Box Score  | PDF Box Score

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – The Southeast Missouri women's basketball team used 17 points from freshman Brianna Mitchell and a career-high 21 rebounds from senior Patricia Mack to score a 59-48 Ohio Valley Conference victory over Jacksonville State.
 
The win keeps the Redhawks in the hunt for a berth into the OVC Tournament, improving their record to 9-18 overall and 5-9 in the OVC. The Gamecocks fall to 11-17, 7-8.
 
"It was a good win in an important game," Southeast head coach Ty Margenthaler said. "We know where we are at, basically with our backs against the wall.
 
"One of the first things I always look at is our bench points. To get 22 points from our bench was outstanding."
 
Mitchell, who came off the bench, went 6-of-7 from the floor and 3-of-4 from the free throw line to tally 17 of the 22 bench points.
 
"It came at a great time," Margenthaler said. "She gave us some momentum as a scoring guard. I thought we were a little flat coming out in the second half and she came in and got us going."
 
The Redhawks entered the intermission with a 29-23 lead. The Gamecocks came into the second half and went on a 9-3 run to knot the game 32-all with 16:09 remaining.
 
Although Southeast would not allow the Gamecocks to take a lead, the game hovered between a tie game or just a couple of points until back-to-back 3-point baskets gave the Redhawks a seven-point lead and some breathing room.
 
With 7:13 remaining in the game, Mitchell found Kara Wright for the open long-range basket for a 43-39 lead. The Redhawks got a defensive stop with the help of a block from Kenyada Brown and Mitchell hit a trey of her own for a 46-39 lead with 6:20 remaining.
 
With Southeast holding a 51-45 lead with 55 seconds remaining, Mitchell stopped any thoughts of a Gamecock comeback by nailing another trifecta for a 54-45 lead.
 
Jacksonville State tried to play catch-up by fouling but Mack and Olivia Hackmann each made their free throws leading to the 59-48 win.
 
Mack corralled 21 rebounds, 20 of which on the defensive end, that held the Gamecocks to just six second-chance points.
 
The Redhawks shot 43.1 percent from the floor as Hackmann scored 13 points and Mack completed her seventh double-double of the year with 12 points.
Allyson Bradshaw sank a 3-point basket to move into a tie with Natalie Purcell for third-place all time with 123 made 3-point baskets in her career. Additionally, Mack now has 266 rebounds on the season, a mark that ranks as the eighth-best season in school history.
 
Candace Morton led Jacksonville State with 16 points, shooting just 27.0 percent from the field.
 
The Redhawks travel to Tennessee Tech for a 7 p.m. start on Monday.