Southeast Missouri State women's basketball seeks big road opportunity versus struggling Skyhawks

Southeast Missouri State's Adrianna Murphy scans the court during Saturday's game against Belmont in Nashville, Tennessee.

Mary Alice Truitt ~ Special to the Southeast Missourian

When the Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team hits the road Saturday to take on UT Martin, it will see a team struggling to match expectations -- at least, those from the outside.

The defending-champion Skyhawks -- who have won four of the last five Ohio Valley Conference regular-season titles -- were picked to finish second in the league's preseason poll. The early returns on that vote of confidence have fallen short.

UTM is currently sitting at 4-13 overall and 1-3 in the OVC.

When the two teams tip off at 4 p.m. at the Elam Center in Martin, Tennessee, it'll be an opportunity for Southeast (7-10, 1-3) to snag a solid road victory.

"I think the biggest thing is they have a young team with a veteran player recovering from injury," Redhawks coach Rekha Patterson said. "The reason they were picked so high is they're a really good program and have been for years now. So no matter what the record is, you understand you're playing a really good program on Saturday."

The absence of Jessy Ward has been a big one for the Skyhawks, who returned two starters from a squad that went 22-10 overall and 14-2 in the OVC a year ago. Ward was one of those two starters and the leading returning scorer. She is also the only senior on the roster.

But Ward has been out with a leg injury, and although she returned for a pair of games, she did not play in her team's last game, an 85-80 road loss to Tennessee State.

Patterson warns off premature burying of UTM, pointing to a tough early-season schedule.

"I know you may say they're struggling, but lets look at who they played," Patterson said. "... They turned Belmont over 20 times. Tennessee State, it's a (one)-possession game at the end.

"I think the ball has bounced a couple different ways, and they're playing good competition."

The Skyhawks' offense has been functional, standing fifth in the conference with 67.9 points per game on 41.3-percent shooting, but their defense has let them down.

UTM is last in the OVC in scoring defense (79.4 ppg), and its scoring margin (minus-11.4 ppg) is also bottom of the league.

Teams are hitting 47.9 percent of their field goals against UTM, which is, not surprisingly, the highest number in the conference, as is the 36.9-percent 3-point shooting against.

If there's one area of the defense in which UTM has excelled, it's with the press, with which it is posting 8.9 steals per game (third in the OVC).

Patterson said taking care of the ball is one of the top bullet points in the game plan for Saturday.

"They can turn you over," the coach said. "If they're turning you over and hitting the 3, it's going to be a long night."

One of the dangers UTM presents for the Redhawks is long-range shooting. The Skyhawks are shooting 34.8 percent from beyond the arc, and Belmont is the only OVC squad with more made 3s per game than UTM (8.2).

"They do love to shoot it, and they are good at shooting it. So that's absolutely a concern of ours," Patterson said. "Defending the 3 is the key to the win. We can not let them hit 14 3s like they did in their home opener.

"They can get hot, and [we have] to defend the 3 and dribble penetration because if you have poor close out they can shoot or ... drive and kick."

In Ward's absence, 5-foot-10 sophomore guard Myah Taylor has taken on a scoring load, averaging 11.9 ppg and hitting 38.8 percent of her 3-point attempts (40 of 103).

Patterson called Taylor "one of the best guards in the league."

Sophomore Emanye Robertson is a returning starter averaging 11.3 ppg on 48.3 percent shooting and, in conference play, has posted a team-high 5.3 rebounds per game.

Janekia Mason, a 6-foot junior college transfer from Mineral Area College, has been a scoring threat in the early OVC slate.

A pair of freshmen have provided a boost for UTM, with 5-7 guard Kendall Spray a top 3-point threat. She's averaging 11.4 ppg and shooting 37.7 percent (49 of 130) from long range. More than 60 percent of her shots have come from outside the arc.

The game will see Spray, second in the conference in made 3s with 2.9 per game, face off against the Redhawks' Hannah Noe, who is third with 2.7.

The 5-9 Ansley Eubanks is another first-year player who has been a regular contributor for UTM and has been a double-digit scorer since the start of OVC play.

Entering the contest, Southeast senior Olivia Hackmann is fourth in the conference in scoring at 16.1 ppg. Bri Mitchell is 10th at 13.5 ppg.

Adrianna Murphy and Mitchell are Nos. 1 and 2 in the OVC in assists per game.