Women catch breather from OVC road

~ Southeast will play its only home contest in a seven-game stretch.

The stakes won't be nearly as high today.

But the last time Southeast Missouri State and Murray State squared off in a women's basketball game, virtually everything was on the line.

It took place March 3 in Nashville, Tenn., and Southeast scored in the final seconds to beat the Racers 62-60 in the championship game of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament.

That victory sent the Redhawks to their second consecutive NCAA tournament and prevented the Racers from making their first NCAA appearance.

Today, in a 5 p.m. tipoff at the Show Me Center, Southeast and Murray State meet for the first time since that March matchup.

"We're looking forward to this game, definitely," Southeast senior center Missy Whitney said.

While the Redhawks (9-5, 4-1) enter today's game on a roll, the Racers (9-5, 3-3) are in a mini-funk.

Southeast won at Eastern Illinois Saturday night for its fifth straight victory as the second-place Redhawks moved within a half-game of the league-leading Panthers.

Murray State, meanwhile, has dropped two straight, including Saturday's surprising 90-85 overtime home loss to Tennessee State. The Racers have fallen into sixth place in the 11-team OVC.

"We've been playing well and we want to keep it going," Southeast junior point guard Tarina Nixon said. "Any time you're winning, it's good."

Not only did the Redhawks and Racers meet to decide last year's OVC tournament title, they also were the league's best teams during the regular season.

Southeast won its second straight regular-season championship by going 16-4, while Murray State finished second at 15-5. A sweep of both regular-season meetings played a major role in the Redhawks' first-place finish.

All three times Southeast and Murray State hooked up a year ago, the games were decided by six points or less. That includes a six-point road win for the Redhawks and a four-point, double-overtime home triumph.

"We had three great games with them last year, including the one that everybody remembers for the conference tournament championship," Southeast coach John Ishee said. "It's a good rivalry, and hopefully we'll have a nice crowd."

Despite graduating OVC player of the year Joi Scott -- who missed the league tournament with an injury -- the Racers returned four starters from a year ago and have plenty of firepower.

Murray State features two of the OVC's top three scorers in 5-foot-8 junior guard Amber Guffey (20.4 points per game, first) and 5-10 junior guard Ashley N. Hayes (17.5 ppg, third).

Guffey poured in 37 points during Saturday's loss to Tennessee State.

Hayes is also the league's top rebounder with a 10.2 average.

The Racers have some size in 6-5 senior center Angela Brown, a transfer from Old Dominion who is not a big scorer (6 ppg) but is shooting 52.1 percent and has blocked 16 shots.

"They're quick and athletic. Guffey and Hayes are both outstanding players, and Brown is a presence inside," Ishee said. "They'll be a handful for us."

Following today's game, the Redhawks continue a stretch that has them playing six of seven OVC contests on the road.

Southeast will have three more games away from home before returning to the Show Me Center.

So far, so good for the Redhawks during this period; they started it with three straight road wins.

"It's a huge game for us, because it's our one home game before we go back on the road," Ishee said.