Southeast women open with road win

~ The Redhawks defeated Alabama A&M 76-64

The Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team enjoyed a successful debut Friday night on the road.

Southeast had control most of the way and knocked off host Alabama A&M 76-64 in Huntsville, Ala.

"I was very pleased with our performance. To win on the road is big. It's a confidence builder for us," Southeast coach Ty Margenthaler said.

The Bulldogs scored the game's first five points, then the squads exchanged the lead nine times during the opening 10 minutes.

Senior point guard Jordan Hunter's layup with just over nine minutes left in the half put the Redhawks on top 25-24 and they never relinquished the lead.

Southeast was up 44-37 at the break and remained in control the rest of the way.

"Alabama A&M was scrappy and they had a good crowd. I thought we responded very well," Margenthaler said.

Margenthaler especially liked the way the Redhawks responded after senior forward Patricia Mack and junior guard Allyson Bradshaw both got into early foul trouble that limited them to 16 minutes of playing time each.

Southeast's bench came through with 37 points.

"It was definitely a team effort," Margenthaler said.

Hunter had a big performance with 18 points and nine rebounds to go along with three assists and two steals. She hit 6 of 10 field-goal attempts, including 2 of 3 from 3-point range.

"Jordan played great," Margenthaler said.

Sophomore guard Olivia Hackmann was Southeast's only other double-figure scorer with 12 points off the bench. She made 2 of 3 from beyond the arc.

"Olivia played really well," Margenthaler said.

Ten of the 11 Southeast players who saw action scored, with eight players netting at least five points.

Notre Dame Regional High School graduate Bradshaw made both of her 3-point attempts and scored eight points, the same total that junior college transfer forward Hillary Lively delivered off the bench.

Adding six points apiece off the bench were junior college transfer center Kenyada Brown, freshman forward Brittany Harris and freshman guard Brianna Mitchell. Harris, a Dexter High School graduate, also had four rebounds and two blocks.

"Our bench really did a good job," Margenthaler said.

Mack was still able to grab eight rebounds despite her limited minutes while sophomore forward Connor King from Jackson High School had four points and five rebounds.

Southeast's shooting was impressive as the Redhawks hit 45.8 percent from the field overall (27 of 59), 61.5 percent from 3-point range (8 of 13) and 70 percent from the line (14 of 20).

The Redhawks had 18 assists against 14 turnovers and outrebounded the Bulldogs 41-36.

Alabama A&M shot 38.1 percent from the floor overall (24 of 63), 47.1 percent from beyond the arc (8 of 17) and 53.3 percent from the charity stripe (8 of 15).

Southeast returns to action Monday with its home opener against Bradley at 5:30 p.m.