Southeast women stumble at JSU

~ The Redhawks lost 62-48 to Jacksonville State on Sunday

The Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team dominated Jacksonville State for years, its only loss to the Gamecocks coming during the 2003-04 season that marked JSU's first Ohio Valley Conference campaign.

That dominance was interrupted Sunday as the Gamecocks beat Southeast for the second time, 62-48 in Jacksonville, Ala.

Southeast fell to 4-7 overall and 1-2 in OVC play. JSU, which snapped its seven-game losing streak, improved to 3-7 and 1-1.

The Redhawks, the OVC's lowest-scoring squad, finished nearly four points below their season average of 51.5 points per game.

Sophomore guard/forward Katie Norman led the Redhawks with 18 points, one off her career high. But no other Southeast player scored in double figures.

Norman, who also led Southeast with five rebounds and two steals, hit 6 of 9 field-goal attempts, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range.

Junior center Brittany Wiley paced JSU with 16 points. Two of her teammates also reached double figures as senior guards Zenobia Pitts and Danielle Beneby finished with 15 and 11 points, respectively.

Southeast scored just four points over the first 9 minutes, 47 seconds as JSU jumped in front 13-4.

The Redhawks used a 10-0 run to go ahead 14-13 for their only lead of the contest.

JSU answered with an 11-0 burst for a 24-14 advantage, and Southeast fought an uphill battle the rest of the way.

The Redhawks, who trailed 24-18 at halftime, pulled within 24-23 at the outset of the second half. A 16-6 JSU spurt made it 40-29 and the Gamecocks remained in control.

The Gamecocks built a 49-35 bulge with just under eight minutes left. Southeast got no closer than seven points.

Southeast shot 40.5 percent from the field compared to 44 percent for JSU. The Redhawks had 18 turnovers and were outscored 24-9 in points off turnovers. The Gamecocks committed 14 turnovers.

JSU won the rebounding battle 34-26 and outscored Southeast 26-10 in the paint.

The Redhawks took the court with only nine available players after recent injuries to sophomore guards Monica Miller and Erika Lane.

Southeast already had been short two players most of the season. Sophomore forward Patricia Mack played in just two games before suffering a season-ending knee injury. And top recruit Brooke Taylor, a freshman, has not played at all due to an iron deficiency problem.

The Redhawks finish their two-game OVC road trip Tuesday at Tennessee Tech (7-2, 2-0) in a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.