Redhawks let second-half lead slip away

~ The Redhawks led by 18 in the second half but lost to Bradley 72-68

The Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team led for all but about two minutes of Monday night's game at the Show Me Center.

Bradley was ahead when it counted the most.

The Braves erased an 18-point second-half deficit and stunned the Redhawks 72-68 to spoil Southeast's home opener.

While the Braves are 2-0 for the first time since 2008-09, the Redhawks (1-1) missed out on a golden opportunity for their first 2-0 start since 2009-10.

"This is a hard one to swallow when we're up 18 early in the second half," Southeast coach Ty Margenthaler said. "We need to take care of home court. ... We let one slip away tonight."

Southeast, ahead 36-30 at halftime, saw Bradley cut the deficit to 36-32 early in the final period.

The Redhawks then scored 12 straight points in a little more than a minute. Sophomore forward Connor King's layup with just under 15 minutes left capped a 16-2 run as Southeast appeared to be cruising at 52-34.

But the Braves had other ideas.

A flurry of Southeast turnovers and missed shots led to a scoring drought as Bradley went on a 14-1 spurt to cut the deficit to 53-48 with just under nine minutes remaining.

"Turnovers started affecting us and getting in our heads a little bit," junior guard Allyson Bradshaw said.

Bradley was able to pull within two points four times before finally forging a 62-62 tie on two free throws by junior guard Michelle Young with 3 minutes, 2 seconds left.

Bradshaw's two foul shots with 2:45 left regained the lead for Southeast at 64-62.

After the squads each squandered several possessions, senior forward Kelly Frings drilled a 3-pointer at the 1:21 mark to put Bradley on top 65-64. It was the Braves' first lead since late in the opening half and only their third lead of the game.

Southeast Missouri State's Allyson Bradshaw drives the ball past Bradley defender Kelsey Budd in the second half, Monday, Nov. 11, 2013, at the Show Me Center. (Laura Simon)

Southeast never caught back up.

After the Redhawks missed a shot, senior guard Kelsey Budd's 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock with 32 seconds to play made it 68-64.

The Redhawks twice pulled to within two points but Budd and Frings both made two free throws -- Frings with 5.6 seconds left -- to ice the win.

"We went through a lull the last nine minutes where Bradley became the aggressor," Margenthaler said. "Their seniors made big plays. I tip my hat to Bradley. They're a very good basketball team."

Southeast had 11 of its 16 turnovers in the second half and shot just 34.3 percent for the game. Bradley shot only 33.9 percent and committed 15 turnovers, seven in the final period.

"I thought we had good looks. We left a lot of points on the floor," Margenthaler said.

King, a Jackson High School graduate, had her first collegiate double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. But King found it tough to be happy.

"I doesn't really matter about my performance. I just wanted the team to win," King said. "They kind of made a run, and we never stopped it. We stopped setting screens, and we stopped scoring."

Sophomore guard Kara Wright had 14 points, five rebounds, four assists and three blocks.

"We had some positives," Margenthaler said. "I thought Connor King played a lot more aggressive. I thought Kara Wright was more aggressive."

Bradshaw, a Notre Dame Regional High School graduate, added 10 points but lamented her shooting. She hit just 4 of 15 from the field, including 2 of 8 from 3-point range.

"I had some wide open ones. They weren't falling," she said.

Bradshaw also lamented the fact several key Southeast players were in foul trouble throughout the game, including herself.

Senior forward Patricia Mack, who had nine points and six rebounds, was limited to just 19 minutes because of foul problems.

"I think a lot of people were getting into foul trouble. ... We had to start playing careful and soft," Bradshaw said.

Sophomore guard Olivia Hackmann added nine points and seven rebounds.

Young paced four Bradley players in double figures with 22 points. Budd added 15 points while senior guard Catie O'Leary had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Friday's contest began a three-game homestand for the Redhawks, who face Missouri-Kansas City at 6:30 p.m. Thursday and Western Kentucky at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 19. Southeast lost to both opponents on the road last season.