CHARLESTON, Ill. – A slow second half by Southeast Missouri women's basketball (14-10, 7-4 OVC) allowed Eastern Illinois (2-21, 1-10 OVC) to erase an 11-point deficit and overtake Southeast in the end, 64-59.
 
The win snapped Eastern Illinois' 21-game losing streak. The loss was Southeast's eighth-straight to Eastern Illinois in Lantz Arena.
 
Bri Mitchell turned in her second-straight double-figure performance with 17 total points.
 
Erin Bollmann hit a 3-point bucket to start the scoring for Southeast just over a minute into the contest. Down 11-4, Eastern Illinois put up five-straight points to pull within two of the Redhawks, 11-9.
 
The first period ended with the Redhawks on top, 15-11. Mitchell led the way for Southeast with six first-quarter points.
 
The Panthers kept the game tight in the second quarter but the Redhawks never relinquished the lead.
 
Bollmann drained a layup with 8:38 to widen the Redhawk lead to 17-13. The scoring was silent for nearly three minutes until Bollmann nailed a jumper to make it 19-13 with 5:50 to play.
 
The second quarter ended with the Redhawks on a seven-point run to broaden Southeast's lead to 29-18 going into halftime.
 
Bollmann and Mitchell each had nine first-half points to combine for 18 of the Redhawks' 29 first-half points.
 
Southeast held a 25-16 advantage on the glass with Adrianna Murphy and Deja Jones pulling down a team-high four rebounds.
 
Eastern Illinois stepped on the accelerator in the third quarter to find its first lead of the game.
 
The Redhawks struggled to score a basket for six and a half minutes as Eastern Illinois powered through the Redhawk defense to take a 39-37 lead with 2:26 to play on a 3-pointer by Alece Shumpert.
 
The third quarter ended with the Redhawks narrowly out in front, 43-39. Southeast was outscored 21-14 in the third frame.
 
It was much the same story in the fourth quarter. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Phylicia Johnson put EIU up 48-43 and the Panthers would never trail again in the game.
 
Southeast struggled to score as Eastern Illinois downed the Redhawks 64-59.
 
After leading by 11 points at half, Southeast was outscored 46-30 in the second half. Southeast committed nine turnovers in the half that EIU converted into 11 points. The Panthers shot 46.4% from the field in the second half.
 
Bollmann finished behind Mitchell with 14 total points in the game.
 
Murphy fell just short of a double-double, finishing with nine points and a team-leading nine rebounds. Murphy also led the team with five assists and five steals.
 
Johnson led the way for the Panthers with 19 points in the game, all of which came in the second half. Erica Brown recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
 
The Redhawks bench, which has been so good this season, was held to just 10 points. Seven of the bench points came from Jones.
 
The Redhawks will continue their road slate when they head to Ohio Valley Conference leader UT Martin on Wednesday. The Redhawks and Skyhawks tip off at 6 p.m. from Martin, Tennessee.