Southeast women must "believe" against Belmont

Southeast coach Rekha Patterson encourages her squad in a recent contest at the Show Me Center.

Jacob Wiegand ~ jwiegand@semissourian.com

The Redhawks women’s basketball team (9-4, 1-1 Ohio Valley Conference) is off to its best season in coach Rekha Patterson’s five years with the program.

Southeast is 4-0 at home and about to begin a four-game homestand at the Show Me Center.

Arguably the greatest test of Patterson’s 2019-20 squad so far comes today as Southeast plays host to OVC foe and multiple conference champ Belmont (7-6, 2-0).

“(Belmont) has won the OVC championship tournament four years in a row,” said Patterson.

The Bruins’ dominance of the conference is actually deeper when you dig into the numbers.

In the last 69 OVC games, Belmont has won 67 of them, a .971 winning percentage against the league.

“When people say the OVC belongs to Belmont,” Patterson marveled, “it does.”

Recent history against Belmont

Patterson’s respect for the Bruins is evident. She has beaten the team from Nashville only once in her tenure.

On December 31, 2015, Patterson’s team won 81-74 on the home hardcourt.

Belmont has won the last six head-to-head matchups and is 11-4 all-time against Southeast.

On paper this season, the Redhawks would appear to stack up well — as Southeast leads the OVC in points per game (74.6) and has the highest rebound margin per game (plus-9.6).

Those numbers aside, Patterson, the eighth head coach in program history, is clearly concerned.

“(Belmont) is strong inside and big inside (and) if you collapse them, they have (outside) shooters who can get hot,” said Patterson.

Belmont's leading players

Ellie Harmeyer, a 6-foot senior, leads Belmont with 17.2 points per game. She is also the team leader in rebounds, free-throw percentage, and total minutes.

Fellow senior 6-footer Maura Muensterman leads the Bruins in steals and in three-point shooting.

Maddie Wright, a 6-foot-1 Belmont player in her final season, is the Bruins leader in blocks.

“(Belmont) does a really good job of making you shoot,” said Patterson. “They just sit underneath with their hands up and force you to hit shots from the outside.”

Redhawks looking to rebound

Southeast is coming off a disappointing road loss Saturday to Murray State, 70-62, in which team leader Carrie Shephard shot well below her 17.4 PPG average, garnering just five points against the Racers, including only one three-pointer.

Belmont rolls into Cape Girardeau after having won its initial two OVC contests by comfortable margins – a 69-48 win over Southern Illinois and a 69-45 victory over Eastern Illinois.

Keys to victory

Rekha Patterson, the first female coach in the Division 1 era for Southeast, demonstrates strategy to her team during a recent game this season. Jacob Wiegand ~ jwiegand@semissourian.com

As for how Southeast can flip the script and dial up a victory, Patterson is clear.

“We have to be in attack mode no matter what (Belmont) is doing, because this is when we play our best.”

Patterson, the first female head coach in the Division 1 era for Southeast, says her team must believe it can win and must follow the game plan.

“Don’t get frustrated,” said Patterson, who has posted a 64-70 mark with Southeast.

“We must work both sides of the floor (because) the numbers say when you do this, eventually you get wide open shots.”

Conley Chinn, a sophomore forward for the Bruins, told Belmont’s sports information department her opinion of the Redhawks.

“(Southeast) is a really athletic, talented team (who) can run the floor and shoot really well,” Chinn said.

Home cooking

Patterson is hopeful that the home court will be a decided advantage in Southeast’s biggest challenge of the young season.

“We love being at home,” Patterson said. “Chef Ed makes our pregame meals and we have our wonderful fans.”

Patterson knows that to beat mighty Belmont, home cooking, friendly fans and a well-executed strategy will not be enough to secure victory.

The coach returns again and again to a certain seven-letter word as she encourages her student-athletes.

“We have to believe,” Patterson says, “(a win) can happen.”

Tipoff versus Belmont is at 5:15 pm.