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CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Kara Wright scored 20 points for the third time in six games to lead the Southeast Missouri women's basketball team to a 67-62 win over SIU Edwardsville on Monday.

Wright's outburst was the freshman's third 20-point performance in the last six games, this one happened coming off the bench as the Redhawks improve to 10-15 this season and 4-8 in Ohio Valley play.

“What a gut check that game was today,” Southeast head coach Ty Margenthaler said. “To have a short turnaround against a great opponent in front of a great crowd is a fun feeling. We've been there all year long, but today we held in there and finished it off.”

A crowd of 1,609 cheered on the Redhawks as part of their inaugural Classroom on the Court initiative. Several area schools took in the afternoon showcase and contributed to the atmosphere.

“Our marketing department and our assistant coaches did a great job marketing this all year long,” Margenthaler said. “To have that many people here is great. We hope to continue to grow this and make it bigger and better every year.”

After Southeast grabbed an early 4-2 lead, SIUE (12-12, 6-6 OVC) reeled off eight-straight points as part of a 10-2 run to go up 12-6 five minutes in. The Redhawks found their groove from there, scoring 10 in a row on a Jordan Hunter three-pointer, an Olivia Hackmann layup off a steal, a Patricia Mack jumper and a Wright three, which put them up 16-12 with 12 minutes left in the opening frame.

Following a Raven Berry three-point play, Wright got free on an inbound pass for a layup to up the lead back to three. Berry made a layup at the other end, but Wright drained a three and found Brittany Harriel for a baseline jumper to give the Redhawks a 23-17 lead with under nine minutes left in the frame.

An 8-2 SIUE run tied the game at 25 apiece, but Bailie Roberts had other ideas as she got to the rim for a layup to put the Redhawks in front once again. Two possessions later, Valerie Finnin hit the Cougars' first three of the game to put them on top 28-27 with three and a half to go in the half. Finnin hit another trifecta a minute and a half later to give SIUE a four-point cushion.

The Redhawks got those points back as Roberts calmly hit two free throws and Hackmann drilled a jumper from just past the foul line to even the score at 31 apiece in the final minute. After a stop and a timeout, Southeast ran a crisp set and Hackmann found Hunter cutting to the basket for a layup that put the Redhawks up 33-31 at the half.

Michaela Herrod's jumper tied the scored at 33 in the opening minute of the half, but Southeast hustled after a loose ball that ended up in Mack's hands for a fast break layup to put the Redhawks back in front 35-33 with under 18 minutes left. After Tierny Austin's three put SIUE in front, Hunter found Harriel for a layup and Mack nailed two free throws to put Southeast ahead 39-36. Austin once again connected from long range to even the score at 39-39 with 15:38 to go.

Wright snapped the tie with a jumper, but Berry's free throws evened the score at 41 apiece shortly thereafter. Southeast fed Wright's hot hand again as the freshman drained a three to snap the tie to make it 44-41. SIUE made two free throws to pull within a point, but Bailie Roberts hit back-to-back three-pointers to extend the lead to 50-45 with 10:27 to play.

Southeast was still up 55-50 after a Hunter layup with 7:56 to go, but the Cougars got a three-point play out of Berry and a trifecta by CoCo Moore to go up 56-55. Roberts countered with a three of her own, but Berry drilled a hook shot to even the score at 58-58. On the ensuing possession, Wright corralled an offensive rebound and scored on the second opportunity to put the Redhawks back in front 60-58 with four minutes to go. That started a 6-0 run as Roberts scored on an inbound play and Wright sunk two free throws to make it 64-58 with under three minutes left. Two Moore free throws cut the Southeast lead to 64-60, but Hunter calmly sunk a free throw to extend the lead to five points.

The Cougars made it interesting in the final minute as Berry grabbed an offensive rebound and made a layup to pull them back to within 65-62 with 35 seconds left. SIUE then forced a turnover but missed a contested three with three seconds left. Hunter made two more free throws to secure the win.

Southeast shot 40.6 percent from the field and hit 7-of-18 (38.9 percent) three-pointers while going 12-of-14 (85.7 percent) at the line. SIUE countered with 42.9 percent shooting and went 5-of-15 (33.3 percent) from three-point territory while making 15-of-17 (88.2 percent) free throws. SIUE held a 35-29 advantage in rebounding, though the Redhawks won the battle of the boards, 20-17. Southeast forced 18 SIUE turnovers and committed only nine miscues.

Wright made 7-of-15 field goal attempts and went 3-of-5 from three-point range to lead Southeast. Twelve of her points came in the second half. Roberts tied a career high with three makes from beyond the arc to finish with 17 points. Hunter also cracked double figures, finishing with 12 and a game-high six assists.

“Kara is becoming a go to player for us,” Margenthaler said. “She handled coming off the bench very well. She can score in many different ways and we need to keep building around her. I wanted to credit Bailie as well, she made some big shots down the stretch for us as well. She wanted the ball in her hands and it was great to have that kind of leadership.

Berry led all players with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Moore (11 points) and Austin (10) also scored in double figures for SIUE.

The Redhawks are back in action on Saturday when they travel to defending OVC Champion UT Martin. Opening tip is at 4 p.m.