Lady Redhawks will be playing for pride
After Thursday's game the team's OVC tournament hopes have been dashed.
Travis Wibbenmeyer
Issue date: 2/25/10 Section: News
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Playing for pride. That's what the Southeast women's basketball team will be doing in their final regular season game this Saturday's against Austin Peay. The Redhawks will be coming off their eight consecutive loss. The most recent happened Thursday night against the Tennessee State Tigers, guaranteeing that the Redhawks will be unable to make the OVC Tournament.
Sluggish starts have been troublesome all-year for the Redhawks, and the game against TSU was no exception.
"A lack of intensity in the first half has been killing us all year," said freshman forward Katie Norman.
At the 17:11 mark of the first half, the Redhawks were in a 14-3 hole thanks to some hot shooting by the Lady Tigers. At the same time, the Redhawks missed multiple good looks. Once again, an early deficit would be too much for the Redhawks to overcome.
"We didn't communicate well on defense to start," said Redhawks head coach John Ishee. "But [TSU] started red hot."
Southeast trailed 48-28 at halftime. Right before the break, Redhawk freshman guard Erika Lane made perhaps the shot of the night, a buzzer beater from 40-plus feet.
In the second half, the Redhawks cut the Lady Tiger's lead to less than 10 on several occasions. The Tiger's lead was whittled to as little as seven at one point, but Southeast was never able to fully complete the comeback. TSU finished the evening with a win by the score of 76-63.
TSU forward Obiageli Okafor led all scorers with 15 points on six-for-nine shooting, and all also had eight rebounds. Tiger center Destiny Gaston was tied for the game-high in rebounds with 10 and also added seven points. Tennessee guards LaDona Pierce, Meredith Stafford, and Nikki Rumph all scored in double figures.
For Southeast, Norman led with 14 points while hauling in nine rebounds. Freshman forward Bailie Roberts recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore guard Bianca Beck scored 11 points with three rebounds and received praise from coach Ishee at the post-game press conference.
Saturday is shaping up to be a significant outing for Southeast women's basketball. The day is being billed as the "Show-Me Sellout", and according to the Southeast athletic department 6,000 tickets have already been sold. The Redhawks are looking to put a strong finish in front of what should be the largest audience at a home game this season.
The lady Redhawks will be sending off the team's lone senior, center Lesley Adams. Adams transferred to Southeast as a junior from Mineral Area Community College. Adams has averaged 5.8 points per game this season and leads the team in both defensive and offensive rebounds per game averaging 5.6 and 2.4 respectively.
"We want to go out with a win for Lesley," said Norman. "We will just play hard and play to win."
"It is a chance to send our senior off the right way," said coach Ishee, "and a chance for the newcomers to set the tone for hopefully good things to come."
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