EVANSTON, Ill. – Southeast Missouri Women's Basketball (1-3) fell on Sunday afternoon by a final score of 76-68 to Big 10-member Northwestern (3-1) from Welsh-Ryan Arena. Forward
Jaliyah Green registered a career-high 22 points in the game.
Green, a junior from Wentzville, Mo., finished the day 8-for-19 from the field, including 4-for-10 from three-point land, and a near perfect 2-for-3 from the charity stripe. She grabbed four rebounds and dished out three assists.
The Redhawks led by eight points, their largest lead of the contest, with 2:24 left in the first half, but 27 points from Northwestern forward Caileigh Walsh led the Wildcats to the eight-point victory.
SEMO utilized their bench as they have all season, outscoring Northwestern's bench by a 26-10 margin led by freshman
Indiya Bowen. Bowen finished with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting including an impressive 4-for-7 from three.
Four Redhawks scored off the bench, including Bowen, as forwards
Michaela Mayfield (6),
Amiyah Buchanan (5), and
Abbigail Stephens (3) all scored in the contest.
The Redhawks were scrappy on the defensive end of the floor, turning NU over a season-high 20 times, compared to just 12 SEMO turnovers, led by
Jaliyah Green with three steals.
The first quarter started with back-and-forth action as the Redhawks and Wildcats scored a combined 41 points in the opening 10-minutes.
Guard
Megan Barton got the Redhawks on the board at the 9:16-mark with a pair of free throws.
Jaliyah Green recorded the next two baskets for the Redhawks off her first-of-three first half three pointers, and a nice jumpshot just outside the lane line to give SEMO an early 7-5 lead.
Indiya Bowen made a big impact off the bench coming into the game and draining a corner three to give the Redhawks a one-point advantage with just over four minutes left in the quarter.
The Wildcats would close the first 10-minutes on an 11-2 run to take a nine-point lead to the quarter break, led by forward Caleigh Walsh who finished with 13 first quarter points.
At the quarter, SEMO trailed 25-16.
The Redhawks stormed back ferociously in the second quarter beginning with back-to-back Bowen three-pointers to cut the NU lead to just 25-22.
NU's Paige Mott halted the scoring run following the three-pointers, but SEMO would score the next six points, opening the quarter on a 12-2 run, off three-point baskets by Bowen and Green.
The Redhawks utilized a 24-9 second quarter victory to take a six-point lead into the halftime break. SEMO led 40-34 at the end of the first 30-minutes.
As a team, SEMO shot 15-of-33 (45.5-percent) from the field in the first half including 8-for-17 from three-point land (47-percent).
Jaliyah Green and
Indiya Bowen were a combined 7-for-10 from behind-the-arc as the duo combined for 29 of SEMO's 40 first half points.
Green finished the half with 17 points, tying her season-high, while Bowen finished with 12.
SEMO built their first-half lead despite six turnovers and zero second-chance points. The Redhawks dominated bench play, outscoring NU's bench 16-7.
Northwestern started the second half on a quick 6-0 run to tie the game at 40 and never looked back as their biggest run of the game came with 8:24 left in the third quarter. The Wildcats dominated the paint, scoring 26 points in the key and outrebounding the Redhawks by a 47-29 advantage.
As a team, SEMO shot 36-percent from the field in the game (24-67) compared to 47-percent from the home team (27-58).
Both teams were near perfect from the free throw line in the contest. SEMO finished 8-for-11, while NU finished 13-for-15.
Sophomore guard
Alecia Doyle chipped in 12 points on 5-of-15 shooting and 2-of-5 from behind the three-point line.
The Redhawks will be back in action on Wednesday, Nov. 22, when they take on in-state foe Missouri State. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. from Great Southern Bank Arena in Springfield, Mo.