Cougars tamed as Redhawks WBB keep postseason hopes alive in must-win road clash

Needing a victory to stay alive in the OVC Tournament race, Southeast Missouri State women’s basketball delivered in the timeliest of fashions as the Redhawks stormed out to a big lead in the second half and held on to defeat SIU-Edwardsville 71-66 on the road.

Led by an unreal 19-point first half from Lexi McCully, burying three triples in the half, the Redhawks did enough to hang tight in a high-scoring first half before using a massive second to storm past, and eliminate, the hosting Cougars.

Growing a lead as large as 14, Southeast didn’t exactly crush the Cougars down the stretch, with the hosts making a big rally back late in the fourth. But the Redhawks did just enough, and for that, they kept their hopes of sneaking into the conference tourney alive.

McCully’s 19 points in the first half fed into a 24-point, 7-rebound, 6-assist performance that culminated in the Redhawks knocking off their rival at the floor of the conference and ensuring a finish no worse than 10th this year.

Zoe Best met her right there, too. Best’s 24 points proved why she’s a top-three freshman in the OVC as she hit five 3-pointers in the victory, tacking on another 7 rebounds to anchor a strong defensive effort.

Best never left the floor, staying on for all 40 minutes while McCully’s 38 was right there behind her – pivotal players, whose contributions have been centric and absolute to the successes of Southeast this year.

In full, SEMO won the defensive rebounding effort by just 3, but the intensity on the back end resulted in 11 turnovers forced plus 8 blocks, anchored by another 5-block effort from the stellar freshman Ainaya Williams.

Williams chipped in 10 points, good for third in scoring, hauling in 7 boards as the go-to post while Skylar Barnes’ 7 with 5 rebounds added depth. Four Redhawks finished with 5-or-more rebounds.

Best and Williams make for an excellent freshman duo, and those two played heavily into SIUE’s undoing Thursday as the Redhawks showed up, showed out and took care of business when they needed to most: A sign of great development, even if it’s a little late.

Maybe it’s just the right time, however, as there’s still hope yet for the Redhawks to sneak into that final OVC Tournament position, which seems to be the biggest focus of this late-February push.

If it weren’t for some big moves across the Ohio Valley, however, SEMO’s hopes wouldn’t have even made it to Saturday. Lucky for them, Tennessee State brought some help.

Across the way, down in Nashville, Tennessee, the Tennessee State women needed to take care of business. SEMO needed a Tigers win to stay alive due to tiebreaking procedures, the hosting Tigers went on a 14-0 run late to shock Morehead State and stay alive themselves.

Had Morehead State won, it would have swept both Tennessee State and Southeast Missouri State this season, and the Eagles could have locked up the No. 8 position and the final position in the 2025 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.

Instead, it fumbled that opportunity, going from up 8 at the half to being stunned from a late push when the Eagles had led in the final few minutes of regulation.

The Redhawks live another day, relying on a three-game effort Saturday with three precise results needed to produce an OVC Tournament berth for Southeast.

Those three: A Tennessee State loss against Southern Indiana, a Morehead State loss against Tennessee-Martin, and a victory over No. 3 Eastern Illinois on the road.

They don’t control their destiny, but the Redhawks do control one thing: 1 p.m. Saturday, Charleston, Illinois, the Redhawks will look to finish conference play by taking down Goliath.