RICHMOND, Ky. - Two of the three other undefeated Ohio Valley Conference teams are on the slate for coach Larry Joe Inman's Eastern Kentucky University Lady Colonels this week as Middle Tennessee comes to McBrayer Arena Thursday night (6:00 p.m.) and Tennessee Tech is on campus for a Saturday afternoon tilt (2:00 p.m.) with EKU.

EKU comes in at 4-6 overall and 1-0 in the league, following a 94-91 victory over Morehead State in early December. Both Middle Tennessee and Tennessee Tech are 2-0 in early OVC action, as is Tennessee State.

"We came back from our break (last EKU game was Dec. 19, an 88-57 win over North Carolina A & T) Dec. 31 and have had some really good practices," said Inman. "Our team has practiced hard and we have a great group of kids who are giving it everything they've got.

"It will be tough right off the bat as we will play two of the toughest teams in the league this week. Our team has to fight back from losing two of its top players, but I have a lot of confidence in the effort they will put out. As a coach, that's all you can ask."

Senior guard Marla Gearhart, who was chosen as an All-Holiday Inn Beach Blast Tournament choice just before Christmas, leads the Colonels and is second in the league in scoring with her 17.1 per game average. She also leads the OVC in assist-turnover ratio with 3.00, as she has registered 42 assists to just 14 turnovers this season.

Also in twin figures are junior center Candice Finley and freshman forward Teresa McNair at 13.4 and 10.4 averages, respectively. Finley leads the team and is 11^th in the league in rebounding with her 5.6 mark.

McNair has led the team to its No. 1 ranking in steals among league schools with the Lady Colonels' per game average of 15.6. She has registered 3.6 steals per game herself to lead the OVC and rank tied for 21^st in the nation in this category.

Rounding out the Lady Colonels' starting lineup are junior forward Susan Hatcher (8.9) and sophomore guard Mikki Bond (5.5).

Two stalwarts who will be missing from the Colonels' lineup this season are starting forwards Charlotte Sizemore and Larrya Wall, both juniors, who are out for the year with knee injuries suffered earlier in the schedule.