Redhawks end Govs' winning streak at 6

~ Southeast posted its second consecutive victory to climb above the .500 mark.

With the stars of both teams rendered largely ineffective, it was left up to the supporting cast to decide Saturday's game between Southeast Missouri State and visiting Austin Peay.

Major advantage, Redhawks.

Southeast, receiving balanced scoring and continued strong defense, pulled away from a one-point halftime lead to romp 72-54.

"This was a very good game for us," Southeast coach B.J. Smith said.

The Redhawks, putting together just their second two-game winning streak of the season, improved to 8-7 overall and 5-3 in Ohio Valley Conference play. The Govs (7-8, 4-4) had a six-game winning streak snapped.

"It's nice to win two in a row, and hopefully we can keep it going now," senior forward Natalie Purcell said.

The game featured two of the OVC's premier players in Southeast senior center Tatiana Conceicao and Austin Peay senior forward Ashley Haynes -- but both struggled.

Conceicao, the OVC's second-leading scorer at 20.6 points per game entering the contest, hit three of 10 shots and scored only 10 points. She missed all six of her field-goal attempts in the first half, when she had one point.

Haynes, the league's No. 5 scorer and top rebounder -- she was averaging 16.2 points and 13.9 boards -- also had just 10 points while grabbing six rebounds. She was leading the OVC in field-goal percentage at 57.6 but hit only four of 10 shots.

Southeast more than made up for Conceicao's struggles as four other players scored in double figures, while Austin Peay could count just one other player in that category.

"If you only have one player, you're easy to beat," Smith said. "Even though Tatiana didn't have one of her better games, we had a lot of people step up."

Senior forward Simone Jackson led the Redhawks with 13 points -- she also grabbed six rebounds and guarded Haynes much of the game -- followed by Purcell with 11 points and seven rebounds.

Senior point guard Wanika Owsley, the OVC's leader in assists, had 10 points and four assists. Senior guard Katrisha "Red" Dunn added 10 points, three rebounds and three assists off the bench.

"We have a lot of offensive threats, the key is getting us to all play on the same night," Purcell said. "A lot of times we'll have just one or two scoring on the same night."

Dunn, one of the Redhawks' spark plugs off the bench, came in with her usual suffocating defense and also far bettered the 3.5 scoring average she carried into the game.

"I just try to spark the team, do all I can," Dunn said.

Added a smiling Purcell: "Red is our spark."

The Redhawks also received continued solid play off the bench from junior college transfer center Lachelle Lyles, who was averaging an impressive 5.8 rebounds despite playing just 11.9 minutes per game.

Lyles grabbed a team-high eight rebounds in 18 minutes, as Southeast won the battle of the boards 36-29. She also hit both of her field-goal attempts for four points.

"Red was great off the bench, and I thought Lachelle had her best game," Smith said. "I also thought [freshman guard] Sonya Daugherty gave us good minutes. She's struggled all year, but she played more tonight than she has been."

For the second straight game, Southeast's defense played a major role, particularly in the second half.

The Redhawks, who outscored the Govs 44-27 over the final 20 minutes, limited Austin Peay to 42 percent shooting and forced 22 turnovers. The Govs shot 35.7 percent in the second half.

"We were a little better than average defensively in the first half, but in the second half the kids really stepped up," Smith said. "Really, defense has been our big thing since I've been here, and the last two games we've really gotten back to that."

Austin Peay led 19-10 midway through the first half, but Southeast went ahead for good on freshman guard Tarina Nixon's 3-pointer that made it 26-25 with 3:55 left in the period.

Up 28-27 at halftime, Southeast made its first two shots of the final period -- 3-pointers by Owsley and Nixon, who finished with eight points -- and never looked back.

It was 39-33 when Southeast hit Austin Peay with a 12-0 run to lead 51-33 with under 11 minutes remaining. The advantage never dipped below 13 points the rest of the way.

Southeast shot 59.3 percent in its dominating second half to finish at 45.6 percent.

Now the Redhawks hope they can keep things going, beginning Thursday at Tennessee State.

"We're ready to get on a streak," Dunn said. "We were just in a slump, but I think we're out of it now."