SEMO women’s wins third in a row 75-68 over Tennessee State

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Southeast Missouri State women’s basketball was at its efficient best at both ends of the floor through the first half, building a 13-point lead over Tennessee State at halftime, ready to cruise to its third straight victory.

Then the shots began to stop falling. The defense started to lose some slack. SEMO committed a couple of costly turnovers. Tennessee State was slowly mounting a comeback with each basket. The lead was down to one early in the final quarter.

Most teams might have folded under the pressure, but head coach Briley Palmer's bunch kept their poise.

Indiya Bowen scored a game-high 25 points, true freshman Zoe Best added 18 and the Redhawks held on for a 75-68 win on Thursday night at the Gentry Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

SEMO (4-8, 2-1 OVC) used a 16-10 spurt in the final six minutes to coast to its fourth straight victory over Tennessee State (4-9, 0-3) in the series.

Bowen, who also added seven rebounds, paved the way for SEMO, while Best did damage from 3-point range (57%) and senior Lexi McCully finished with 13 points.

SEMO, which entered the game ranked second-to-last in the OVC with 27% 3-point shooting, had a fine first half from long range, making 6 of 12 attempts.

Backed by sharp defensive play and eight points from Best, including a pair of 3s, the Redhawks raced out to an 21-14 lead after the first quarter.

Tennessee State began to creep back, though, as freshman Somah Kamara’s jumper from the foul line cut the deficit to 30-27 midway through the second quarter. Then, following a timeout, Indiya Bowen drained back-to-back 3-pointers, sparking a 10-0 run that pushed SEMO’s lead to 40-27 before the break.

After a strong start, SEMO’s defense began to suffer a second-half letdown. The Tigers made 8 of 13 shots (61.5%) in the third quarter and made it a 59-58 game with 6:55 remaining. That’s until the Redhawks snapped out of it and responded with a 15-2 run to erase any doubt. Redshirt sophomore Brian Hampton’s steal and quick jumper with 2:15 left put the game to rest.

Aaniya Webb had a team-high 21 points for the Tigers, while Lyric Cole, Kiki Roberts, and Kamara each finished with double-digits as well.

Big Picture

The Redhawks continue to improve in head coach Briley Palmer’s first season after climbing up the conference standings and finding a mid-season rhythm. SEMO scored 31 points off turnovers and finished with a 26-24 edge in defensive rebounds, which is a big point of emphasis by Palmer.

While the Redhawks finished with a modest combination of 12 assists and 22 turnovers, Bowen's breakout performance was supplemented by a balanced effort from Best, McCully, and Co.

What's next?

SEMO will continue its conference road stretch against UT Martin this Saturday, Jan. 4, at 1 p.m.