Feb. 27, 2007

Southeast-Austin Peay (OVC Tournament First Round Notes)
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CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -

#8 Austin Peay (10-19) at #1 Southeast Missouri State (21-7)

Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2007 - 7 p.m.
Show Me Center (7,000) - Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Series History: SEMO leads 18-17
Last Meeting: SEMO, 67-56 (1/29/07)
Ishee vs. Austin Peay: 1-1
Radio: KGIR/ESPN 1220 AM
Todd Bonacki (P-B-P); Jess Bolen (Color)

TIP-OFF: Southeast Missouri State women's basketball opens play of the 2007 O'Reilly Ohio Valley Conference Women's Basketball Tournament at the Show Me Center Tuesday night. The top-seeded Redhawks welcome eighth-seeded Austin Peay for a first-round contest with a start time of 7 p.m. Southeast has tallied a 14-1 home slate this year, while the Lady Govs are 3-11 on the road.

SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS: Southeast enters OVC Tournament play as the top-seed with a 21-7 season record. The Redhawks won their second OVC regular-season title last weekend with a pair of road wins at Samford (66-58) and Jacksonville State (85-50) to close their OVC slate with a 16-4 ledger. Junior forward/center Missy Whitney leads Southeast in scoring (13.4 ppg), free-throw percentage (.804) and blocked shots (1.3 bpg), while senior center Lachelle Lyles has posted an OVC and Division I-best 17.3 rebounds per game. Also scoring in double figures are sophomore guards Sonya Daugherty (13.3 ppg) and Tarina Nixon (11.3 ppg), and junior guard Ashley Lovelady (10.1 ppg).

SCOUTING THE LADY GOVS: Austin Peay heads into Tuesday's first round contest sporting a 10-19 record on the year and captured the eighth seed based on its 9-11 conference ledger in the regular season. Last week, the Gamecocks posted a split in their final two games at home with a loss to Eastern Kentucky (76-69) and a win over Morehead State (74-66). Senior forward Alicia Watson leads Austin Peay with averages of 9.9 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, while senior guard Amber Bacon is second on the team in scoring at 9.8 points a game. Junior center Kellea Reeves is averaging 9.7 ppg and leads the team with a .579 field goal percentage. Head Coach Carrie Daniels has tallied a 10-19 record in her first season as the Lady Govs head coach after serving as an assistant coach for seven seasons at Western Kentucky.

SERIES HISTORY: Southeast holds a slim 18-17 lead in the all-time series with Austin Peay, including wins in five of the last six meetings. Both teams split the regular season series with the home team winning on its respective court. The Redhawks posted a 67-56 victory over the Lady Govs last month at the Show Me Center behind a double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds from junior Missy Whitney.

REDHAWKS IN THE OVC TOURNAMENT: Since joining the OVC in 1991-92, Southeast has tallied a record of 9-12 in Ohio Valley Conference tournament play. The Redhawks, making their 10th consecutive tournament appearance, are entering this year's tournament as the No. 1 seed for the first time. Last season, Southeast produced wins over Murray State, Samford and Tennessee Tech to claim its first-ever OVC tournament title and NCAA Tournament berth.

DEFENDING HOME TURF: Southeast has continued its trend of winning games at the Show Me Center this season by posting a 14-1 ledger before tonight's first round game. The Redhawks have posted a 49-5 ledger at home since the 2003-04 season which includes a 34-3 record against OVC opponents. Last season, Southeast was 10-3 in games played at the SMC. The Redhawks have won their last four first round games since the 2003 season.

LYLES CAPTURES ANOTHER REBOUNDING RECORD: With her 20-rebound performance last weekend at Jacksonville State, senior Lachelle Lyles has claimed the Ohio Valley Conference single-season record with 467 caroms. The previous mark of 448 was held by Robin Hendrix of Middle Tennessee during the 1980-81 season and stood for 26 years. Lyles currently holds the Southeast and OVC single-game and single-season records.

NIXON MOVES UP SOUTHEAST'S TOP 10 CAREER THREE-POINTER LIST: Sophomore Tarina Nixon continues to move up Southeast's career list for made three-pointers after equaling a career-best five treys last Saturday at Jacksonville State. Nixon is ranked seventh on the list with 81 made threes and is one trey shy of tying the sixth-place mark of 82 that is currently held by Anne Cate (1990-95).

UP NEXT: With a win, the Redhawks will advance to the OVC semifinals at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville on Friday, March 2 at 12 noon against fourth-seeded Samford or fifth-seeded Tennessee Tech.