Southeast WBB falters in second, drops road rivalry matchup with Lindenwood

Going into the Lions’ den for a Thursday night tilt with rival Lindenwood, Southeast women’s basketball let the fight get away early as the hosting Lions rallied out to a double-digit halftime lead and handed the Redhawks a 84-76 road loss.

Trading leads early, Lindenwood took advantage of an open look for Ellie Brueggemann on a first-quarter buzzer-beating triple, taking the lead for the Lions and never once trailing Southeast again.

Though they started hot against one of the Ohio Valley’s top teams, the Redhawks couldn’t reclaim their footing after a rough second quarter proved to be the difference-making margin in a Thursday night rivalry loss.

Led by Brueggemann’s hot-shooting night from the 3-point line, the Lions defended home court, improving to 8-2 while at home this season including a perfect 5-0 mark in OVC play.

“We didn't quit,” Southeast coach Briley Palmer said. “I thought we had a good game plan for them, but again, that inexperience shows. We gave up some possessions that could have been handled and gave us a better shot to win.”

Finishing with 19 points on 6-for-8 shooting from deep, Brueggemann lived up to her already phenomenal billing while Gracy Wernli added 17 points on her own 3-for-5 clip from 3-point land.

The triple, though an excuse in the end, played a big part in deciding Thursday’s matchup. Lindenwood won the 3-point battle by 16 points, shooting an impressive 56 percent from range.

That, plus a victory in the turnover game, made it a comfortable win for the Lions as even without putting up a rout, Lindenwood still dominated the matchup with a firm lead throughout.

“They made sure that on anything they got, whether it was our turnovers or their offensive rebounds, they were gonna make it count,” Palmer said. “That's what good teams do.”

Even with Lexi McCully’s 22 points leading the game in scoring for Southeast, the offense couldn’t keep the pace in a shootout. Zoe Best scored 16 to place second, with another 13 from Indiya Bowen, while Ainaya Williams added 12 and Skylar Barnes 11.

Even with five players in double figures, the Redhawks couldn’t claw out of their losing streak, suffering a sixth consecutive loss dating back to a Jan. 4 setback against Tennessee-Martin.

The win sends Lindenwood to 7-2 in conference, 11-7 for the season while Southeast drops back to just 2-7 in conference and 4-14 overall, with the two rivalry programs moving in opposite directions.

The Redhawks, with 30 more years of Division-I experience than the Lions, seemingly haven’t been able to break out of their slump over the last two years. The new kids on the block from St. Charles haven’t been so unlucky.

Sitting at third in the OVC, the Lions are expected to contend for the conference crown in March. With these wins they keep piling up, it’s looking more and more likely.

At ninth in the league, the Southeast women continue to search for a response, and the opportunities continue to slip away as the OVC Tournament window continues to get smaller and smaller.

Facing the possibility of a second consecutive season without a tourney berth, Southeast travels to Macomb, Illinois for a battle with Western Illinois’s Leathernecks at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

“We need to go in there with that mindset that we’ve got to steal some of these games in the next couple of weeks to have the opportunity to go the tournament,” Palmer said.

“We’ve still go to worry about us and what we're trying to do, to not let our pace change just because of who we're playing.”