HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southeast Missouri women's basketball (2-4) fell in overtime to Louisiana (2-1) in the first round of the Southern Miss Lady Eagles Thanksgiving Tournament on Friday, 82-78.
 
Southeast narrowly outscored the Ragin' Cajuns 40-35 in the second half to overcome trailing at halftime and forcing overtime. 15 first-half turnovers and a couple missed fourth-quarter opportunities ultimately doomed the Redhawks.
 
Olivia Hackmann earned her fourth double-double, finishing with 19 points and 10 rebounds, leading the Redhawks in both categories. She played 37 minutes of the overtime affair and had only one turnover while picking up two steals.
 
Three other Redhawks tipped the double-digit point mark. Bri Mitchell finished with 15 points in the game, all coming in the second half. Mitchell also dished out a team-best six assists. Hannah Noe finished with 14 points while draining four 3-point baskets in the contest. Ashton Luttrull picked up 13 points, all in the first half, hitting three 3-pointers.
 
For the second game in a row, Southeast finished with double-digit 3-point baskets with 10, shooting 41.7 percent from beyond the arc. From the free-throw line, the Redhawks made a season-best 14 shots and shooting a nearly perfect 14-of-15.
 
It took nearly two and a half minutes for either team to score but it took the Redhawks almost four minutes to find the bottom of the net, down 4-0 early.
 
Luttrull put the Redhawks on the board with a 3-pointer 3:56 in. Luttrull hit three-straight buckets from beyond the arc to single-handedly give SEMO a 9-8 lead. Noe added the Redhawks' fourth-straight 3-pointer to put SEMO up 12-8 with 3:41 to play.
 
The quarter ended on a second-chance basket by Simone Fields, capping an 8-2 Ragin' Cajun run and giving Louisiana a 16-14 lead after one.
 
Luttrull led the way with nine points in the opening stanza for SEMO while Deja Jones had four rebounds.
 
The second quarter began on a jumper by Luttrull to retie the game at 16 and tipping the double-digit mark for the junior, her second double-digit point game of the season. The Ragin' Cajuns led the entirety of the frame but SEMO remained within striking distance. Hackmann was able to cut it to two with a 3-pointer with 2:59 to play but that was the last bucket SEMO would get in the half.
 
At halftime, the Redhawks trailed Louisiana 30-25. Luttrull's 13 first-half points led the team while Hackmann pulled in six rebounds.  
 
The Redhawks were plagued by 15 turnovers in the first half. The Ragin' Cajuns converted SEMO's mishandlings into 16 points against them.
 
Louisiana led by as much as seven points in the third quarter but SEMO was able to make it close again before the quarter was up. After having no first-half points, Mitchell came out strong in the third, quickly draining five of SEMO's first seven points in the frame.
 
Southeast lingered around a six-point deficit but late 3-pointers by Noe first cut the lead to two, then one with 1:13 to play. Southeast outscored Louisiana 23-21 in the third but trailed 51-48 heading to the final quarter.
 
Mitchell and Noe each had nine points in the third while the team shot a game-best 81.8 percent (9-of-11) from the field.
 
Louisiana never relinquished the lead in the fourth quarter but Southeast ultimately outscored them 17-14 in the frame. A pair of good free-throws by Mandy Madden opened fourth-quarter scoring and cutting the lead to one, 51-50. Southeast cut the Louisiana lead to one three different times but could never find a lead.
 
Down five with 2:44 to play, Southeast was able to hold the Ragin' Cajuns scoreless while working away at the lead. Jumpers by Madden and Mitchell narrowed the lead to one, 65-64 with 1:44 to play. Hackmann was fouled with 1:01 to play and split free-throws to tie the game at 65. The Ragin' Cajuns turned the ball over following a shot clock violation to give SEMO the ball. Following a 30-second timeout, SEMO passed the ball around, ultimately finding Jones under the basket. Jones couldn't get the layup to go down, sending the game into overtime.
 
After Louisiana converted a 3-point play to begin the overtime period, Adrianna Murphy hit a 3-point basket to retie the game at 68. The Ragin' Cajuns went on to go up as much as six points and never let go as SEMO fell in the end 82-78.
 
The Ragin' Cajuns were led by a 27-point, 16-rebound performance from Simone Fields. She had 11 offensive rebounds in the contest. Jaylyn Gordon had 21 points while Jasmine Thomas finished with 16.
 
Louisiana finished with 44 points in the paint, 26 points off turnovers, and 16 second-chance points.
 
Southeast Missouri will be back on the floor in Saturday's consolation game against Alcorn State at 1:30 p.m. from Hattiesburg. The game will be broadcast on SEMO ESPN 1220 AM.