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Southeast Missouri (5-6) vs. Missouri State (6-4)

Game Information
Date: Friday, December 21, 2012
Tip-Off: 6:30 p.m., CT
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Site: Show Me Center (7,000)
Series Record: Missouri State leads 10-2
Last Meeting: November 21, 2009 (L, 46-72) in Springfield, Mo.
Coaches: Ty Margenthaler (12-28 overall, 12-28 at Southeast); Nyla Milleson (282-110 overall, 97-74 at Missouri State)

Media Coverage
Redhawks Radio Network: ESPN 1220 AM (KGIR), flagship; 930 AM (KWOC); 1470 AM (KMAL). Todd Bonacki, Play-by-Play; Jess Bolen, Color Commentary
Live Stats: GoSoutheast.com
Video Streaming: OVC Digital Network

Quick Hits
About Missouri State – The Lady Bears are off to a 6-4 start and looking for their fourth straight season of 20 or more victories. Missouri State struggled at Iowa on Wednesday, shooting only 20.7 percent from the field in an eventual 97-43 loss to the Hawkeyes. Christiana Shorter (13.8 points per game), Whitney Edie (13.2), Kenzie Williams (10.9) and Hannah Wilkerson (10.6) are all scoring in double figures. Prior to Wednesday's loss, MSU had won five of six games and had not scored fewer than 66 points in a game all season. Defensively, the Lady Bears have yielded over 90 points in two of their last three outings, both of which came on the road, and have allowed at least 60 points in all 10 games this season. MSU leads the Missouri Valley Conference with 44.5 rebounds per game while their 71.2 points per game scoring average is the second-best figure in the league.

Last Meeting – Brittany Harriel, Patricia Mack and Bailie Roberts were all freshmen the last time Southeast and Missouri State met. The Lady Bears handed the Redhawks their first loss of the 2009-10 season, 72-46. Southeast struggled from the field, making only 32.7 percent of its shots while MSU hit 46.3 percent from the field and held a 43-30 advantage in rebounding. The score was 19-16 in favor of the Lady Bears with 9:54 left in the first half, but an 18-0 run over the next 6:46 put the Redhawks into a 37-16 deficit it was unable to claw back from. Southeast did not get any closer than 16 points in the second half at JQH Arena.

With a win, Southeast would…
•Be .500 or better through 12 games for the first time since the 2007-08 season (7-5)

•Pick up its sixth non-conference victory, its most since the 2002-03 season.

•Improve to 2-4 against Missouri State since moving to Division I.

•Defeat a Missouri Valley Conference team for the first time since topping Missouri State 67-64 on Nov. 14, 2008.

Cleaning the Glass – Junior forward Patricia Mack has been a force on the glass this season. Through 11 games, Mack is third in the OVC in rebounding at 9.5 per game. She has grabbed seven or more rebounds in nine of 11 games and has pulled in 10+ boards six times in the last eight contests. That stretch began with a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double at Arkansas State on Nov. 19. After two games with single digit rebounds, Mack has grabbed 10 or more rebounds in five-straight games. She corralled 12 at Missouri on Nov. 29, pulled in a career-high 17 rebounds against UIC on Dec. 1, grabbed 11 more at Southern Illinois on Dec. 5, recorded 16 against Western Illinois on Dec. 8 and finished with 10 at Western Kentucky on Dec. 16.

Wright Stuff – Kara Wright had a memorable return to her home state on Sunday. The Louisville, Ky., native led the Redhawks with 15 points in their contest at Western Kentucky. Individually, that game was the highlight of a strong freshman campaign. Wright made her first career start, logged a career-high 37 minutes, grabbed eight rebounds, recorded two assists, two blocks and two steals. That performance earned her OVC Freshman of the Week honors, making her the first Southeast player to win the award since the 2000-01 season. Through 11 games, Wright leads the Southeast reserves with 5.5 points per game and has scored five or more points eight times. She also leads the team in field percentage, making 46.3 percent of her shots.

Breakout Non-Conference – Southeast is in the midst of its best non-conference run in years. The Redhawks' five wins are their most non-conference victories since the 2008-09 season, the last time they made the OVC Tournament. Winning at least five non-conference games has typically yielded strong results in conference play. The Redhawks finished .500 or better in OVC play in 12 of the 14 seasons they won at least five non-conference games.

Defense is Streaking – Southeast has really picked it up on the defensive end lately. The Redhawks are fourth in the conference in scoring defense, yielding 60.5 points per game, while their 36.5 percent opponents field goal shooting is the third-best mark in the league. Southeast has been especially stifling in the last four games, holding the opposition to 32.9 percent shooting and 54.3 points per game. The Redhawks have held five opponents below 60 points in their last eight games.

Magic Number is 60 – One important trend from the last three seasons is the Redhawks' need to hit the 60-point mark in games. Since the start of the 2010-11 season, Southeast is 10-6 when scoring 60 or more points and 10-43 when scoring below that threshold. Holding opponents under 60 points has also been critical as the Redhawks are 18-9 when holding their opponents below 60 points since the start of the 2010-11 season, but are 2-40 in their previous 42 contests when allowing 60+ points (1-4 this season).