Redhawks face pivotal game against Tech

~ Southeast will try to avenge a loss to the defending conference champion.

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Armed with its longest winning streak of the season, Southeast Missouri State is primed for an anticipated rematch with Tennessee Tech.

And, while today's 5:30 p.m. tipoff at the Eblen Center will mark just the halfway point of the Redhawks' Ohio Valley Conference schedule, they need a win in order to realistically keep alive their hopes of an OVC regular-season title.

"I think so," Southeast coach B.J. Smith said.

The Redhawks are 9-7 overall and a third-place 6-3 in OVC play after Thursday's 78-35 rout at Tennessee State that pushed their winning streak to three straight.

Tech (12-4, 8-1 OVC) is in sole possession of first place in the 11-team league.

A victory by the Eaglettes today would give them a three-game lead over Southeast, meaning Tech would have to suffer at least three conference losses the rest of the way to offer the Redhawks a chance at simply tying for the championship -- and that is assuming Southeast would win each of its remaining 10 league contests.

However, a triumph by the Redhawks would pull them within one game of first place midway through the conference schedule.

"Realistically, they're probably not going to lose three games after they play us," Smith said. "So this is a really big game. But more than anything, we seem to have something going now, and we just want to keep playing well.

"If we win, then we're just one game out of first place and we're right there, with a real chance to win it. But even if we don't win, there's still a lot of the season left."

Southeast, picked to finish second in the OVC's preseason poll -- just behind Tech in a close vote -- put itself in an early hole by dropping three of its first six conference games, including an 81-77 overtime home loss to the Eaglettes on Dec. 10 that broke the Redhawks' 18-game Show Me Center winning streak against OVC opponents.

Last year, after splitting their two regular-season meetings, the squads had a memorable rubber game in the semifinals of the OVC tournament. Senior guard Tiffanne Ryan's 3-pointer with less than 1 second left provided the Redhawks with a 71-68 victory.

"We've had some great games with them," Smith said.

Today's contest will again feature two of the OVC's top players in senior centers Tatiana Conceicao of Southeast and Emily Christian of Tech.

Conceicao, who nosed out Christian for the league's player of the year award last season, is the league's second-leading scorer and No. 5 rebounder, averaging 19.3 points and 7.5 boards per game.

Christian leads the OVC in scoring and ranks fourth in rebounding, at 21.1 points and 8.9 boards per game.

She and Conceicao are both among the nation's top 20 scorers.

In last month's meeting at the Show Me Center, Christian poured in 31 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, while Conceicao was saddled with foul trouble much of the way. She finished with eight points and six rebounds before fouling out late in regulation.

With Conceicao rendered largely ineffective, senior forward Simone Jackson helped pick up the slack in the earlier matchup with Tech by scoring a career-high 26 points.

Senior point guard Wanika Owsley, the OVC leader in assists, also reached a career scoring high with 14 points, and she narrowly missed winning the game as her short bank shot was barely off the mark to end regulation.

Southeast has been impressive in compiling its three-game winning streak, and Thursday the Redhawks began their two-game road trip by allowing the fewest points since Southeast moved up to Division I in 1991-92.

"We're playing really well now, and we're looking forward to playing Tennessee Tech again," said senior forward Natalie Purcell, who scored a career-high 27 points against Tennessee State.

Smith also likes the way the Redhawks have played in recent outings, especially defensively. But he knows they'll have to be at the top of their game to win today -- and give their OVC title hopes a major shot in the arm.

"Tech is very good, and they're always so tough to beat at home," Smith said. "We've played a lot better lately, but Tech will be a totally different animal."