Little Rock women's basketball opens road trip Thursday at SEMO

The Little Rock women's basketball team departs today for a two-game road trip in Missouri, opening with a Thursday evening matchup with Southeast Missouri at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo. The game can be seen on ESPN+ and ESPNU or head locally on Sports Animal 920 AM with tip-off scheduled for 4 pm.
 
THE MATCHUP
Little Rock (9-16 overall, 8-6 OVC) is 6-2 all-time against the Redhawks (8-17, 5-9) and has won the last five meetings, including the first game between the two this season – a 53-47 Little Rock win on Jan. 27 at the Jack Stephens Center. The Trojans are also 2-1 all-time in Cape Girardeau. Last month, Little Rock held SEMO to just 27 percent shooting from the floor and grabbed 45 rebounds. Faith Lee led all scorers with 19 points.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Little Rock suffered its worst conference loss of the season last Saturday, falling 88-51 to first-place Southern Indiana at the Jack Stephens Center. The Trojans fell behind 26-5 after the first period and trailed by as many as 42 points, the teams' largest deficit of the season.
 
A LOOK AT THE WARHAWKS
SEMO is just 8-17 overall, but has a winning record (6-5) on its home floor. The Warhawks rank 10^th in the OVC in scoring offense (59.8) and fourth in defense (64.9). SEMO is the lowest shooting team in the league, making just 36.8 percent from the floor and 25.8 from long range (also last). Individually, Alecia Doyle ranks 8^th in scoring (15.0) and Kiyley Flowers is third in assists (4.1) and steals (2.9).
 
OVC OUTLOOK
Southern Indiana (14-1) topped Morehead State on Tuesday to claim the regular season title and No. 1 seed in next month's OVC Championships, but after that the picture is far from clear. Coming into Thursday's game, Eastern Illinois sits second at 9-5, then three teams – Little Rock, Tennessee Tech, and UT Martin – are tied for third at 8-6. Morehead State is in sixth at 8-7 and Western Illinois is seventh at 7-7. SEMO and Tennessee State are tied for the eighth and final spot, while Lindenwood – Little Rock's opponent on Saturday – is a game behind them.