Redhawks Fall Saturday at Western Illinois - Southeast Missouri State University Athletics

Saturday, January 25

Macomb, IL

1:00 P.M.

Southeast Missouri State University

4-15,2-8OVC

Western Illinois

10-9,4-6OVC

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Southeast Mo. St.	20	11	14	21	66
Western Ill.	27	19	24	24	94

Photo by: SEMO Creative Media

1/25/2025 3:03:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

MACOMB, Ill. – Southeast Missouri Women's Basketball (4-15, 2-8 OVC) fell to Western Illinois (10-9, 4-6 OVC) on Saturday afternoon by a final score of 94-66 from Western Hall.

Zoe Best led the Redhawks in scoring with a team-high 16 points on 6-18 shooting, including 4-10 from three-point range. Ainaya Williams was the only other Redhawk to finish in double figures with 13 points. She finished 6-10 from the field and was 1-1 at the charity stripe.

As a team, SEMO shot 25-67 from the field (37.3%), 9-25 (36-percent) from three, and just 50-percent at the foul line (7-14).

Guard Anjelicia Del Valle scored a career-high seven points on Saturday afternoon, finishing 2-6 from the floor.

The two teams traded baskets to open the contest beginning with WIU's Raegan McCowan before Skylar Barnes got SEMO on the board. Barnes took the ball to the basket with a strong move to make it 2-2 early on.

Trailing 6-2 nearly two minutes later, Zoe Best got herself on the scoresheet with a three-pointer to get the Redhawks to within a point of the home team with 7:11 left in the first.

The team leader in steals, Indiya Bowen, picked off a wayward WIU pass and converted it on the other end with an easy layup to give SEMO it first lead of the contest. With 6:49 left, SEMO led 7-6.

A quick 8-0 run by WIU, including two three-pointers from Allie Meadows, made it 14-7 Leathernecks before Ainaya Williams halted the run with a post move to make it 14-9 with 5:09 left.

With just over a minute left in the opening quarter, Best drained another three-pointer to make it 26-20 Leathernecks. A WIU free throw was the final basket of the quarter as WIU led 27-20 at the end of the first 10-minutes.

WIU opened the second quarter on a 10-0 run to make it 37-23 with 6:35 left until halftime forcing the Redhawks into an early timeout.

Williams got the Redhawks on the board for the first time in the second quarter with a beautiful post move with 5:48 left before halftime as SEMO scored just 11 points in the second frame.

Best drained her third three-pointer of the half for the final basket for SEMO, making it 44-31. Mia Nicastro of WIU scored a basket with 37 seconds left giving WIU a 46-31 lead at the halftime interval.

Zoe Best led the Redhawks in scoring with 11 points at halftime on 4-9 shooting, including 3-6 from three-point range. As a team, SEMO shot 39.4-percent (13-33) from the field and shot just two free throws in the opening 20-minutes.

WIU went to the line 12 times, making nine free throws in the opening half. The Leathernecks were led by Nicastro who finished the half with 16 points. As a team, WIU shot 57.7-percent from the field (15-26) and 63.6-percent from three (7-11).

Trailing by 15 to begin the 3^rd quarter, WIU opened the scoring with a Nicastro layup to extend their lead out to 17 with just 50 seconds expired in the quarter.

After another WIU layup, Barnes got SEMO on the board with a driving layup of her own to make it 50-33 Leathernecks.

WIU ectended their lead all the way out to 64-42 with 3:33 left in the third before Jariyah Williams drained a three-pointer at the top of the key to make it 64-45 Leathernecks.

The Leathernecks led 70-48 at the end of the third after a pair of free throws from Madison Davis and the Redhawks could never recover in the fourth as WIU held on for a