Tournament host tops Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team

~ The Redhawks lost for the second consecutive day in the Wright State tournament

The Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team dropped a 74-53 decision to the host squad in the second day of the Wright State tournament Monday.

The loss came on the heels of a 100-59 loss to Central Michigan on the opening day of the tournament.

"I was really pleased with the effort the team showed today," Southeast coach Ty Margenthaler said. "This was a real gut check after yesterday's loss, and I felt the team responded well. We came out with great energy and played hard."

The Redhawks fell to 2-10, while the Raiders improved to 7-4.

"Wright State is a solid team that's big and athletic. I think that wore us down a little at the end," Margenthaler said.

Wright State scored the game's first basket, but Southeast responded with 11 straight points to lead 11-2.

The Raiders went on an 18-2 to take a 20-13 lead. It was an advantage Wright State never yielded.

Southeast trailed 34-30 at halftime, but the Raiders steadily pulled away in the second half. The Redhawks shot just 21.4 percent during the final 20 minutes as they were outscored 40-23.

Junior forward Bailie Roberts paced Southeast with 11 points. She also had six rebounds and two assists.

Senior guard Karley Evans contributed nine points, followed by junior forward Brittany Harriel and junior center Courtney Shiffer with eight points apiece.

Sophomore forward Patricia Mack led Southeast rebounders with eight. Senior point guard Bianca Beck recorded a team-high five assists against no turnovers.

Senior forward Molly Fox poured in 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Raiders. She hit all eight of her field-goal attempts and was 9 of 12 from the line.

The Redhawks shot 31.6 percent in the game, while the Raiders finished at 46.4 percent.

Southeast was outscored from 3-point range by a wide margin for the second straight day.

Wright State made 11 of 21 from beyond the arc (52.4 percent) after Central Michigan hit a school-record 15 3-pointers. The Redhawks connected on 4 of 17 3-pointers Monday (23.5 percent).

Margenthaler said his team's 15 turnovers was a positive after the Redhawks committed a season-high 31 against Central Michigan.

Southeast concludes tournament play today with a 1:30 p.m. contest against Longwood (2-9). The Redhawks and Lancers both have lost their first two tournament games.

Taylor out for year

Southeast redshirt freshman forward Brooke Taylor, who has not yet played in a game this year because of a knee injury, will miss the entire season after re-injuring the knee during Friday's practice.

Taylor, from Bismarck, Mo., missed all of the 2010-11 campaign with an iron deficiency problem.

"My heart goes out to Brooke," Margenthaler said. "I know how bad she wants to compete and how excited she was for this year after missing last season.

"It's a disappointing injury, I'm excited about her getting the injury taken care of, getting stronger and having her on the court for the next few years."