards Shelah Fields and Erika Lane; forwards Patricia Mack and Brittany Harriel; and guard/forward Monica Miller.

"Jasmine was one of the best guards in the league until she got hurt," Ishee said. "She's getting closer [to full strength] every day. I'd say she's 80, 85 percent."

Norman averaged 7.2 points and blocked a team-high 15 shots while ranking second in assists with 46.

Mack averaged 4.9 points and tied for the rebounding lead at 5.4 while ranking second in blocks with 11.

Fields averaged 5.2 points, followed by Lane (4.0), Harriel (3.7, along with 3.5 rebounds) and Miller (2.6).

Southeast's most experienced player is Beck, who has started 36 games, including 14 as a freshman. She averaged 6.1 points while leading Southeast in assists with 77 and steals with 30 last year.

Junior forward Amber Holes, at 6 foot 2 the team's tallest player, has seen limited action the past two years. She averaged 0.4 points last season.

There are three newcomers: Courtney Shiffer, a junior college transfer forward/center who has three years of eligibility left; Karley Evans, a juco transfer guard; and Brooke Taylor, a freshman forward.

Taylor, who averaged 32.4 points and 13.6 rebounds as a junior at Bismarck (Mo.) High School two years ago, has been sidelined by an iron deficiency problem. She has not practiced yet although Ishee is hopeful she'll be released to begin practice soon.

In addition to Holmes, height is provided by Harriel, Shiffer and Taylor -- all 6-1 -- along with the 6-foot Mack.

"We're excited about the season," Davis said. "We should be a lot more competitive this year."