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Cookeville, Tenn. – The Southeast Missouri women's basketball had a chance to tie the game with the clock expiring but could not convert it in a 63-61 loss at Tennessee Tech Monday night.
 
The Ohio Valley Conference loss does not eliminate the Redhawks from post-season contention as Southeast got help with Murray State defeating Morehead State, one of the tie-breaking scenarios.
 
Southeast (9-19, 5-10 OVC) came back from eight points down with 3:15 remaining to get the game within one point at two different times, a layup from Patricia Mack with 53 seconds left and a pair of free throws from Connor King with 19 seconds left.
 
The Redhawks were forced to foul, sending Diamond Henderson to the free throw line, who hit 1-of-2 with 16 seconds.
 
That set up the final opportunity as the Redhawks called a timeout with 11 seconds left to draw the final play. Mack received the ball in the low post and got off a shot that fell just short on the rim. The Golden Eagles (11-16, 8-6 OVC) corralled the loose rebound, securing the victory.
 
The Redhawks had a roller coaster of a first half, jumping out to an 8-2 lead behind a 3-pointer from Allyson Bradshaw and Patricia Mack and a layup from Jordan Hunter.
 
Tennessee Tech then went on a 14-1 run to claim a 16-9 lead with 12:02 remaining in the half, as Southeast was unable to get anything to fall into the basket.
 
The Golden Eagle lead eventually stretched to eight points, which happened on two occurrences, with 9:02 remaining and at the 7:48 mark.
 
The Redhawks continued to chip away at the lead and eventually retook the lead on a Kenyada Brown layup with 2:11 remaining in the half. Brown snagged a missed shot form Olivia Hackmann and took the ball straight up for the 30-29 lead.
 
The roller coaster continued to roll as the Golden Eagles sank a 3-point basket to retake the lead. However, it was quickly answered by a Brianna Mitchell jump shot from the top of the key.
 
After forcing Tech into a turnover, Hunter sank a 3-point basket from the right corer for a 35-32 lead entering intermission.
 
"I'm pleased with the effort for 40 minutes tonight," Southeast head coach Ty Margenthaler said. "We got out on a great start. Then they (Tennessee Tech) made a nice run but we held our composure and got the lead back."
 
The Golden Eagles took a 39-37 lead with 16:13 remaining in the game as Diamond Henderson scored an old-fashioned three-point play.
 
The Tech lead stretched to seven points at 53-46 as Molly Heady hit a 3-point basket with 9:08 remaining.
 
The Redhawks went on a 6-0 run, completely powered by Mack. She hit three-straight layups to bring the score to 53-52 with 6:32 remaining.
 
Tennessee Tech rebuilt its lead to 60-52 with 3:15 remaining. However the Redhawks clamped down on defense, only allowing three points off free throws the rest of the way.
 
"We had a lot of effort and a lot of fight," Margenthaler said. "But we just couldn't hit the big shots when we needed to."
 
Southeast was led by Patricia Mack with her eighth double-double of the year as she scored 17 points and grabbed 18 rebounds. Brianna Mitchell joined her in double-digits with 11 points.
 
Henderson, the OVC's third leading scorer, led the Golden Eagles with 27 points.
 
Southeast was hampered by shooting just 29.3 percent form the field and hit just three shots from long range. The Redhawks had 28 attempts from the free throw line, making 24 which is the second-most this season.
 
The Redhawks return home for the final game of the regular season on Saturday hosting Murray State. Southeast will honor its two seniors at the contest.