Southeast women capture ninth straight win 71-56

A big second-half run disposed of Eastern Illinois.

CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Because of the way they have been steamrolling the opposition, Southeast Missouri State's women realize they will be on the receiving end of every team's best shot.

Tuesday night, the Redhawks survived a serious haymaker from Eastern Illinois before pulling away late for their ninth consecutive victory, 71-56.

Southeast, which trailed most of the first half and by two points midway through the second half, used a 16-0 run to pave the way for a sweep of its three-game road swing.

"Coach was saying in the locker room that we're the big dogs now and everybody is out to get us," senior forward Chandra Brown said.

Added junior forward Simone Jackson, "Everybody is going to bring their best game. They're not going to let us away easy."

The Redhawks (16-6, 10-1) moved into sole possession of first-place the Ohio Valley Conference, just ahead of Eastern Kentucky (9-1). EIU (9-13, 2-9) is in last place in the 11-team league.

"We talked about it before the game. We're no longer the hunter, we're the hunted," Southeast coach B.J. Smith said. "We're going to get everybody's best shot. This is a good win for us."

Southeast had won its last six games by an average of nearly 30 points. But the Redhawks found themselves in a dogfight most of the way as EIU came out shooting hot in the first half.

The Panthers led 17-8 after less than six minutes and had the Redhawks on their heels most of the opening period. Southeast did go up 31-27 late, but EIU pulled into a 31-31 halftime tie.

After a back-and-forth first 10 minutes of the second half, EIU went ahead 50-48 with 9:46 remaining.

But Southeast then responded with its 16-0 spurt -- holding the Panthers scoreless for more than six minutes -- to finally take control.

"We were sluggish early, but we picked it up in the second half," Brown said.

Junior center Tatiana Conceicao, the OVC's leading scorer, paced Southeast with 26 points and 10 rebounds despite playing just 25 minutes because of foul trouble. Conceicao hit 10 of 14 shots.

"Everybody is trying to get us," Conceiao said. "They played hard but we came out on top."

Jackson added 13 points, five rebounds and four steals; junior forward Natalie Purcell came off the bench to hit three 3-pointers and score nine points; and Brown had six points, five rebounds and four assists.

Junior point guard Wanika Owsley had six points, five rebounds and three assists; senior guard Brandi Russia had four assists; and junior guard Katrisha Dunn came off the bench to hit two 3-pointers and score six points while contributing strong defense during the second-half spurt.

"Katrisha was like a one-man press there for a while," Smith said.

The Redhawks actually made their game-turning run with Conceicao on the bench after she picked up her fourth foul with 11:26 remaining and Southeast leading 48-44.

After the Redhawks fell behind 50-48 with 9:46 left, they finally took control for good.

Russia's follow shot at the 9:24 mark made it 50-50, then Brown's layup off a nice pass from Russia put Southeast ahead for good, 52-50, with 8:49 left.

It was 62-50 by the time Conceicao came back in, and her basket with 3:44 remaining completed the run and gave Southeast a commanding 14-point edge.

"I thought Eastern Illinois came out with a lot more energy than us, and we had a lot of things go against us, especially with Tatiana in foul trouble, but our kids really stepped up," Smith said. "I'm very pleased."

EIU shot 52.6 percent, but just 45 percent in the second half. Southeast shot 46.7 percent, but forced 26 turnovers and also held a 35-21 rebounding advantage, including a commanding 18-3 edge on the offensive boards.

Senior center Pam O'Connor led EIU with 17 points.

SOUTHEAST 71, EASTERN ILLINOIS 56

Southeast

Min FG 3PT FT Rb F Pt

Conceicao 25 10-14 0-1 6-8 10 4 26

Jackson 35 6-15 0-0 1-3 5 1 13

Brown 24 3-7 0-0 0-0 5 3 6

Owsley 29 2-5 0-2 2-3 5 1 6

Russia 23 1-4 0-2 1-2 4 3 3

Ryan 11 1-3 0-2 0-0 1 0 2

Dunn 22 2-4 2-4 0-0 3 1 6

Purcell 21 3-7 3-7 0-0 1 3 9

Evans 6 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 3 0

Mueggenborg 4 0-2 0-2 0-0 0 3 0

Team rebounds 1

Totals 28-60 5-20 10-16 35 19 71

Eastern Illinois

Min FG 3PT FT Rb F Pt

O'Connor 32 8-12 0-0 1-2 4 1 17

Ploger 16 1-1 1-1 0-0 0 1 3

Riva 38 1-3 1-2 0-0 3 2 3

Sparks 38 4-9 1-3 2-6 6 2 11

Casad 28 1-4 0-2 0-0 3 1 2

Sellers 16 0-2 0-1 0-0 2 2 0

Casad 28 1-4 0-2 0-0 3 1 2

Sellers 16 0-2 0-1 0-0 2 2 0

Eck 11 1-2 1-2 2-2 1 1 5

Bytner 12 3-3 1-1 3-4 1 0 10

Sims 4 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0

Cazy 5 1-2 0-0 3-4 0 5 5

Team rebounds 0

Totals 20-38 5-12 11-18 21 15 56

Southeast 31 40 -- 71

E. Illinois 31 25 -- 56

Shooting percentages: FG: Southeast .467, E. Illinois .526. 3-Point FG: Southeast .250, E. Illinois .417. FT: Southeast .625, E. Illinois .611. Assists: Southeast 14 (Brown 4, Russia 4), E. Illinois 16 (Riva 4). Turnovers: Southeast 19, E. Illinois 26. Technical Fouls: None. Officials: Roberts, Cross, Hust. A - 212.