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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Allyson Bradshaw poured in a career-high 18 points, but the Southeast Missouri women's basketball team fell to host UMKC, 69-64 at the Swinney Recreation Center on Monday night.
Courtney Shiffer's free throw with under two minutes to play gave the Redhawks (1-1) a 59-58 lead, but the Kangaroos' (1-1) Kim Nezianya scored five consecutive points to give them a lead they would not relinquish.
Southeast opened with the first points of the game when
Brittany Harriel made a layup on the first possession, but UMKC followed with a 7-0 run over the next seven minutes to grab a 7-2 lead.
The Kangaroos eventually went up 19-10 with just over seven minutes left in the half after a Kim Nezianya bucket with 8:23 left in the opening frame. From there, the Redhawks went on a 13-4 run to even the score at 23 apiece. Bradshaw started the surge with a steal and layup, then drained a three-pointer from the wing. Harriel then scored consecutive baskets to make it a two-point game.
Four-straight Kangaroo points from Hailey Houser put them up 23-17 with 4:39 showing on the clock, but the Redhawks came back once again. After a Shiffer free throw,
Jordan Hunter made a layup and a three-pointer to even the score at 23 apiece with under two minutes left in the half. UMKC did regain the lead on a Lauren Dudding jumper, taking a 25-23 advantage into halftime.
UMKC scored the first four points of the second half to go back on top by six points, but Southeast cut the gap to 35-34 after Bradshaw made her third three-pointer of the second half with under 17 minutes to play. A Bradshaw jumper three minutes later gave Southeast its first lead (38-37) since 2-0 with 14:27 showing on the clock.
From there, the game turned into a seesaw affair. The lead changed hands 17 times and was tied five times overall. A
Bailie Roberts three-pointer put Southeast on top 58-56 with under three and a half to play, but O'Connor tied it up with jumper.
Shiffer hit a free throw put the Redhawks ahead 59-58 with 1:57 left, but UMKC got consecutive buckets from Nezianya, the first a three-point play on an and one and then another layup following a defensive stop. The Kangaroos grabbed a 65-59 lead with under a minute left, but
Kara Wright drained a three-pointer to cut the gap to 65-62 with 34 seconds to play, but Eilese O'Connor hit four free throws down the stretch to put the game away.
“Our start was very slow tonight,” Southeast head coach
Ty Margenthaler said. “We knew what was coming at us and we game planned for it, but we didn't show enough focus and toughness on the road. We had a couple lapses on defense down the stretch and put them at the line too much at the end.”
UMKC held a slight edge in field goal percentage, making 43.5 percent of its shots compared to Southeast's 43.3 percent shooting. The Redhawks drained 10-of-19 three-pointers (52.6 percent) and held the Kangaroos to 2-of-7 (28.6 percent) from beyond the arc. UMKC made 13-of-18 free throws (72.2 percent) compared to Southeast's 2-of-4 (50 percent) mark. The Redhawks gathered 38 rebounds to 36 by the Kangaroos. Southeast committed 18 turnovers while UMKC had 11 miscues.
Bradshaw scored 13 of her 18 points in the second half and was joined in double figures by Harriel (12 points) and Roberts (11 points).
Courtney Shiffer added a game-high 15 rebounds off the bench. UMKC's Kim Nezianya scored 23 points and added 11 rebounds while O'Connor (17 points) and Ashli Hill (12 points) also scored in double figures.
Southeast returns to the court on Wednesday when it faces Kansas. Opening tipoff is at 8 p.m.
