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CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – The Southeast Missouri women's basketball team had a rocky ride Saturday afternoon at the Show Me Center, falling 75-67 to Tennessee State.
 
The Redhawks grabbed an early lead, only to fall behind and create a comeback that ultimately fell short.
 
"It seemed like it was a catch-up game for us tonight," Southeast head coach Ty Margenthaler said. "We didn't have the full 40 minutes that we needed."
 
The Lady Tigers won the opening tip and jumped out to a 4-0 lead before a pair of Patricia Mack free throws put the Redhawks on the scoreboard. Connor King tied the game with a jumper in the paint.
 
Southeast took its first lead at 8-6 on a pair of Jordan Hunter free throws and appeared to be in good standing opening up an 11-6 lead. However, Tennessee State battled back with five straight points to knot the game at 11-all with 12:59 remaining.
 
The Redhawks again opened up a lead at 21-16 when King knocked in a layup with 8:19 remaining. But an 8-0 run by TSU opened a 32-24 Lady Tiger lead. Hillary Lively briefly put a stop, scoring on a layup but the Lady Tigers kept the pressure on, building a 14-point lead at 46-32 with 26 seconds remaining in the first half.
 
Liveley hit a shot with the first half expiring to cut the deficit to 12 at 46-32.
 
The Redhawks immediately made a dent into the deficit in the second half, working their way to being down by just four points with 13:54 remaining in the game as Jordan Hunter hit a jump shot.
 
Southeast kept within striking distance, thanks to a team-high 18 points from Jordan Hunter, 13 of which came in the second half. Hunter helped get the Redhawks within three points two different times. She hit a jumper with 5:01 remaining in the game, as the scoreboard showed a 68-65 TSU advantage.
 
Hunter again cut the score to three points as she knocked in a pair of shots from the charity stripe with 2:01 remaining in the game. The 70-67 score is the closest the Redhawks would get, as they were unable to get over the hump.
 
The Lady Tigers knocked in their free throws down the stretch for the 75-68 victory.
 
Led by Hunter, the Redhawks placed three in double figures as Olivia Hackmann and King notched career highs. Hackmann scored 16 points while King added 13 points.
 
"We had three really good individual performances," Margenthaler said. "But basketball is a team game.
 
"It was nice to see Connor be more aggressive. She showed her versatility by stepping out and hitting a three. Jordan and Olivia also had really good games."
 
Chelsea Hudson led the Lady Tigers with a game-high 19 points while Rachel Allen and Alana Morris each added 14.
 
Southeast dominated the boards with a 36-27 rebound advantage. King led the Redhawks with six.
 
Southeast has a quick turnaround, traveling to UT-Martin Monday for a 5:30 p.m. contest.