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CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Courtney Shiffer (14 points) was one of three Redhawks to score in double figures, but a second half comeback fell short as the Southeast Missouri State (0-4) women's basketball team dropped a 51-43 decision to Mississippi (3-1) at the Show Me Center on Monday night.

Shiffer, Brittany Harriel (10 points) and Bailie Roberts (10 points) combined for 34 of the Redhawks' 43 points, but Southeast's offense shot only 28.3 percent from the floor and did not hit one three-pointer in the setback.

“I am extremely proud of our players' effort tonight,” Southeast head coach Ty Margenthaler said. “That's an outstanding rebounding team and we tied them at 40 on the glass. We showed a lot of character tonight, everybody that got in the game kept fighting. We're going to continue fighting every possession because we have to.”

Ole Miss scored the first 10 points of the contest with forward Nikki Byrd tallying eight points in the opening surge. The Redhawks missed their first six shots while the Rebels made five of their first nine attempts from the floor.

A Shiffer free throw at the 14:42 mark put Southeast on the board, cutting Ole Miss' lead to nine. Brittany Harriel drilled the Redhawks' first field goal with 12:22 remaining in the opening stanza, cutting the Rebels' lead to 12-5.

Ole Miss scored the next six points, four of which were on breakaway layups after turnovers, extending its lead to 18-5 near the midway point of the first half. Baskets by Shiffer and Karley Evans brought Southeast back within single digits at 18-9 and Evans made it an 18-11 game with a pair of free throws. Harriel extended the run to 8-0 with a layup, set up by a bounce pass from Evans, making it 18-13 with under five minutes remaining.

Byrd quelled the run on a layup with 3:16 left, putting the Rebels up 20-13 with two of her 12 first-half points. A three-point play by Shiffer, who crashed the basket for a layup and a free throw, cut the deficit to 20-16 entering the break.

Bianca Beck opened the second half by hitting two free throws, bringing the Redhawks within two at 20-18, the closest margin of the contest since 2-0.

After coming up empty on the following possession, Valencia McFarland pulled up from the free throw line in transition and hit her first field goal of the game to make it 22-18. Shiffer brought Southeast back within two with a layup at the 17:46 mark.

The Rebels responded by scoring the next four points, but Roberts scored her first basket with 15:31 remaining and Harriel followed with a jumper to make it 26-24.

Ole Miss followed up with the next 10 points on consecutive three-pointers by Maggie McFerrin, a jumper by Kenyotta Jenkins and jumper by Pa'Sonna Hope, putting the Rebels up by 12 at 36-24 with 11:51 remaining.

Harriel ended the drought with a jumper at the 9:21 mark and set up a Roberts jumper from the elbow to cut the deficit to 36-28 with eight and a half to play. Roberts hit another mid-range jump shot with seven and a half left to bring Southeast within six at 36-30.

Ole Miss upped the lead back to 10 shortly thereafter with consecutive layups from Byrd and Jenkins.

Southeast once again clawed within single digits Harriel hit a pair of free throws to make it an eight-point deficit. However, McFarland followed with a three-pointer, making it 43-32 with just over four minutes left. She followed with two free throw makes to make it a 13-point bulge.

Shiffer drew the Redhawks within seven with consecutive three-point plays the old fashioned way with 2:15 left. That was the closest the Redhawks would get the rest of the way as McFarland salted the game away with two free throws with 56 seconds left.

The Rebels shot 35.7 percent from the floor while the Redhawks countered with their 28.3 percent clip. Ole Miss also hit three of its 17 three-pointers (17.6 percent) with each make coming in the second half. Southeast outscored Ole Miss by five points from the free throw line, shooting 13-for-19 (68.4 percent) against the Rebels' 8-for-11 (72.7 percent) clip. Rebounds were dead even at 40 apiece. Southeast committed 22 turnovers while forcing 18 Ole Miss miscues.

Byrd tied for the game-high with 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for a double-double. McFarland scored all 13 of her points in the second half.

Southeast returns to the court on Friday when it opens up the UAB Thanksgiving Classic at UAB.