Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team drops pair

The Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team held its first halftime lead of the season Saturday.

Southeast also was ahead in the second half for only the second time this season.

But all the Redhawks had to show for their best all-around performance of the young campaign was another loss.

The Redhawks fell to 0-6 under first-year coach Ty Margenthaler when Samford escaped with a 63-58 victory on the final day of the Alabama-Birmingham Thanksgiving Classic.

Southeast was blasted by host UAB 64-41 in Friday's opening round of the tournament.

Margenthaler heaped praise on the Redhawks after they nearly took down an NCAA tournament team from a year ago.

"Overall, I was very pleased with the effort today," said Margenthaler, whose squad has faced a brutal early season schedule. "I am especially pleased with how everyone responded after a game I was disappointed in the night before.

"I thought we showed strong character and did some things well, but when it came down to big shots or big plays, we didn't execute the way we should have."

The Redhawks, who have been ahead in the second half during only two of their six games, led 25-24 at the break and went up by five points twice early in the final period.

Samford went ahead for good with 12 minutes, 36 seconds left and built six-point leads twice but never could shake the Redhawks.

Southeast was within 54-51 with 1 minute, 11 seconds left on a 3-pointer by freshman guard Allyson Bradshaw from Notre Dame Regional High School. But the Redhawks got no closer.

Samford's Paige Anderson drilled a 3-pointer with 47 seconds remaining to make it 57-51, and the Bulldogs hit 6 of 6 free throws to close the victory.

Senior guard Bianca Beck recorded her first career double-double. She scored 12 points, one shy of her career high, and tied a career high with 10 rebounds. She added four assists while playing all 40 minutes.

Junior forwards Brittany Harriel and Bailie Roberts scored 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Bradshaw, who had scored just three points in the first five games, hit 2 of 5 3-pointers for six points.

Roberts grabbed eight rebounds and Harriel had seven. Southeast controlled the glass for the first time this season, holding a 43-27 rebounding advantage.

Southeast scored a season-high point total and had its best 3-point shooting performance, hitting 6 of 17 (35.3 percent). The Redhawks shot 34.5 percent from the field overall.

Samford shot 46 percent, including 54.5 percent in the second half.

Southeast has been plagued by slow starts, and that continued in the tournament opener. UAB built a 12-2 lead and never looked back.

The Blazers shot a sizzling 54.3 percent in the first half, including 53.3 percent from 3-point range (8 of 15), to open a 50-21 bulge at the intermission.

UAB cooled off considerably in the second half and Southeast outscored the Blazers 20-14 but never could mount a serious threat.

Junior center Courtney Shiffer paced Southeast with 11 points. Beck added eight points.

The Redhawks shot 35.9 percent but made only 1 of 8 from beyond the arc.

UAB finished at 41.7 percent after a 24-percent second-half performance.

"We allowed them to shoot wide open shots to get confidence early," Margenthaler said. "We tightened up defensively and showed something in the second half, but I was disappointed with the effort."

Southeast, which is playing 10 of its first 13 games away from Cape Girardeau, will have its second home contest Tuesday when Arkansas State visits for a 7 p.m. tipoff.