Southeast women's basketball team drops conference matchup

Southeast Missourian

Inconsistency has plagued coach Ty Margenthaler's Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team all season.

So it was really no surprise that inconsistency cost the Redhawks a win Saturday afternoon.

Southeast saw an early lead evaporate beneath a wave of hot shooting from Tennessee State, and a late rally fell short as the Redhawks dropped a 75-67 decision to the Tigers in front of 469 fans at the Show Me Center.

The loss dropped the Redhawks to 1-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference's West Division and 5-11 overall.

"It was one of those games where we were down early, and it seemed like a catch-up game," said Margenthaler, whose squad led 24-22 with just under seven minutes left in the first half but allowed the Tigers to go on an 8-0 run to trail 32-24 on its way to a 46-34 halftime deficit. "I thought we had some great energy at times in different parts of the game, but unfortunately we didn't have that long-staying 40 minutes that we needed."

Defensive lapses and breakdowns cost the Redhawks dearly as Tennessee State (5-11, 2-1 OVC East) hit 9 of 12 shots down the first-half stretch and finished the half shooting an impressive 60.7 percent (17 of 28) from the field.

"I think they just played a better, tougher game than we did," Margenthaler added. "And that's why some of their shots that maybe they weren't making earlier in the year, they were going in, and the confidence grew on their end, and we weren't getting the stops that we need to when it came down to crucial times."

Tennessee State coach Larry Joe Inman credited both his team's offense and defense for his Tigers taking control late in the first half.

"I thought our kids came out more passionate ... with more desire than we had before," he said. "There's a mentality there that you must possess to be a winner and win, and I thought we did that the first half."

The Redhawks, to their credit, didn't throw in the towel. Led by guards Jordan Hunter and Olivia Hackmann, Southeast chipped away at the deficit and pulled within three points twice late in the second half, the final time after Hunter hit two free throws to pull the Redhawks within 70-67 with 2:01 remaining in the game.

But the Tigers responded with either a key basket, offensive rebound or defensive stop each time, then hit 5 of 8 free throws down the stretch to pull away for the win.

"Tonight, we came together and played well on both ends of the floor," Inman said. "They answered the runs because they felt like they could. And they did."

Margenthaler drew solace from some individual performances from players he hopes have turned the corner and will continue to contribute on a more consistent basis.

"We had some good performances from some individual players," he said, "but this is a team sport and we all have to be ready to go. Tonight, we just had individual performances, not a team effort, which I believe is the reason we lost tonight."

Hunter, a senior guard, enjoyed her second consecutive strong outing for the Redhawks. She followed up a 19-point performance in last week's win at Austin Peay with a game-high 18 points against the Tigers, including 13 in the second half, mostly on pretty drives to the hoop from her point guard position on top of the key. Sophomore guard Olivia Hackmann added 16 points and sophomore Connor King had a career-high 13 points along with six rebounds.

"She was definitely more aggressive, shot a nice percentage," Margenthaler said of King, a Jackson High School product. "Jordan put together back-to-back good ballgames, which is big. And with Olivia, I think those three played really well. Unfortunately, we're going to need a lot more than three players to be successful."

King, who scored in double figures for just the second time this season, said she's feeling more comfortable on the court, which allows the game to come to her more easily.

"Knowing where the ball's going to go, or knowing when someone's going to shoot it or pass it," she said. "Getting better at screening. Just different things that are going to help our motion offense that allow me to be in the right place at the right time."

Hunter, who credits extra time in the gym working out or shooting with helping her become more consistent, said playing more as a team helped the Redhawks' defensive effort in the second half.

"I think we went back to just running our system instead of playing one-on-one," she said. "In the second half, I think we played more as a team, in the passing lanes."

The Redhawks next travel to UT-Martin on Monday. Tip-off is 5:30 p.m.