Cape Girardeau, Mo. – Southeast Missouri women's basketball defeated the Evansville Purple Aces 74-65 on Tuesday afternoon.
 
Southeast got off the hot start snagging an early 8-0 lead. Evansville didn't panic though, as they answered the opening run with a 9-0 run of their own, securing the lead. Both teams went back and forth the remainder of the quarter.
 
At the end of one, SEMO trailed Evansville 15-14.
 
Evansville continued to be aggressive to start the second quarter, grabbing a quick six point advantage. However, the Redhawks turned up the defense and allowed zero field goals the last 5:21 of the second period, allowing Southeast to reclaim the lead.
 
At half, Southeast led 25-24.
 
The Redhawks strong play continued into the third quarter, but Evansville stayed right with them answering every basket. With about three minutes left though, Southeast was able to go on a mini run and to stretch the lead to seven heading into the fourth. Southeast poured in 27 points in the period while also recording seven steals as team.  
 
The Redhawks were up 52-45 heading into the final period.
 
The Purple Aces came out hot in the fourth quarter, immediately trimming a seven point deficit to just one point at 55-54 with 7:21 remaining. At that moment though, Southeast went on a 10-0 run over the span of a little under three minutes. That spurt led to a nice cushion that Southeast was able to maintain the rest of the game, leading them to a nine point victory.
 
Adrianna Murphy had one of her best games in her career as a Redhawk narrowly missing a triple-double. Murphy put up a career-high 26 points, and a season-high 10 assists, nine rebounds and five steals.
 
Deja Jones added 13 points and four rebounds for Southeast.
 
Ashton Luttrull and Tesia Thompson each chipped in 11 points for the Redhawks as well.
 
This game concludes non-conference play for the Redhawks. They ended with a 5-7 record against non-OVC opponents.
 
Southeast will have a little time off for Christmas before they get ready for OVC play against Belmont. That game is set for Dec. 28 at 5:15 p.m. at the Show Me Center.