NASHVILLE – The Southeast Missouri women's basketball team (7-10, 1-3) fought valiantly in a game that featured 10 ties and five lead changes but ultimately succumbed to Belmont (12-5, 4-0) Saturday, 89-77.
 
Southeast was led by Olivia Hackmann's fourth 20-point game of the season, seventh of her career. She picked up 25 total points on 11 field goals, two of which were from long range, and a free-throw. The redshirt-senior had four rebounds with an assist. Hackmann fouled out of the game with 2:43 to play.
 
In all, SEMO had three players perform in double-figure scoring. Hannah Noe knocked down 15 points while also grabbing four rebounds. Bri Mitchell was the other Redhawk with double-digit points, finishing with 14 points. After notching a season-high nine made free-throws on Thursday, Mitchell followed it up with 10 against Belmont. She also handed out a game-high five assists.  
 
The Redhawks nearly accomplished something only two teams have done this season: outrebound Belmont. Southeast fell short in the category, 43-41. Deja Jones led the Redhawks with five.
 
As a team, SEMO shot nearly 40 percent from the floor (39.7%) while the Bruins shot 44 percent. Both teams were 30 percent from 3-point range with Belmont knocking down seven and SEMO with six.
 
The biggest differences in the game came at the free-throw line. Southeast sent Belmont to the line a season-high 35 times. The Bruins hit 26 of their foul shots. On the other end, the Redhawks had a season-high 23 free-throw opportunities and made a season-best 17 (73.9%).  
 
The first quarter saw the score tied five times and the lead change twice as both teams went basket-for-basket in the opening stanza. Southeast controlled the lead early but the Bruins quickly found leads of three points. Heading into the final minute, a jumper by Hackmann and a 3-pointer by Lakyn Gulley put the Redhawks up by two late. The first quarter ended with SEMO up by a digit, 17-16.
 
The offensive output erupted in the second quarter. SEMO trailed the entirety of the frame but never fell too far away from the Bruins. A six-point run by the Bruins opened an eight-point lead heading to the five-minute mark. Nine-straight points from Hackmann kept the Redhawks close despite going bucket-for-bucket. A layup by Hackmann cut the lead to two with 57 seconds to play. With the final possession, Mitchell held the ball and drove the lane with five seconds on the clock. Mitchell kicked it to Mandy Madden in the post who got the elbow jumper to fall as time expired. After the first half, SEMO trailed by three, 43-40.
 
An 11-point second quarter by Hackmann put her in the team lead with 15 points in the opening half for SEMO. At half, SEMO had nine of 10 players with points on the scoresheet. Adrianna Murphy had a team-high four rebounds.  
 
The third period held up to the first 20 minutes as the score remained tight throughout. Down 49-44, Noe registered five-straight points to tie the contest. A 7-0 run by SEMO later put the Redhawks up four points, 56-52. The lead fizzled as Belmont went on a 12-3 run to close the quarter and lead 64-59 going to the fourth frame.
 
Southeast had just three players score in the third with nine points from Hackmann and seven from Noe. Belmont had more points (11) from free-throws than field goals (10) in the third quarter.
 
The Bruins slowly began to pull away from Southeast in the fourth quarter. Southeast cut the lead to six with 44 seconds to play and began fouling the Bruins. Belmont couldn't miss at the line to keep Southeast at bay in the end and securing the 12-point victory.
 
Forward Sally McCabe had a season-high 19 points with 13 rebounds. She also tied a career-best seven blocked shots. Kylee Smith also had 19 points in the contest.
 
Southeast Missouri will be back in action next Saturday, Jan. 14 at UT Martin. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. against the Skyhawks in Martin, Tennessee.