EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Alecia Doyle had 14 points and Jaliyah Green added 12 as Southeast Missouri (5-7, 0-1 OVC) fell to Southern Indiana (7-5, 1-0), 68-54, Thursday night in its Ohio Valley Conference opener at Screaming Eagles Arena.
 
SEMO never held a lead against USI which entered the game as the conference leader I both field goal and 3-point field goal percentage.
 
USI jumped out to a 13-2 lead and led, 24-12, with 5:16 left to play in the second quarter when the Redhawks went on a 12-2 run to get within two. 
 
Sophie Bussard's two free throws started the surge. Kennedi Watkins' jumper trimmed the Screaming Eagles lead below double figures. Four-straight free throws, including two by Bussard and two from Kori Tomlin followed. Watkins then made a layup, was fouled and completed a 3-point play to close USI's margin to 26-24 with 40 seconds remaining.
 
Lexie Green answered by scoring the final four points of the first half to grab USI a 30-24 advantage at the break.
 
SEMO again cut USI's lead to two early in the third quarter when Tomlin knocked down two free throws and Watkins scored a layup to make it a 30-28 contest.
 
Tori Handley countered with a 3-pointer and the Screaming Eagles scored eight of the next 10 points to get ahead by eight (38-30) at the 8:26 mark.
 
Green split two free throws and Alicia Doyle made a pair to close USI's lead to 53-47 at the end of the third quarter, where the Redhawks shot 50 percent (6-of-12) and the Screaming Eagles made 60 percent (6-of-10) of their attempts.
 
USI pulled away for good in the final period capitalizing on several miscues by the Redhawks. SEMO turned the ball over five times in the first 4:19 of the quarter and the Screaming Eagles regained a double-digit lead on Ashlynn Brown's layup with 8:06 on the clock.
 
The Screaming Eagles worked the ball inside to score eight of their 15 fourth-quarter points on layups. SEMO, meanwhile, went scoreless for over five minutes down the stretch.
 
SEMO, which outscored USI, 19-16, at the free throw line, shot 32.7 percent (16-of-49) from the floor. 
 
Doyle made 4-of-8 field goals and accounted for two of the Redhawks three 3-pointers. She also added a near-perfect 4-of-5 free throws en route to her third double figure scoring game in four contests.
 
Green was 4-of-6 both from the field and the free throw line off the bench. She added seven rebounds, as well.
 
Watkins, a Preseason All-OVC pick, narrowly missed a double-double with eight points and 11 rebounds.
 
Vanessa Shafford led all scorers with a game-high 17 points. Shafford was one of three players in double figures for the Screaming Eagles.
 
Combined, there were 49 turnovers between SEMO (25) and USI (24).
 
The Redhawks return to action when they host SIU Edwardsville in their OVC home-opener Saturday.