Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team defeats EIU

~ The Redhawks ended a three-game OVC losing streak with a 66-49 win over the Panthers

Southeast Missouri State women's basketball coach Ty Margenthaler could be seen pacing the sidelines during his team's game against Ohio Valley Conference West Division opponent Eastern Illinois on Saturday afternoon.

He'd occasionally put his face in his hands when a shot didn't go in and clap excitedly when something went well. One thing that remained consistent whether the Redhawks were down by seven points early, or up double figures late in the game: He continued to point out what his players were doing right and what needed to be improved.

"The thing that I'm really happy about and that [the players] should be happy about, too, is that it wasn't just like. 'Get through the game and get a win,'" Margenthaler said. "We got better in some areas and we improved in some areas, and that's the thing that I like as a coach."

The Redhawks defeated the Panthers 66-49 to snap a three-game losing streak and a nine-game losing streak to EIU.

Southeast Missouri State guard Olivia Hackmann shoots over Eastern Illinois’ Morgan Palombizio, left, and Sabina Oroszova during the Redhawks’ 66-49 win over the Panthers on Saturday at the Show Me Center. (Adam Vogler)

The win is Southeast's second conference victory of the season and provided some confidence for the struggling Redhawks (6-13 overall, 2-4).

"I thought it was a complete game, and that's what I was looking for," Margenthaler said. "The win, but also a complete game, so we can move forward and move on and really kind of go back to our teaching tools and let them know, 'When you do this and this and this, you're going to feel like this.'"

Southeast trailed 9-2 just four minutes into the game, but the Redhawks used a 20-7 run to take a 22-16 lead with 4 minutes, 40 seconds remaining in the half.

The Panthers (8-11, 3-5) scored six unanswered points to tie it 22-22, but senior guard Jordan Hunter took it to the basket and scored with six seconds left to give the Redhawks a two-point advantage at the half.

Although the Redhawks shot just 28.1 percent in the first half, Margenthaler felt his player's shot selection was good.

Southeast hit only 2 of 10 from behind the arc in the first 20 minutes, but they came at key times and gave the Redhawks a lead both times.

"I thought we took great shots in the first half," Margenthaler said. "We probably had four forced shots in the first half. Just missed a lot of good-looking shots."

The Redhawks came out in the second half and shot 57.7 percent, making 6 of 7 from behind the arc.

Southeast extended its lead to seven in the first 40 seconds of the half on a 3-pointer by Patricia Mack and a steal and layup from Jordan Hunter.

EIU answered with a 7-0 run to knot it at 29-29 with 17:21 to play.

Southeast retaliated with a 10-3 spurt that featured two 3-pointers from Mack to take a 39-32 lead with 13:44 to play.

The Panthers pulled within four with 12:27 remaining, but Southeast held them scoreless for more than three minutes and extended the lead to 49-37 with 8:55 to play.

Southeast outscored EIU 17-12 down the stretch to secure the 17-point victory.

"I think we had better composure in this game," Hunter said. "I just feel like in other games we try to force things, and this game we were relaxed and everyone was on the same page. If we made a mistake, we came back down and converted, and I think that was the difference."

Even with Southeast's strong offensive second half, the defensive effort was equally impressive.

Patricia Mack provided a strong defensive performance, holding the Panthers' leading scorer Sabina Oroszova to 12 points on 3 of 13 shooting.

"That was the one matchup I was really concerned about because we really don't have somebody else behind [Mack] that can defend that type of player, with her size and that she can go inside out," Margenthaler said. "When she stays out of foul trouble and she stays locked in mentally, she's really, really good. She can guard a guard or she can guard a post. She's so quick, so strong and I really thought she really frustrated her."

Mack finished with nine points and seven rebounds. Jordan Hunter scored a career-high 22 points along with eight assists and nine rebounds to lead the Redhawks.

"We wouldn't be doing this without Jordan Hunter," Margenthaler said. "Almost a triple-double tonight, which is really big for a point guard. I feel like she has not missed a beat at all in any of the conference games we're playing. She's playing like a first-team all-conference player. We need her to continue that and we need everyone else to chip along."

Southeast's Allyson Bradshaw finished with 13 points. She was 3 of 6 from behind the arc.

The Redhawks face SIU Edwardsville (5-15, 2-6) at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Show Me Center.