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EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – The Southeast Missouri women's basketball team couldn't get shots to fall at Ohio Valley Conference foe SIU Edwardsville in a 63-48 loss on at the Vadalabene Center on Monday night.

The Redhawks (6-20, 3-10 OVC) shot just 30.2 percent from the field in dropping their second straight game.

“SIU Edwardsville came out in the first half and really played well,” Margenthaler said. “They were more physical than us and it's frustrating. They can really shoot the ball and they have good post players.”

Southeast struggled shooting the ball in the first half, making 7-of-25 (28 percent) of its field goal attempts. A Karley Evans trifecta put Southeast up 5-4 at the 17:14 mark of the first half, but SIUE's (15-9, 9-4 OVC) Michaela Herrod made two free throws and Melia Duncan got to the hoop for a layup to make it 8-5 with 16:16 left in the opening frame.

The Redhawks cut the deficit to 10-9 after a Bianca Beck layup and a free throw with 14:09 to play in the first. The Cougars answered by tallying four-straight points to up their lead to 14-9 going into the second media timeout. A Jazmin Hill three-pointer extended the lead to 17-9 and a Raven Berry free throw made it an 8-0 SIUE run. Hill tallied a game-high 14 points while Berry finished with 11 points and 17 rebounds. Herrod also poured in 10 points for the Cougars.

Courtney Shiffer ended the run with two free throws, making it 18-11 in favor of the Cougars. SIUE countered once again with a 20-6 surge over the next seven minutes, which extended the lead to 38-17 with just over a minute left in the first. The Redhawks got baskets from Allyson Bradshaw and Beck to cut the gap to 38-21 at the break. The Cougars made half (15-of-30) of their shots from the floor and enjoyed a 22-13 advantage in rebounding in the opening 20 minutes of play.

The Cougars tallied the first four points of the second half to go back ahead by 21 points just over a minute into the final period. The Cougars led by as many as 25 points in the final 20 minutes.

The loss moves Southeast into a tie with Austin Peay, who won at Murray State, for the eighth and final seed in the OVC Tournament with three regular season games remaining.

“I told the team in the locker room after I heard the Austin Peay score that I like this situation,” Margenthaler said. “It's going to be about who wants to get in down the stretch. We'll have a chance and we're playing for something. Hopefully we can play well the last three games and get in.”

SIU Edwardsville shot 39.3 percent from the field, though Southeast held the Cougars to 29.0 percent in the second half. The Cougars made 8-of-22 (36.4 percent) from beyond the arc and held the Redhawks to 3-of-18 (16.7 percent) from long range. Southeast made 13 of its 20 free throws (65 percent) while SIUE hit 7-of-12 (58.3 percent) from the charity stripe. The Cougars held a 41-37 advantage in rebounding and finished plus-four in turnovers (18-14).

Beck (11 points) and Harriel (10 points) each scored in double figures, combining to make 7-of-14 field goals. Patricia Mack tied her career high with 13 rebounds and Bailie Roberts grabbed 11 boards.

Southeast plays its final home game of the season on Saturday when it hosts UT Martin. The Redhawks will honor seniors Beck, Karley Evans and Amber Holmes prior to the 7 p.m. tipoff.