Jan. 19, 2007

Southeast-Tennessee Tech2 Game Notes
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CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -

TIP-OFF: Southeast Missouri State women's basketball continues its weekend homestand with an Ohio Valley Conference rematch from last month when Tennessee Tech visits the Show Me Center tomorrow night for a 5 p.m., start time. The Redhawks are 8-1 at home, including a 4-0 mark in OVC play, while the Golden Eagles have posted a 0-9 record on the road this season. Tonight's game will be featured on the internet at OVCsports.tv and on KGIR/ESPN 1220 AM with Erik Sean and Jess Bolen serving as the commentators.

SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS: Southeast heads into Saturday's matchup with Tennessee Tech with a 12-5 season record, which includes a 7-2 conference ledger after handing Tennessee State a 64-46 defeat on Thursday night. The Redhawks are led in scoring by junior forward/center Missy Whitney, who is averaging 13.5 points per game and senior center Lachelle Lyles has tallied a 16.8 rebound per contest average that places her first among the OVC and NCAA Division I leaders. Junior guard Ashley Lovelady (12 ppg) and sophomore guard Sonya Daugherty (11.1 ppg) are also averaging double figures for Southeast, while sophomore guard Tarina Nixon leads the team in assists (3.4 apg) and steals (1.3 spg).

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES: Tennessee Tech enters the weekend with a record of 5-13 on the year and a 4-5 mark against OVC opposition. The Golden Eagles have won three of their last five games, but dropped a 63-61 decision at Eastern Illinois this past Thursday. Senior guard Kendall Cavin paces Tech with 12.9 points and 2.3 assists per game. Junior Cara Reed and sophomore Meagan Lyons are tied for second in scoring at 10.1 ppg, respectively, while Lyons is the team's leader in steals (1.8 spg) and field-goal percentage (.477). The Golden Eagles are coached by first-year head coach Amy Brown, who previously served as an assistant coach for 10 seasons at Tech.

SERIES HISTORY: The Golden Eagles currently lead the series with Southeast with a 24-12 lifetime margin, but the Redhawks have won four of the last seven meetings since 2004-05. Tech was victorious in the first meeting of the season in Cookeville on Dec. 9 by a score of 59-58 victory after Kendall Cavin scored the game-winning layup with 21 seconds remaining. The home team has won in the last five games in the series with Southeast winning two contests in the OVC Tournament play, including a 71-50 win in last season's championship game that sent the Redhawks to their first NCAA Tournament appearance.

DAUGHERTY SETS A PAIR OF CAREER HIGHS THURSDAY: Sophomore guard Sonya Daugherty shredded the Tennessee State defense Thursday for a new career scoring high as she recorded 26 points on 11-of-18 shooting and was 4-of-4 from the free-throw line. The 5-7 St. Louis native added a career-best four steals against the Lady Tigers. Her previous collegiate scoring high was 23 points against Eastern Illinois on Jan. 4 at home.

DEFENDING HOME TURF: Southeast has continued its trend of winning games at the Show Me Center this season by posting an 8-1 mark entering Saturday's game against Tech. The Redhawks have posted a 44-5 ledger at home since the 2003-04 season which includes a 28-3 record against OVC opponents. Last season, Southeast was 10-3 in games played at the SMC.

REDHAWKS IN THE OVC STANDINGS: Several members of the Southeast women's basketball team were recognized in this week's OVC overall stat rankings. Senior Lachelle Lyles leads the conference in several categories, including total rebounds (286 - 16.8 rpg), offensive rebounds (120 - 7.1 orpg) and defensive rebounds (166 - 9.8 drpg). Senior Joiceline Thesing is tied with Lyles for fourth in the OVC with a 1.24 block per game average (21). Junior Missy Whitney is ranked third in defensive caroms (102 - 6.0), sixth in total rebounds (131 - 7.7 rpg) and seventh in free throw percentage (70-of-90 - .778). Fellow junior Ashley Lovelady is sixth in minutes played (555 - 32.6). Sophomore Tarina Nixon is second in free-throw percentage (32-of-37 - .865), fifth in made three-pointers (29 - 1.81) and three-point field goal percentage (29-of-68 - .426). As a team, Southeast ranks in the top ten among the OVC leaders in several categories, including first in field-goal percentage defense (.371), rebounding margin (+10.7) and blocked shots (68 - 4.0 bpg).

UP NEXT: The Redhawks return to Kentucky for the final time this season on Wednesday, Jan. 24 as they head to Morehead State for a key OVC showdown with a start time of 4:15 p.m.