'Hawks climb into tie for first

~ Southeast defeated Murray State 71-52 for its sixth straight victory.

A dominant second half paved the way for Southeast Missouri State's sixth straight victory.

As an added bonus, the Redhawks have also climbed to the top of the Ohio Valley Conference.

Southeast, leading by just one point at halftime Saturday night, rolled past visiting Murray State 71-52.

The Redhawks (12-7, 9-3) moved into a three-way tie for first place in the OVC thanks to Austin Peay's upset win at Samford. Southeast, Samford and Tennessee Tech share the top spot in the 11-team league.

"It's nice to be back in first place, but there's a long way to go," said Southeast coach B.J. Smith, whose squad has eight OVC games remaining. "But it's great for us, because a few weeks ago, things didn't look very good."

After Southeast lost at Eastern Illinois on Jan. 5, the Redhawks were 6-7 overall and 3-3 in league play. At that point, winning the OVC regular-season title seemed like a longshot.

Not any more.

"That's six in a row. It feels good," senior center Tatiana Conceicao said. "We just want to keep it going, and hopefully we can win the championship."

Southeast's defense continued to suffocate the opposition -- this time particularly in the second half.

MSU (6-12, 5-6) grabbed three early six-point leads and was still in contention at halftime, trailing 31-30 after shooting 42.9 percent and outrebounding Southeast 19-17.

But the second half was all Redhawks, as they outscored the Racers 40-22, including 24-6 over the first 14 minutes. That put Southeast ahead 55-36, and MSU got no closer than 13 points.

Southeast limited MSU to 28.6 percent shooting in the second half, as the Racers finished at 34.7 percent (17 of 49).

The Redhawks also dominated the boards in the final period, 27-13, as they ended with a 44-32 advantage, including 18-9 on the offensive glass, which led to a 20-2 edge in second-chance points. MSU also had 25 turnovers in the game.

"We just try to play defense," Southeast senior point guard Wanika Owsley said. "I think we were a little sluggish the first half, too relaxed, not enough intensity."

Said Conceicao: "It was a better second half. We had a lot of mistakes the first half."

Smith chose to credit the Racers for coming out strong, although for the second straight time the Redhawks struggled some in the first half before blowing a game open.

"I'm starting to think we're a second half team," Smith said. "But I don't know if we were sluggish or they just brought a lot of intensity. I think Murray State did a great job in the first half."

The Redhawks also picked up their offense in the final 20 minutes, shooting 45.7 percent to finish at 40.6 percent for the game (26 of 64).

Conceicao scored 16 of her game-high 21 points in the second half.

Senior forward Simone Jackson added 13 points, while junior center Lachelle Lyles continued to shine off the bench. In just 13 minutes, the junior college transfer scored a season-high 12 points and matched her season high with 11 rebounds. Lyles has grabbed 11 rebounds in three of the past four games.

"That's not bad for 13 minutes," Smith said. "She just keeps getting better and better."

Senior guard Tiffanne Ryan also provided strong play off the bench with 10 points, all coming in the first half as she hit both of her 3-point attempts.

"She had a really good first half," Smith said.

Ryan's 3-pointer with 1:14 left in the first half put Southeast ahead for good, 31-29. The period featured 10 lead changes and six ties.

But the Redhawks ended all suspense with their big second half. They'll try to continue their winning ways Monday as they visit Austin Peay for their third game in five days.

"We're just taking it one at a time," Owsley said.