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CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Jordan Hunter scored 16 of her career-high 21 points in the second half to lead the balanced Southeast Missouri women's basketball team to a 71-57 win over Austin Peay on Saturday.
Four Redhawks (6-8, 1-1 Ohio Valley) scored in double figures to snap their three-game losing streak.
“This was a big game for us at home,” Southeast head coach
Ty Margenthaler said. “We emphasize to our players the importance of home court and now we're 4-1 at home. One thing that was great for was that we had 11 healthy players in practice all week and that showed on the court today.”
APSU's (5-8, 0-1 OVC) Alexis Hardaway scored the game's first points on a layup during the Lady Govs' second possession. Southeast countered with a Hunter three-pointer that made it 3-2 Redhawks just one minute in.
After another Hardaway layup put the Lady Govs back in front, Hunter made two free throws to make it 5-4 Redhawks at the 17:16 mark. A
Patricia Mack jumper, an
Allyson Bradshaw layup, a
Kara Wright jumper and a
Brittany Harriel layup put Southeast up 13-4 as part of a 13-2 run.
The Lady Govs rallied back with nine-straight points, evening the score at 13 apiece. The last five points of the run came in a 16-second span as Tiasha Gray made a three-pointer and Leslie Martinez recorded a steal and scored on the break to even the score with 10:15 left in the half.
Bailie Roberts responded by nailing a three-pointer on the ensuing possession and Bradshaw found her long range shot from the corner just under a minute later to make it 19-15 at the 9:02 mark.
The Lady Govs pulled within 21-19 two minutes later, but the Redhawks came out of a media timeout with six-straight points after Roberts hit two free throws and Harriel made a layup and a jumper. After an APSU free throw, Harriel stepped outside and hit a three-pointer to give Southeast a 30-20 lead 4:46 left.
APSU scored five-straight points to cut Southeast's lead to 30-25, but Harriel got to the basket for a layup and Wright made a pull up jumper to extend the lead to nine again. After Kristen Stainback made a jumper with 1:08 left, Harriel got three points the old fashioned way, scoring through contact and making a free throw to make it 37-27 going into halftime. Harriel scored 14 points in the first half, her best overall total in any game this season.
The Lady Govs came out of the locker room to score the first five points of the second half on a Meghan Bussabarger layup and a Nicole Olszewski three-pointer, making it 37-32 in favor of the Redhawks.
Hunter broke the slump by driving for a layup at the 18:32 mark to put Southeast back up seven points. Two minutes later, Hardaway's jumper rattled in and pulled APSU within five points once again.
With Southeast leading 41-36, Harriel scored in the low block and Roberts drilled a three from the wing to extend its lead back to 10 points. Jennifer Nwokocha made a layup on the next APSU possession, but Roberts hit a baseline jumper that extended the lead to 48-38 with under 12 minutes to play.
Hunter's jumper put the Redhawks up by 12 points at 50-38. The Lady Govs scored five in a row that made it a seven point game. Undeterred, Roberts found Hunter cutting to the basket on a set play, the junior scored through a foul and hit the ensuing free throw to up the lead to double digits again. That play started a 12-2 Southeast run that put it up 62-45 with five minutes remaining. The Lady Govs did not get any closer than 14 points the rest of the way and the Redhawks led by as many as 18 points.
Southeast shot a season-best 47.4 percent from the field and went 7-of-18 (38.9 percent) from three-point range. The Redhawks held the Lady Govs to 37.3 percent shooting, including a 3-of-14 (21.4 percent) mark from long range. Southeast enjoyed a 37-35 advantage in rebounding and its bench outscored APSU's 31-14. Both teams made 10-of-14 (71.4 percent) free throws and each squad also committed 17 turnovers.
Hunter made 8-of-16 shots from the field and dished out six assists while grabbing five rebounds and recording two steals. Harriel finished with a season-high 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Roberts (12 points) and Bradshaw (10) also scored in double figures. With starting posts
Courtney Shiffer and
Patricia Mack battling foul trouble,
Connor King led Southeast with seven rebounds in 14 minutes. Wright recorded four of Southeast's 10 steals.
“Jordan is becoming the player that I thought she was going to be,” Margenthaler said. “She started out conference play well and she isn't turning the ball over, exactly what a coach wants. She's hitting shots and making great decisions with the ball. It is great to have Brittany back, having her in the lineup could take this team to the next level.”
Hardaway led APSU with 11 points and nearly posted a double-double with nine rebounds. Olszewski and Bussabarger each scored 10 points for the Lady Govs. Martinez led all players with 14 rebounds.
The Redhawks continue their three-game home stand on Monday when they host OVC West rival Murray State. Opening tipoff is at 6:30 p.m.
