Redhawks try to put tough loss behind them

~ Following last weekend's loss to Tennessee Tech, Southeast returns to action today with the first of two games in Alabama.

Southeast Missouri State coach B.J. Smith hopes his team has no lingering affects from tough loss to Tennessee Tech on Dec. 10.

He knows the Redhawks will need to focus all of their energy on Samford and Jacksonville State if they hope to succeed during their two-game road trip to Alabama.

"We sure have to move on from that one," said Smith of the overtime defeat against Tennessee Tech in an early-season Ohio Valley Conference showdown. "We have 18 more [OVC games], and they're all big. There won't be any little ones.

"Losing that Tech game doesn't allow us any room to lose to anyone else."

The Redhawks (4-4, 1-1 OVC) play Samford (5-1, 1-0) at 3 p.m. today in Birmingham, followed by Tuesday's 5 p.m. tipoff at Jacksonville State (2-6, 0-2).

"This is a big road trip for us," Smith said. "We need to get these two wins and build momentum for ourselves. Very few teams will sweep this road trip, so if we can, it would be huge."

Smith expects a major challenge right off the bat today against Samford, which finished seventh in the 11-team OVC last year but appears to be vastly improved.

Samford was without two of its top players last year because of injuries, but they are now healthy, and the Bulldogs have reeled off five straight victories for the longest winning streak in the program's eight-year history.

"I think they're much improved," Smith said. "They haven't played a great schedule, but they've played a good schedule, and they're 5-1."

Samford's women employ the unusual Princeton-style offense -- just like the Bulldogs' men -- that features constant screening and back-cutting, all designed to result in either a layup or a 3-point attempt.

"They play just like their men. They really slow it down, and they back-cut you to death," Smith said. "We'll have to really defend them, and we've got to hit some shots to make them guard us."

Samford's patient style has resulted in the Bulldogs' leading the OVC in scoring defense, allowing an average of just 59.3 points per game.

The Bulldogs also are first in the league in 3-point shooting at 42.7 percent, although the Redhawks rank second in 3-point defense at 26.3 percent.

"We'll have to defend them from the 3-point line. Fortunately I think we're pretty good at that," Smith said. "But they are shooting the ball well."

Southeast played Samford twice last year -- both times at home -- and picked up a pair of victories, although the games could not have been more different.

First, the Redhawks rolled 85-49 in a regular-season contest. Then, in the opening round of the OVC tournament, Southeast survived a major scare before prevailing 47-45.

"We had a really tough time with them in the tournament. They almost beat us," Smith said.

Samford features three double-figure scorers in 5-foot-9 junior guard Chelsee Insell (14.0 ppg), 6-0 sophomore forward Alex Munday (12.3 ppg) and 5-7 senior guard Cora Beth Smith (10.5 ppg).

Insell and Munday both missed all of last season with injuries, after Munday was the OVC's freshman of the year in 2003-04. Insell has played in just one game so far this year but is expected back today.

Southeast continues to be led offensively by senior center Tatiana Conceicao (20.1 ppg), the OVC's No. 2 scorer.

Also in double figures are senior forwards Simone Jackson (14.6 ppg) and Natalie Purcell (11.4 ppg), while senior point guard Wanika Owsley leads the league in assists with 47.