COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Southeast Missouri Women's Basketball (4-13, 2-6 OVC) fell on Thursday night to Tennessee Tech (11-5, 5-2 OVC) by a final score of 79-66 behind career nights from Ainaya Williams and Lexi McCully. 
 
Williams finished with a career-high 22 points on 7-12 shooting from the floor to lead the Redhawks in scoring. The game was the first of Williams' career with 20-plus points in a contest. McCully scored 21 points for her new career-high on 7-19 shooting and was an impressive 5-6 from the charity stripe. 
 
As a team, SEMO missed just three free throws all night shooting 16-19 from the line as a team. Ainaya Williams was an impressive 8-10 at the stripe, followed by McCully (5-6), and Skylar Barnes (3-3). 
 
The Redhawks shot 40-percent from the floor (24-59) but were just 2-14 from behind the three-point line (14-percent). 
 
Ainaya Williams got the Redhawks on the board first with a nice post move and a layup, but Tech opened the game on a 9-2 run after Williams' basket forcing SEMO into an early timeout with 7:22 left in the first quarter. 
 
Skylar Barnes halted a 12-2 TTU run with a jump shot just outside of the lane off a TTU turnover to make it 12-4 Golden Eagles. 
 
SEMO got down by as many as 12 over the next two minutes of game time before an offensive rebound and putback by Williams got SEMO back to within 10 points, 20-10, with 4:03 left in the quarter. 
 
Barnes recorded the final basket of the quarter for the Redhawks with a fast break layup, but TTU closed the quarter on a 5-0 run and took a 28-14 lead into the second quarter. 
 
After a TTU three started the second frame, Lexi McCully went on a 5-0 run by herself with a pair of free throws and a three-pointer to cut it to a 12-point deficit with 8:28 left before half. 
 
TTU extended their lead back out to 17 points following the run from McCully with a pair of baskets from Anna Walker and a free throw from Taris Thornton. With 6:32 left, TTU led 36-19. 
 
McCully would hit her second three of the quarter to get SEMO to within 13 points with just over half of the second quarter expired. SEMO got to within 13 points three different times but could not get over the 13-point hump. 

Two free throws from TTU and a buzzer-beating three from Walker gave TTU a 17-point halftime lead. The Golden Eagles took a 48-31 lead into the half. 
 
McCully and Barnes led the Redhawks in scoring at the break with 10 points apiece as SEMO shot 44-percent from the field (11-25). SEMO was just 1-6 from three-point range but were an impressive 80-percent from the free throw line (8-10). 
 
SEMO recorded 18 points in the paint in the first half, including seven from Ainaya Williams. Williams also finished with a team-high three rebounds in the first 20-minutes. 
 
The Redhawks exploded in the third quarter cutting the 17-point halftime deficit all the way down to nine after a second chance rebound and putback by AInaya Williams to make it 61-52 TTU with just 33 seconds left in the quarter. 
 
A 4-0 run to start the fourth quarter from SEMO cut it to the lowest deficit since the first quarter as the Redhawks trails 64-56 with 7:30 left in the ballgame. 
 
TTU pushed their lead back up to 14 with 3:40 left in the contest after a pair of Chloe Larry free throws before Ainaya Williams recorded another lay in to make it 72-60 with just over three minutes to play. 
 
The Redhawks got a quick 4-0 run with two minutes left after a great take from Skylar Barnes and an immediate steal and layup from Indiya Bowen to make it 74-66 with 2:01 to go in the contest.
 
Tech would hold on at the free throw line and took the game by a final score of 79-66.