March 2, 2006

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The No. 2 seed Redhawks make their fourth-straight OVC Tournament semi-final appearance as they head south to Nashville, Tennessee for the 2006 O'Reilly OVC Women's Basketball Tournament. They will face No. 3 seed Samford at the Gaylord Entertainment Center for the chance to advance to the championship game. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. on Friday, March 3. The Redhawks will look to make their third OVC Championship Game appearance in the last four years.

The game can be heard live on KZIM 960 AM and is web-streamed live at www.gosoutheast.com.

The Redhawks had their most complete game of the season as they dismantled Murray State 80-49 in the two team's First Round game at the Show Me Center.

First Team All-OVC selection Tatiana Conceicao recorded her sixth double-double of the season with game-highs of 23 points and 11 rebounds. Natalie Purcell added 13 points.

The win also gave the Redhawks their first back-to-back 20 win seasons since the program had six-straight 20-plus win seasons from 1985 to 1991.

THE COACHES

SEMO's B.J. Smith is 77-40 (.658) in four seasons with Southeast. Mike Morris is in his 4th year at the helm of the Bulldogs and has compiled a record of 51-59 (.463) at Samford.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS

The Samford Bulldogs are in the midst of their most successfull season in the programs history. With a record of 21-7 the Bulldogs have won the most games in the school's history and have advanced to their first OVC semi-final appearance with their 58-56 First Round victory over Jacksonville State.

The Bulldogs survived a late comeback from the Gamecocks as both teams struggled from the field and had 16 lead changes.

Chelsee Insell was the lone Bulldog in double-digits with game-highs of 25 points and 10 rebounds.

Preseason 2nd Team All-OVC selection Alex Munday leads the team in scoring at 14.6 ppg and rebounding at 5.6 rpg. Cora Beth Smith pitches in 9.0 ppg and 3.7 apg. Insell chips in 9.6 ppg as she makes 44-percent of her three-pointers.

The Bulldogs return six letterwinners including three starters from a team that went 13-15 and finished seventh in the OVC last season. The Bulldogs were picked to finish fifth in the OVC Preseason Poll.

SERIES HISTORY

The Bulldogs swept the regular season series against the Redhawks. However the Redhawks still lead the series to date as they hold a 5-2 lead in the short-lived rivalry. The Bulldogs snapped the Redhawks 12-game winning streak with a 57-53 win at the Show Me Center two weeks ago.

The Bulldogs bench was the contributing factor in their victory as they outscored the Redhawks bench 26-3 in large part to reserve Veronica Pike who finished with a team-high 17 points. The Redhawks pulled within one with :45 seconds remaining but the Bulldogs made a clutch three-pointer to solidify the win.

Tatiana Conceicao finished with a game-high 24 points despite second-half foul trouble. Simone Jackson added 15 points. Taryn Towns was the only other Bulldog in double-figures with 14 points.