MURRAY, Ky. -- Southeast Missouri State's women struggled for a change -- yet they were still able to extend their lengthy winning streak Saturday night.
For the first time in a while, the Redhawks did not have a big halftime lead and they were extended to nearly the end before a game-ending 14-0 run finally put away host Murray State 60-40.
So the Redhawks (15-6, 9-1 Ohio Valley Conference) continue their torrid pace as they posted their eighth consecutive victory and moved back into a tie for first place in the OVC.
Southeast, which has won 11 of its last 12 games, now owns its longest winning streak since the program moved up to the Division I level in 1991-92.
"In order to win a conference championship, you have to win when you don't play well, and you have to win when you don't make shots," Southeast coach B.J. Smith said. "I'm very pleased. Any time you can win on the road, it's big."
Said senior forward Chandra Brown, "We didn't play real good, but it's nice to win when you're playing bad. A win's always good."
The Redhawks had won their previous five games by an average of 30 points and had not really been tested in conference play since they beat host Tennessee State by eight points on Jan. 13.
But, partly because of poor shooting and overall sloppy play, Southeast was tested Saturday, leading just 24-18 at halftime and not putting the Racers (8-13, 4-6) away for good until that 14-0 spurt over the final 6:21.
"I think we underestimated them a little bit," senior guard Brandi Russia said. "But we got a win out of it, and that's the main thing."
Junior center Tatiana Conceicao paced Southeast offensively with 18 points, as she hit nine of 17 shots. Conceicao also pulled down 10 rebounds.
Junior forward Simone Jackson added 14 points on six of nine shooting.
Brown contributed eight points and 11 rebounds as Southeast dominated the boards by a 55-37 count. Russia had eight points and six rebounds, while junior point guard Wanika Owsley added seven rebounds and four assists.
Southeast shot just 41.3 percent (26 of 63), hit only three of 14 3-pointers and had 21 turnovers, but the Redhawks shot 50 percent in the second half (15 of 30) and executed well down the stretch.
"I thought we executed our offense in the last five or six minutes better than we did all night," Smith said.
The Redhawks' defense continued to shine as Murray shot a woeful 22.6 percent (14 of 62) and made just one of 18 3-pointers.
Murray senior guard Rebecca Remington, averaging nearly 16 points per game, scored just two as she hit one of 12 shots.
"To hold them to 40, I feel very good about that," Smith said. "We were really lethargic offensively the first half, but I thought our kids stayed focused.
"Last year, if you remember, the game here was almost just like this, where we were struggling to score, let them hang around, and they beat us," Smith said. "But tonight we really stayed focused."
Ahead 24-18 at halftime, Southeast built several 10-point leads early in the second half, but Murray refused to buckle and trailed just 46-40 with under seven minutes left.
But the Racers failed to score over the final 6:21 as Southeast continued its winning streak.
The Redhawks close out the three-game road swing Tuesday at Eastern Illinois.
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