Jan. 26, 2007

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -

TIP-OFF: Southeast Missouri State women's basketball welcomes Murray State to the Show Me Center for a key Ohio Valley Conference game tomorrow night with a start time of 5 p.m. The Redhawks have produced a 9-1 home record this year, while the Lady Racers are 5-4 on the road with 4-1 mark at other OVC venues.

SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS: Southeast heads into Saturday's game with Murray State sporting a 13-6 ledger and holds an 8-3 mark versus conference competition. The Redhawks opened the week with a 68-58 loss Wednesday evening at Morehead State in the battle of the second-place teams in the OVC. Southeast is led by junior forward/center Missy Whitney at 13.1 points a game and senior center Lachelle Lyles paces the team's rebounding lead at 16.8 boards per game which ranks her first in the OVC and NCAA Division I. Also scoring in double figures for the Redhawks are sophomore guard Sonya Daugherty (11.9 ppg), junior guard Ashley Lovelady (11.5 ppg) and sophomore guard Tarina Nixon (10.2 spg).

SCOUTING THE LADY RACERS: Murray State enters the week with a 12-5 season record and is 8-2 record in OVC play after falling on the road Thursday night at Tennessee Tech by a score of 54-49. Last week, the Lady Racers claimed a two-point win at SWAC-leading Alabama A&M and a home win over Tennessee-Martin. Senior forward Joi Scott, the reigning OVC Co-Player of the Week, paces Murray State with an OVC-best 21.2 points and 8.2 rebounds a game, while posting a team-high .577 field-goal percentage. Sophomore guard Amber Guffey is second on the team at 12.9 points a game and leads the team in assists (65 - 3.8 apg). Sophomore guard Ashley Nichole Hayes is also averaging in double figures at 11.4 ppg and is second on the team in rebounds at 6.5 rpg. Joi Felton in her fifth year as Murray State's head coach and has produced a career record of 45-56 with the Lady Racers.

SERIES HISTORY: The Redhawks have posted a lifetime record of 25-15 against Murray State that includes seven consecutive wins dating back to the end of the 2003-04 season. Southeast has tallied wins in the last six meetings at the Show Me Center and captured a 71-52 victory there last February. The Redhawks won all three meetings over the Lady Racers last season, including an 80-49 win at the SMC in an OVC Tournament first round game.

REDHAWKS VS. KENTUCKY SCHOOLS: Southeast has tallied a 59-49 record against teams from the state of Kentucky, including a 2-1 ledger this season with wins over Eastern Kentucky and Murray State couples with a loss at Morehead State. The Redhawks finished 7-0 last season against Kentucky teams that included a 3-0 mark against the Lady Racers.

LYLES HEADS FOR TOP SPOT ON SEMO'S SINGLE-SEASON REBOUNDING LIST: Senior center Lachelle Lyles has ascended to second place on the Southeast's single-season rebounding list after recording 33 boards last week against Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech last weekend at the Show Me Center. She has now produced 302 caroms on the season and needs 26 caroms to tie the first-place tally of 328 that was set by former player Jerri Wiley during the 1990-91 campaign.

DEFENDING HOME TURF: Southeast has continued its trend of winning games at the Show Me Center this season by posting a9-1ledger before tonight's game. The Redhawks have posted a 45-5 ledger at home since the 2003-04 season which includes a 29-3 record against OVC opponents. Last season, Southeast was 10-3 in games played at the SMC.

UP NEXT: Southeast concludes the month of January with an OVC contest against Austin Peay at the Show Me Center with a 5 p.m., tip-off.