CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Tesia Thompson scored a season-high 28 points and had nine rebounds to lead Southeast Missouri (18-5, 10-2 OVC) to an 87-72 win over Tennessee Tech (16-7, 9-3 OVC) Saturday afternoon at the Show Me Center.

SEMO handed TTU its largest loss of the season and took over sole possession of second place in the Ohio Valley Conference standings. The win also marked the ninth-straight for the red-hot Redhawks. 

The Redhawks presently have their highest standing in the OVC since 2007-08. That year the Redhawks won 12 in a row en route to winning the league's outright regular-season title.

SEMO came out on fire making eight-straight field goals in the opening minutes of the first quarter. Both teams combined for 56 points as the Redhawks took a 30-26 lead in the first quarter.

While the Redhawks started strong, so did TTU which did not miss a field goal either going into the first media timeout.
 
SEMO extended its lead to 47-32 at the half after outscoring the Golden Eagles, 17-6, in the second quarter.
 
After that, TTU couldn't recover and couldn't get within less than seven points as the Redhawks cruised to their 10th conference win.
 
Thompson shot 11-of-15 from the field and 6-of-8 at the free throw line in 33 minutes. She also dished out four assists.

Carrie Shephard followed with 18 points, while Taelour Pruitt and LaTrese Saine added 11 and 10 points, respectively. Denisha Gardner pulled down 10 rebounds, as well. Shephard is just two 3-pointers away from breaking her own single-season record of 73 threes made.

Both Thompson and Shephard scored double figures in the first half.

SEMO outrebounded TTU, 44-28, for a +16 margin on the boards. The Redhawks shot a scorching 60.6 percent (20-of-33) from the field in the first half and finished up with a 50.7 percent (37-of-73) clip for the game. In addition, SEMO man-handled TTU, 50-24, inside the paint with 21 second chance points.

The Golden Eagles knocked down 12 three-pointers and were led by Maaliya Owens' 18 points.

SEMO hosts OVC leader UT Martin in a big matchup on Feb. 13.