CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Southeast Missouri Women's Basketball (4-10, 2-3 OVC) fell to Southern Indiana (12-4, 4-1 OVC) by a final score of 93-69 at the Show Me Center on Thursday evening. 
 
Skylar Barnes led the Redhawks in scoring with a SEMO-high 21 points on 8-15 shooting. She finished the game 2-4 from three and a perfect 3-3 at the charity stripe. Barnes was one-of-three Redhawks in double figures followed by Zoe Best with 20 and Da'Kariya Jackson with 15. 
 
Jackson, who made her SEMO debut on Thursday night, finished 4-16 from the field, 3-8 from three, and a perfect 4-4 at the charity stripe. 
 
As a team, SEMO shot 24-58 from the field (41.4-percent), 9-22 from three (40.9-percent), and an impressive 12-14 at the free throw line (85.7-percent). The Redhawks recorded 22 rebounds as a team, led by freshman guard Jariyah Williamson with six. 
 
The Screaming Eagles jumped out to a 4-0 lead to start the contest with a jump shot from Vanessa Shafford followed by a layup from Meredith Raley. 
 
Skylar Barnes, who was fouled on a three-point attempt, sunk all three free throws for the first points of the game for SEMO with 7:44 left in the quarter. 
 
Zoe Best drained her first-of-four first half three pointers with 7:16 left to give SEMO its first lead of the contest, 6-4. 
 
The two teams would trade baskets in the paint as Raley finished another layup to tie it before center Ainaya Williams got on the stat sheet with her first points of the quarter to regain SEMO's two-point advantage. 
 
A quick 7-0 run by the Redhawks after a USI free throw, capped off by an and-one from Jariyah Williamson made it made it 13-7 Redhawks with just over three minutes to play. Back-to-back three pointers from both teams made it 16-10 Redhawks with 2:28 left to play in the opening frame. 
 
At the end of the first quarter, SEMO led 24-14. 
 
USI opened the second quarter on a 5-0 run before Best made her third three pointer of the half to regain an eight-point advantage for the Redhawks. 
 
Nearly three minutes later, winning 35-29, Best's fourth three-pointer found the bottom of the net to make it 38-29 Redhawks with 5:12 left before halftime. 
 
A 10-0 run from the Screaming Eagles gave them their first lead since early in the first quarter as they led 39-38 with 1:44 to play before half. 
 
A pair of free throws from Da'kariya Jackson closed the half for the Redhawks as they trialed 44-40 at the end of the first 20 minutes. 
 
The Redhawks shot 48.1-percent from the field in the first half, led by Zoe Best with 15 points on a perfect 100-percent shooting half. She finished 5-5 from the field, 4-4 from three, and 1-1 from the charity stripe. 
 
Redhawk debutant De'Kariya "Lia" Jackson finished with 13 first half points on 4-11 shooting. As a team, SEMO shot 13-27 from the field and a perfect 7-7 at the free throw line. 
 
The second half was all Screaming Eagles as they jumped out to a 49-40 lead with a 5-0 run. 

SEMO fought back in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 12 two separate times, the first coming from a Skylar Barnes three-pointer to make it 61-49. After a USI layup, Zoe Best drove to the cup to get SEMO back to within 12. 
 
After a three-point play by Best and an Ainaya Williams free throw, the Redhawks got it to as close as 10 points as they trailed 63-53 with 3:11 left in the third quarter. USI would close the quarter on a 10-1 run and led 73-54 at the end of the third. 
 
USI would hold on for a 93-69 victory at the Show Me Center.
 
Looking Ahead
SEMO Women's Basketball will return to action on Saturday, January 11, when they take on Morehead State. Tip-off is set for 1:30 p.m., CT. in Cape Girardeau.