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Southeast Missouri (4-16, 1-6 OVC) at UT Martin (11-8, 5-1 OVC)

Game Information
Date: Saturday, January 28, 2012
Tip-Off: 6:00 p.m., CT
Location: Martin, Tenn.
Site: Skyhawk Arena (6,700)
Series Record: Southeast leads 29-23 (Southeast went 0-2 vs. UTM in 2010-11)
Coaches: Ty Margenthaler (4-16 overall, 4-16 at Southeast); Kevin McMillan (43-38 overall, 43-38 at UT Martin)

Media Coverage
Redhawks Radio Network: Newsradio 960/1400 AM (KZIM/KSIM); 930 AM (KWOC); 1470 AM (KMAL). Todd Bonacki, Play-by-Play.
Live Stats: UTMSports.com
Video Streaming: OVCSports.tv

Quick Hits
About UT Martin – The Skyhawks are off to a strong 5-1 start to OVC play this season (11-8 overall) after punching their NCAA ticket by winning the league tournament a year ago. Offense is UT Martin's calling card as it leads the conference in scoring offense (75.3 points per game) while ranking second in field goal percentage (41.2 percent). In OVC play, UT Martin is averaging 86.0 points per game and shooting a league-best 47.2 percent. UT Martin is the top three-point shooting team in the OVC by a considerable margin, making 35.2 percent of its shots from beyond the arc, 3.1 percent better than SIU Edwardsville. Against the OVC, UT Martin is draining a scintilating 42.7 percent from long range. The Skyhawks don't give away possessions either, averaging only 14.0 turnovers per game and 12.5 in OVC games, the best in the conference in both instances. Defensively, the Skyhawks yield 70.0 points per game (seventh in the OVC) and opponents shoot 43.4 percent (10th) from the floor. Those numbers improve slightly agianst league foes to 69.5 points per game (eighth) and a 40.2 percent (seventh) shooting clip. Individually, the Skyhawks boast the league's top two scorers in Heather Butler (21.8 points per game) and Jasmine Newsome (19.4 points per game). The duo combines for 54.7 percent of the Skyhawks' points. In OVC play, Butler is scoring 25.2 points per game and Newsome is contributing 24.0 points per game for 57.2 percent of UT Martin's offense.

Last Season (UT Martin 92, Southeast 62 – Jan. 19, 2011 in Martin, Tenn.; UT Martin 85, Southeast 55 – Feb. 19, 2011 in Cape Girardeau, Mo.) – The Skyhawks swept the season series for the second consecutive year, running their winning streak over the Redhawks to four games, their longest over Southeast since 1996-98 (five games). Southeast grabbed a pair of early one-point leads in the first meeting a year ago, but Martin scored 47 points in the first half to open a 17-point lead at halftime. After the break, the Skyhawks put the game away with an 11-0 run to start the second half. Bailie Roberts nearly tallied a double-double off the bench, finishing with 14 points and nine rebounds. The Redhawks held a 13-11 lead about five minutes into the second meeting, but an 11-0 Skyhawk run put them ahead for good as they held a 50-29 lead at half and cruised to an 85-55 victory.

Working Overtime – Southeast put a scare into preseason OVC favorite Tennessee Tech in its previous game, leading most of the way before falling just shy, 60-57, in overtime. That game marked the Redhawks' first overtime game in nearly three years. The last time Southeast went to overtime was an 80-74 loss at Austin Peay on Feb. 28, 2009. The last time the Redhawks won an overtime game was on Feb. 2, 2008 when it dropped UT Martin, 58-51.

Harriel Heats Up – Junior forward Brittany Harriel has been an offensive catalyst as of late. The Cincinnati, Ohio native has scored in double figures six times and recorded five double-doubles in her past eight games. This coming after notching only two double-doubles in her first two seasons. Harriel willed the Redhawks to a tight, 56-52, win over Longwood on Dec. 20 with 18 points while tying a career-high with 13 rebounds. She scored nine of Southeast's last 10 points and went 8-for-9 from the charity stripe to help secure the victory. Two games later, Harriel began a streak of three-straight double-doubles. She poured in a career-high 26 points to go with 12 rebounds as the Redhawks nearly erased an 11-point deficit in the second half against Murray State on New Year's Eve. In Southeast's win over Jacksonville State on Jan. 2, the junior scored 12 points and corralled a team-high 11 rebounds. She made it three straight with 11 points and 11 rebounds at Eastern Kentucky on Jan. 7 and tallied 13 points and 10 rebounds in Monday's contest against SIU Edwardsville. She also scored a team-high 12 points at Tennessee Tech on Jan. 21.

Need the D – Southeast has been inconsistent defensively since the tail end of its non-conference schedule. In the first nine games of the season, Southeast led the OVC in scoring defense at 59.7 points per game and did not allow any opponent to score 70 points. In the next six, the Redhawks allowed 72.3 points per game while allowing 70 or more points three times. Southeast has picked it up in the past five games, allowing fewer than 60 points three times and yielding 58.2 points per game in that stretch.

Offensive Slump – After a promising start to conference play, the Redhawks have fallen victim to a prolonged offensive slump. Southeast averaged 66.0 points per game and shot 42.1 percent from the field in its first three league games while both Bailie Roberts and Brittany Harriel tied for the team scoring lead with 13.3 points per game. Its lowest point total in that span was 57 points. The Redhawks have hit a collective funk in the four games since, averaging 45.8 points while shooting only 29.3 percent from the field. No player is averaging double-digit points while only Brittany Harriel (42.1 percent) and Courtney Shiffer (45.5 percent) are making better than 40 percent of their shots in this span.

Streak Breaker? – Southeast is looking to make up some ground in the league standings down the stretch and it will have to do so on the road. Six of the Redhawks' last nine games are on the road, where they are 0-9 this season. Southeast is looking to snap a 13-game road losing streak that dates back to a 64-57 win at Eastern Kentucky on Feb. 10, 2011.

Gotta Get to 60 – One trend that is carrying over from last season is the Redhawks' need to hit the 60-point mark in games. The Redhawks are 2-15 when scoring less than 60 points and 2-1 when breaking that barrier. A year ago, the Redhawks went 5-2 on the seven occasions that they scored at least 60 points. Conversely, Southeast is 5-35 when it scores less than 60 points and 1-21 when it scores under 50 points since the start of the 2010-11 season.

Running Point – Senior guard Bianca Beck has moved on from a junior year that saw her struggle at the point. Through 20 games, Beck has dished out a team-best 70 assists and a team-leading 1.30 assist to turnover ratio (fifth best in the OVC). In league play, Beck ranks third among all OVC players with 4.4 assists per game.  The senior has also been a pleasant surprise on the glass, ranking fifth on the team averaging 4.2 rebounds per contest. On New Year's Eve, the St. Louis, Mo. native dished out a career-high nine assists. She recorded her first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds against Samford on Nov. 26. This is a welcome sign after a 2010-11 campaign that saw her commit 78 turnovers against only 44 assists. She has also scored in double figures five times this season, surpassing her total from a year ago and tying her career high in scoring (13 points) on three separate occasions.