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CARBONDALE, Ill. – Led by Rishonda Napier's 17 second-half points, Southern Illinois (3-1) defeated Southeast Missouri (1-4) 78-62 on Friday evening at SIU Arena. The game was tied at halftime but the Salukis were able to pull away over the final 20 minutes in a game that featured six ties and seven lead changes.
 
Southeast opened the contest on a 5-2 run behind a three-point play by Jasmine Robinson and a jumper from Olivia Hackmann. Following a back-and-forth early sequence, the Redhawks took an 11-7 lead on a three-pointer by Brianna Mitchell with 14:20 on the clock.
 
Robinson scored on two straight possessions to give Southeast a 17-11 lead with 12:37 remaining in the opening half.
 
SIU then went on a run to take a 26-25 lead before Mitchell scored on a driving layup to retake the lead at 27-26. Following a Salukis basket, Hillary Lively drained a free throw to tie the score 28-28 with 6:29 left in the first half. SIU then went on a 7-0 run to go ahead 35-28 with 3:22 remaining in the opening half.
 
Southeast went on a 6-0 run late in the first half on two layups from Lively and another from Erin Bollmann to tie the score 37-37 with 37.5 seconds remaining in the first half. That score would hold up until halftime.
 
As a team, the Redhawks shot 48.4% (15-for-31) from the field and 50% (2-for-4) from three-point range in the first half. Robinson paced Southeast in the first 20 minutes with nine points, two assists and two steals. Yelena Rosado added seven points and three assists while Bollmann added six points on a perfect 3-for-3 shooting total with three rebounds and two steals in the opening half.
 
Southeast scored on the opening two possessions of the second half to pull ahead 41-37. SIU then fought back to take a 45-43 lead. After Allyson Bradshaw tied the score 45-45 on a driving layup, the Salukis scored 10 straight to open up a 55-45 advantage.
 
With 7:23 remaining in the game, SIU pulled ahead 63-49 on a fast break layup by Napier. Southeast then scored four straight to pull within 10 with 6:28 left but that was the closest the Redhawks would come to the hot-shooting Salukis that made 15 of 30 field goal attempts in the final half.
 
For the game, SIU shot 49.2% from the field (31-for-63) from the field and 35.7% (5-for-14) from beyond the arc. Napier had a game-high 21 points to go with four rebounds and two steals. Kylie Giebelhausen scored 12 points on four treys and notched a game-best five blocks. Cartaesha Martin scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds while Azia Washington recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Salukis.
 
Southeast shot 40.3% (25-for-62) from the field for the game, but just 32.3% (10-for-31) in the second half. Robinson finished with 15 points to go along with four rebounds, three assists and three steals. It marked her highest point total since joining the Redhawks. Rosado scored a career-high 11 points and dished out three assists. King scored nine points and grabbed 10 rebounds, marking the third time in five games this season that she has reached double digits in boards. Bollmann finished with eight points, six rebounds and four steals.
 
The Redhawks continue the road trip with a 2 p.m. tip at Bradley on Sunday from the Renaissance Coliseum in Peoria, Ill. Southeast will return to the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau for the annual Classroom on the Court contest on Wednesday, Dec. 3 at 11 a.m.