Cape Girardeau, Mo. – Southeast Missouri women's basketball defeated the SIUE Cougars 72-62 on Saturday afternoon at the Show Me Center, clinching a spot in the OVC Tournament after an Eastern Kentucky loss.

Southeast opened up the game hitting its first two field goals, but also turning the ball over four times in the first four minutes. The Cougars struggled the from the field early, hitting just one of their first five attempts.
 
The Redhawks managed to get a couple easy fast break baskets late in the quarter while also limiting SIUE without a bucket without for over three minutes to gain a small lead.
 
At the end of one Southeast led 19-13.
 
The Redhawks opened up the second period on fire, kicking off the quarter with an 8-0 run.

Southeast came alive from three-point land, hitting three three-pointers while also getting a ton of easy buckets off of the nine SIUE turnovers in the quarter.
 
After Southeast missed its first shot attempt in the quarter, they hit their next eight. SIUE attempted seven shots in the second quarter and connected on just two, including zero in the last five minutes of the period.
 
At halftime, the Redhawks led 40-26. Adrianna Murphy had seven steals in the first half. The Redhawks shot 61 percent through the first two quarters.
 
Southeast began the third quarter 1-6 from the field while SIUE opened up hitting one of their first five attempts.
 
Both teams remained cold from field throughout the rest of the quarter, with each team shooting below 35 percent. SEMO however went on a small run at the end of the third after managing a couple trips to the free throw line to extend its lead to 20.

Southeast led SIUE 57-37 entering the fourth quarter.
 
The Cougars opened up the period on a 10-2 run, cutting the Redhawk lead to 12.

SEMO turned on the defense to stop the run after a timeout, holding SIUE without a field goal for over three minutes, and extending its lead back to 15 with just under five minutes left.
 
The Redhawks then went on a scoring drought over four minutes themselves, including five turnovers. SIUE got into a rhythm on the offensive end, scoring nine straight, cutting the lead to six at 63-57.
 
Southeast finally answered the Cougar run with a 4-0 of its own to extend the lead back to 10 with 1:50 remaining.
 
The Redhawks limited the Cougars to one field goal the final three minutes, eventually winning by 10.
 
Tesia Thompson led the way with 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
 
Adrianna Murphy added 15 points, four assists and a career-high eight steals.
 
Iyanna McCurdy chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds.
 
This is the third consecutive season the Redhawks have made the OVC Tournament, marking a perfect 3-3 for head coach Rekha Patterson in postseason appearances. Southeast currently sits at seventh in conference standings and would face UT Martin if the tournament started today. The Redhawks were eliminated last season in the first round by Belmont, who currently sits at number one in the standings this year at a perfect 16-0 in conference play.

Southeast now sits at 13-15, 8-8 in OVC play. They will travel to Eastern Kentucky on Thursday for their final road game of the season. Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m. at McBrayer Arena.