CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Southeast Missouri Women's Basketball (4-16, 2-9 OVC) fell to UT Martin (8-14, 5-6 OVC) by a final score of 78-54 from the Show Me Center on Thursday night. 
 
Freshman center Ainaya Williams narrowly missed a triple double, turning in 16 points, nine rebounds, and recorded a season-high eight blocks. Fellow freshman Zoe Best led the Redhawks in scoring with 17 points as the freshman duo were the only Redhawks in double figures on the evening. 
 
As a team, SEMO shot 38.9-percent from the field, 25-percent from three (5-20), and 70-percent from the free throw line (7-10). 
 
SEMO dished out 13 assists, one more than UT Martin, led by Lexi McCully who finished with a game-high five assists on the evening. 
 
McCully started the game with a tough layup plus the foul as she converted the three-point play to spark an 8-2 run for the Redhawks early in the first quarter. McCully grabbed the defensive rebound and drove the length of the court for the basket. 
 
Both teams combined for just 25 points in the opening 10-minutes as Zoe Best drained a three, followed by a layup from Skylar Barnes to make it 8-2 SEMO with 6:20 left in the quarter. 
 
A pair of UTM free throws from Shae Littleford and a layup from Anaya Brown made it 8-6 Redhawks before Ainaya Williams got on the stat sheet, splitting a pair of free throws. 
 
A Littleford three-pointer tied the game at nine with 2:06 left to go in the opening frame. Jariyah Williamson broke the tie with a beautiful pull-up jumper in the lane to give SEMO a two-point advantage. 
 
After a UTM basket, Williamson wasn't done scoring as she heaved a three-pointer from behind the halfcourt line with the time winding down and drained the shot to give the Redhawks a 14-11 lead after the first quarter. 
 
Back-to-back jumpers from UTM opened the second quarter to give UTM their first lead of the game before Ainaya Williams regained the lead for the Redhawks with a layup of her own. 
 
SEMO hit a scoring draught over the next four minutes as the Skyhawks went on a 14-0 run to grow their advantage to 28-16 with 2:56 left before halftime. An Anjelicia Del Valle layup, off a beautiful full-court pass from Best, ended the draught to get SEMO to within 10 points. 
 
The Redhawks got back to within single digits after a Skylar Barnes and-one put SEMO down 30-21 just before halftime. 
 
UTM drained a three-pointer for the final basket of the half, making it 33-21 UTM at the break. 
 
Skylar Barnes and Jariyah Williamson led the Redhawks in the first half with five points each. As a team, SEMO shot 28.6-percent from the field in the opening half, including just 2-10 from three-point range (2-10). Ainaya Williams dominated the glass with a game-high six rebounds at the half. 
 
An Ainaya Williams layup opened the second half scoring for both teams as the layup cut the UTM lead to just 10 with 9:31 left in the third quarter. The two teams traded baskets with a three-pointer from UTM, a layup by Zoe Best, and another UTM jump shot made it 38-25 Skyhawks. 
 
UTM lived at the free throw line in the third as they went on a six-minute field goal draught but pushed their lead to 50-37 at the end of the third quarter scoring their last eight points of the quarter at the charity stripe. 
 
The Redhawks could not catchup in the fourth quarter as UTM held on for a 78-54 win on Thursday night. 
 
Looking Ahead
The Redhawks will return to action on Saturday, February 1, when they take on Tennessee State. Tip-off is slated for 1:30 p.m., CT.